Rule the Waves 3

Rule the Waves 3 is the kind of game that my dad would have loved on our old Packard Bell PC that we had in the 90s! This is about as “simulation” as you can get, but for the right kind of person, this truly is the kind of game that can completely take over your life. Nava combat is the aim of the game here and leading your warships into battle is what it is all about. However, there is a layer of micromanagement and complexity here that is just staggering. For one player, it is a complete turn off, but for another, this is the kind of game they dream about.

Different Eras Of War

One of the things that I think is neat about Rule the Waves 3 is that you have a few different eras that you can play through. I like how the game is not just about modern warships. Instead, you can start out at 1890 with campaigns taking place all the way up to 1970! Different technologies, tactics, and political desires make things interesting and always keep you on your toes. At the end of the day, you may be in command of the ship on the sea, but even you have to answer to someone and try to execute their plans!

Windows 2000

The whole game has a kind of retro look about it, kind of like something my dad would have played back in the day. The whole game has an old school, Windows type presentation and there is a lot and I mean a lot of reading required with this game as much of what you do will be looking at menus and making decisions based on them. It is the kind of game that is certainly not going to appeal to everyone and at first, it can look daunting. However, the UI is not as complicated as it may first seem and once you start to get into the groove, it does all become quite intuitive.

Your Ships To Fight Their War

The role that we play in Rule the Waves 3 is that of a nerves of steal Grand Admiral. We will be tasked with actually building our ships and deciding what we feel is best, making the most of the current technologies and budgets that we have! That is right, we do have to try and balance the book and while we would all love a monster of a vessel that can fire tons of torpedoes and withstand any attack, at the end of the day, that is just not possible, especially in some of the political and financial climates that we are working with here. It makes for a very “tactical” kind of game and a game where you have to think as a wrong decision in the planning stages can be dire when you meet another vessel on the ocean!

The Progress Of War

While I got a kick out of the way that Rule the Waves 3 starts all the way back in 1890 with war machines built from steel and wood and the grit between the teeth of the naval men. I like the way that things progress to stuff like submarines, big airship carriers, heat seeking missiles, and more. It makes playing the game feel great as there is a real progression. I also like how we get to pick which nation we play as too and try to lead them to supremacy. There are ten different nations we can play as such as USA, UK, China, Germany, France, Russia, Japan, and more. It makes for a very exciting game and while it is quite historically accurate in many ways, you can also rewrite history as well.

Pros:

• You can play as one of ten different nations
• This is a very deep and challenging game
• I liked how your decisions feel like they really do matter
• Building your own naval fleet from the ground up is awesome

Cons:

• A game like this only really appeals to a very certain type of gamer
• A bit more cinematic flair would have been nice