There are certainly problems with the game, and it is far from being a perfect wargame. It suffers from the fact that, as a computer game, you can play it so many times that you learn what the AI is trying to do, spoiling the long term value of the scenarios.
But while you are playing it and learning the best possible approaches to cutting off Japanese oil supplies or rushing to isolate Australia from Allied assistance, you get that tick-tock feeling in your head as you plan out your next step.
And I can’t overemphasize how useful the manual is. It gives you detailed information on which ships become available when, so you can really set yourself up for prolonged pressure on the enemy. It has lots of good history and alternate design choices. KE Studios did a great job with it.
Nice review. I like the genre you chose (which seems to be a running joke on Gameshark). But my favorite line was “[WPP] builds a game that is not a realistic history, but is a convincing impression of the theater.” That’s how a wargame can be realistic even when it is very simple and abstracted. One thing I noticed is that WPP clearly demonstrates the advantages carriers have over battleships. The BBs are useful and powerful, but CVs have all the options on when, where, and how to fight.
I think the game is great, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that it is overpriced because of the spartan presentation, quick games, and lack of variety. I guess if you have more money than free time, and you’ve ever said that gameplay is more important that graphics, this is a chance to put your money where your mouth is.
Did you try the multiplayer?
Sometimes simpler wargames capture more of the essential truth of their setting than an intricately detailed simulation.
As Jane Austen said “One has got all the truth, and the other all the appearance of it.”