Reviewed: October 1, 2003
Reviewed by: Tyler Todd

Publisher
DreamCatcher Interactive

Developer
Tesseraction

Released: August 21 2003
Genre: Simulation
Players: 1 (Online Coming Dec. 2003)
ESRB: Teen

7
8
7
8
8.1

System Requirements

You can imagine how distressed I was when I learned that Enigma: Rising Tide is in fact a WWII-era naval sim, and not the high seas, swashbuckling adventure I had conjured in my mind's eye. I was only off by a couple of centuries.

The year is 1936 - long before the Village People's homoerotic anthem In The Navy cast an ominous shadow on suspiciously fit, clean cut men in tight white pants, living in close quarters for countless lonely weeks. Developer Tesseraction games envisions a world where the Germans won World War I. The Lusitania is not sunk by a German U-boat in 1915. The Nazis never came to power. The Japanese never bombarded Pearl Harbor. Instead, Kaiser Wilhelm leads Imperial Germany, conquers Europe and establishes itself as the dominant global power, the German Weltreich. So, instead of Germany being led by one man with a silly moustache, it's being led by another man...who also has a silly moustache.

This kind of pseudo-WWII alternate history setting is nothing new, but it provides a colorful backdrop with a wealth of intrigue, replete with political figures and historical references.

So, does Enigma sink or swim?

Enigma allows you to play out the drama as one of three factions: Imperial Germany, The United States, or the League of Free Nations, a tenuous British/Japanese alliance.

The aforementioned Imperial German Weltreich is the 800-pound gorilla, with an iron grip on Europe and formidable U-boats prowling the depths beneath the Pacific and the Atlantic.

The United States, meanwhile, is an expansionist power and technological juggernaut with a massive fleet at her disposal. Her reach extends far and wide, with troops in locations as diverse as Iceland, the Philippines and Morocco.

And the British government (along with the Royal Navy) is in exile, ousted from its proper home in England and licking its wounds in Asia. Based in Hong Kong, the British ally with Imperial Japan to form the League of Free Nations, and plot to reclaim their homeland. Their fluid, agile fleet hounds both American and German vessels across the globe.

You have the option to play through a campaign - either a surface or submerged variant - using any one of these three factions, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. As you rise in rank, you will have access to a wider range of vessels, and eventually you will be able to command a fleet of your own. You won't actually be able to hop from ship to ship and commandeer each individually, but you can issue generic commands to your fleet (attack, protect, escort, etc.), puff out your chest and flex your brain muscles to outsmart, outflank and sink your enemy.

There's a good mix of ships; aggressive destroyers and escorts, sleek corvettes, lumbering fuel tankers and a variety of subs. Each nation has a variant of the major vessels - different classes with subtle shifts in speeds, weight and armaments. Guns can either be fired remotely courtesy of AI crewmen, or you can man the big suckers yourself for a taste of first-person action, and shell the enemy fleet with a more personal touch. Player-controlled aircraft are not available, though Tesseraction has hinted that these may be available in a future update.

The enemy AI is refined and should challenge even crusty old vets. Savvy skippers will eventually be able to discern attack and evasion patterns and exploit them, and use the friendly AI crew to full effect. Luckily, missions don't always involve blasting an enemy out of the water. The submarine missions require a bit of secrecy and stealth. In one particular mission, I had to instigate a fight between the Americans and the Germans by masking the approach of my British sub, and firing off a single torpedo - one torpedo only - at the German patrol vessel. Missions like these will appeal to the eggheads out there, and the political ramifications of your wartime actions (both positive and negative) are stamped on the front page of fictional newspapers. You'll also receive medals and commendations. Very cool.

The atmosphere is tense. Whether you're sweating it out in a claustrophobic, suffocating sub or craning your virtual neck to spot an aircraft squadron bearing down on your prized destroyer, you'll feel the heat.

I can pinpoint the exact moment when Enigma really smacked me in the mouth and made me a believer. Early on, I undertook a submarine mission, and it was my duty to sink an enemy destroyer. "With pleasure," I said. I spotted the enemy vessel within moments, and eased my sub below the surface like a great, metallic shark. As I zeroed in on my prey, I became a bit disoriented, unable to properly read my radar or translate the sonar pings. I switched to a third-person view just in time to see the enemy destroyer directly above me, saturating the ocean with countless depth charges. They went off one after the other, coughing up great clouds of bubbles and rocking my U-boat. The lights in my sub flickered and dimmed as the hull was breached, and then all went black. It was a great gaming moment - and I was on the losing end.

The control scheme is easy as pie. Even goonish hockey players and those suffering from total brain lock will be able to grasp it within moments. A streamlined HUD offers a dozen or so point-and-click icons, as well as status meters (hull, fuel, ammo readouts), a compass, a throttle and depth gauge, and a detailed radar readout. Crewmen and officers will relay essential messages and status updates via a scrollable text bar. It's not as cool as having vocal messages and warnings, but it gets the job done and keeps you on your toes.

Tesseraction also provides full microphone support. You can use your free hands to make shadow puppets while you bark commands and let your invisible crew go to work. Mind you - most of the tenants in my apartment complex are already convinced I'm a lunatic. Howling "DIVE! DIVE! DIVE!" and "HARD TO STARBOARD!" into a mike in the dead of night isn't going to help my cause.

But while you'll be able to learn the simple controls in no time, mastering them is something else altogether. "Tutorial" missions are included, but these are little more than milk runs, easy missions that let you obliterate the enemy, but teach you nothing about real naval tactics and strategy. A more thorough, hands-on tutorial could have eased the learning curve of the more complex missions found later in the campaigns.

I also would have preferred a more detailed damage model. You can't specifically target any point on a ship, attempt to blow out a rudder or communications link, or damage any of the armaments. But ultra-realism isn't the goal here - Enigma falls somewhere between arcade and simulation, with the focus squarely on accessibility and fun.

Much attention has been given to detail and minutia; you can spot lifeboats lining the side of your vessel, rows of moorings and wires and tiny doors, and various antennae jutting from every angle. The ships themselves are accurately modeled, massive steel beasts with distinct camo patterns and shape - if you have a keen eye, you'll be able to identify ships by scanning the horizon with your binoculars (or periscope) and prepare accordingly. Unfortunately, you won't see a single life form aboard any ship or manning any of the weaponry, which creates a bit of a barren "ghost ship" feel and detracts from the experience.

There are a handful of slick weapon effects. Shells from enemy ships whistle through the air and splash into the ocean beside your ship - or rip smoking craters in your deck. Torpedoes generate a telltale streak of white sea foam as they zoom toward their target. Guns tattoo the sky with clouds of black smoke. It's a vivid sight, and won't disappoint.

Enigma also exhibits flashes of style. Cinematic cutscenes are limited - usually just a quick flash of your ship rolling along at sea - but it's enough to grab you and get your heart pumping before the lead starts to fly. Before heading out on a mission, you receive a stylized briefing, designed to look like an authentic military transcript, outlining your orders, intelligence relating to the enemy fleet and presence, and a general risk assessment. Subtle details such as these serve to better immerse you in the world and formulate an advance strategy.

The music is the sweeping, symphonic score you might expect. Though not quite up to the level of a game like Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, it accentuates the action and paces combat with just the right touch.

The weapon effects, however, are disappointing and not up to snuff with the flock of WWII games currently littering the market. Dull and tinny, they lack the intensity and sheer volume I would have expected from savage naval combat. Shooting down enemy fighters with a hulking 20mm anti-aircraft gun loses some of its luster when your weapon sounds like it packs all the ferocity of a pop gun firing off a wine cork.

Tesseraction is committed to improving Enigma, and has pledged to add new features, vehicles and tactical elements every three months in the title's lifespan. The retail version includes a free 30-day subscription, but if recent online titles are a barometer, anyone joining at launch will likely have to sit through the guinea pig phase and weather the storm as servers are calibrated and all the kinks are ironed out. After the initial trial period ends, players will have to subscribe and pay an as-of-yet unknown monthly fee to continue their nautical conquest online.

Above all, Enigma is fun to play. And that's what really counts. Plus, you'll finally have a legitimate excuse to exclaim, "you sunk my battleship!" Tell your friends about this one, but remember: loose lips sink ships.