..................................Moderator comment.....................................

I've included a list of submarine games that I recommend at the end of this review.

U-BOOT 1945

In Brief

A WWII side scrolling action adventure involving U-boot IIVc (U boat)

Introduction:

The year 1945, its the end of WWII and you the commander of a German Uboat (U-BOOT IIVc) has been ordered to return to port However, to return means to surrender and be taken prisoner. You decide to retun to a neutral country to save both your boat and crew; however, on your way you have to navigate through many dangers such as minefields, magnetic mines, signal buoys, depth charges from the allied forces ships, as well as patrolling convoys and other dangers.

Introduction adapted from the Steam introduction; reference HERE accessed 28th April 2019

Installation:

U-BOOT downloads to a 38.2 MB zip file that unzips to two files, (a set-up executable and a read me). The game installs to the following path by default, but can be changed if you wish. The installed game is approximately 38.5 MB in size.

C:\Program Files (x86)\UBOOT 1945

Five shortcuts are installed to the desktop, four of which can be safely deleted (i.e. Falco Space - Online Game!, FalconLine Online Games Website, FalcoGo WebGL Games! and Free Games Downloads!). If you don't want to install the games shortcut to the desktop during installation, just make sure the install desktop shortcut is unchecked when the 'additional task's window appears; you will still get two of the other Falcoware shortcuts installed (i.e. FalconLine Online Games Website & FalcoGo WebGL Games shortcuts). Also, if you don't like icons installed to the quick launch task bar, make sure you also uncheck the appropriate checkbox when the 'additional task's window appears (after the Select Start Menu Folder window).

The Game:

U-BOOT 1945 is a side scrolling submarine simulation. The aim of the game is to rescue your crew from the hands of the British, and safely navigate to a neutral port avoiding all obstacles and rescuing compatriots who have been sunk at sea. As you progress, levels become progressively harder to navigate around obstacles and enemey craft and mines of various types. Forward movement is via the D key, backwards using the A key, surfacing the W key and diving the S key. You are provided with a limited amount of torpedo's for protection. These are fired using the space bar. Use your torpedo's sparingly as they may be needed to clear a safe passage while traversing underwater caverns laces with mines. There are two bar indicators, located within a graphic representation of your submarine in the top left of the screen. The top bar indicates your submarines health and the bottom the supply of oxygen. While under water, the oxygen level decreases steadily and when it reaches a certain point, you get a warning that your Oxygen is dangerously low. When this occurs you should endevour to surface as soon as possible. If you don't the health of your submarine starts to slowly reduce. If it reaches zero, the submarine is destroyed. As you progress you are faced with several different obstacles such as mines, that sometimes move up and down slowly. There are also magnetic mines that are attracted to your steel hull if you get too close to them, signal buoys that send out intermittent sonic pulses that if crossed send a warning signal to nearby allied forces. Depth charges and torpedo's are used by the allies to destroy you, plus other dangers lurking in the depth. You need to pass beneath the signal buoys when they are dormant; if they activate while you are under them a signal is sent to the allies and you will be attacked by bombers that drop torpedoes, or if a convoy is nearby depth charges. You also pick up survivors from other German ships by passing near the bodies of seamen/submariners. You can boost your supply of torpedoes by picking up bonus crates of torpedo's (purportedly left by destroyed shipping).

The submarines movement feels a little sluggish, but with practice, steering your U Boat will become easier. If you want to dive while moving, press the S and D keys together, or the D and A keys if you want to dive backwards; alternatively, if you want to surface while moving press the W and D keys together. As your submarine is damaged, it does not float as well as a submarine with full health and oxygen uptake while on the surface is slightly compromised i.e. it takes a little longer to regenerate your oxygen supply. Damage can also occur if you hit other obstacles on the bottom or when traversing underwater caves. In later levels you will also face enemy submarines.

Whiterabbit-uk 28th April 2019

Conclusion:

U-BOOT 1945 is a reasonable arcade styled side scrolling submarine game. I love submarine games, having played many over the past 30+ years. I think Silent Service was my first submarine game and I've purchased almost all of the big names since then, though I've yet to buy the latest release Wolfpack that was released on Steam last month.

Other Reviews and Videos of U-BOOT 1945:

You can read other comments about U-BOOT 1945 HERE and HERE

Also, you can see several in-game videos of game play HERE, HERE (Deutsch), HERE (русский), HERE (русский), HERE, HERE (русский), HERE & HERE

Suggestions:

After you've had an opportunity to play today's giveaway please take a few moments to give some positive or negative feedback; for example, what you liked or disliked about the game, or how it could be improved. If you don't like the genre at all, please explain why and if any, what improvements would change your mind? If you don't have time to post a comment today, please do so at your convenience, thank you. If you wish to post a review or comment about the game later, you can access the comments section by going to the game giveaways home page, then scroll to the bottom of the page where it says Archives and select the date the giveaway was live (giveaway days are in bold type). This will open the appropriate page for you to post your comment or review. Alternatively, you can google the name of the game and include Gamegiveawayoftheday in the search. This should give you a list of links to whenever this game was given away.

If you miss today's game giveaway you can always get the game via Steam HERE for £3.19/£3.99/€3.29

Problems getting the game to work:

If you're having problems installing or activating or getting U-BOOT 1945 to work please visit the FAQ's Thread HERE and read through the communities comments because sometimes fixes have already been posted, for example, a common issue seen since the Themida wrapper was introduced three years ago is that some community members installation of the game are blocked by their security because Themida code has been known to hide malware, (usually an error message is flagged for example 'The executable is corrupted' even though in reality it is not); so as a precaution some anti malware programs will block and even delete the suspect installation files even though the files (i.e. the setup, read me and setup.gcd files are actually totally free from malware. This issue can be solved either by rebooting your computer in safe mode with networking or a quicker method is to temporarily turn off your security software to allow the installation. You could also try white-listing the setup.gcd file. In the almost 12 years this game giveaway site has been operating there has 'never' been a game given away that was infected with malware.

If for any reason you want to contact the giveaway team, for example, you have a game to offer the community, or are unable to download the latest game or other issues that the FAQ's thread or these comments don't cover or solve you can do so HERE

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the developer Diedemore Studio and the distributor Falcoware Games for giving away U-BOOT 1945 and also to the game giveaway team, as always, for securing other ways to get free games.

Useful Information not related to today's game giveaway:

If U-BOOT 1945 doesn't interest you, but you still hanker for something new to play, you'll find details of some game deals whether they be sale items, indie bundles or games being given away for free HERE (I've not updated the thread in a while, but most of the links still take you to the latest deals).

The rest of the information that used to be posted in the game review can be found in the forums HERE. Finally, check out Delenns threads for details of other free games and offers HERE and elsewhere in the game discussion forums HERE, (usually on the first page of the game discussion forums). Also, check out the free games available via Indie Gala HERE (usually around 20 games, with some changing every few weeks) and the latest game from Epic Games called Transistor, a Sci Fi adventure RPG HERE. The next free game via Epic Games starts on Thursday 2nd May and will be World of Goo a multi award winning physics based puzzle/construction game; also, there are nine pages (15 games per page) of free games available via Steam HERE, finally if you are into submarine oriented games then the following may be of interest: Silent Hunter®: Wolves of the Pacific , Silent Hunter®: Wolves of the Pacific U-Boat Missions , Silent Hunter 5 , Silent Hunter III , Command: The Silent Service , Wolfpack, Silent Depth 3D Submarine Simulation , Submarine Craft, Battlestations: Midway (air, sea and underwater), 688(I) Hunter/Killer, Dangerous Waters, Sub Command and U-Boats. Of all the above I would highly recommend Silent Hunter III, for value for money and fantastic game play. It costs only 25% more than today's game i.e. £4.29/$9.99/€4.99, though the US price is higher. Plus, it's a true submarine sim with loads of free mods available. There are free expansions that enable you to circumvent the world, with ports at most coastal cities as well as upgrades for your subs as well as loads of extra missions. When I first purchased Silent Hunter III over 14 years ago, I played it daily for months, and as more modifications were released regularly for another three years until Silent Hunter IV was released. You can find hundreds of Silent Hunter III mods in the download section of the SubSim community web site HERE. You'll also find mods for other submarine games in the SubSim radio room download section HERE. You can also find submarine browser games HERE. Some are downloadable, but I would check for malware before clicking on any executable.