

While the game lacks an easy to find tutorial (it’s in there, but it’s hidden under a stack of missions), the controls are fairly straightforward, dependent on the boat. Then you fiddle with a mess of different settings, like wind speed, fog density, the type of clouds above you and a bunch of other stuff. You then get to choose the port you want to sail around, and there are plenty of options available, including the aforementioned Dover, Rotterdam, and even the Antarctic. The best way to do this is to fire up the game’s free roam, which lets you choose from a huge variety of ships, from small inflatable boats that zip around all over the place to massive oil tankers that plough through the ocean, slowly and steadily. The title might have given it away, but Ship Simulator Extremes is all about sailing the open seas. And it’s better than you might initially think. Yes, ladies and gentleman, I have been playing the latest installment in V-Step’s Ship Simulator series, Ship Simulator Extremes. And I’m flying along at top speed into a head-on collision with the Dover-Calais ferry, in one of the coastguard’s boats. A few men approach the bar to catch up on old times. Families return to their homes, sitting down for their meals and talking about what they got up to at work or school. The sun goes down on yet another glorious day in Dover.
