Depth Charge

Depth Charge © 1983 Amiga Corp.

Upon starting the game you'll be presented with a view from your sub's periscope showing the ocean and some ships moving back and forth. Pressing down the fire button will bring up your (rather large) targeting sight. While the sight is up, you can move it left or right to aim your torpedoes at the enemy ships. Releasing the fire button will fire your torpedoes, and if you’re playing one of the guided variations you can continue to move them until they hit the ship (on the fixed variation they’re locked in to the spot you fired them from). Also of note, when you hold down the fire button it will display the number of torpedoes you have left at the top of the screen. If you run out of torpedoes the game doesn’t automatically end, but you will be unable to shoot any more boats (making you a sitting duck for the Torpedo Boat).

A direct hit can sink a ship instantly (and is worth more points), otherwise it make take a few indirect hits to bring one down. There are six different ship types, each being a different size and moving at a different speed. The smallest and fastest of these boats is called the Torpedo Boat. If a Torpedo Boat makes it all the way across the screen without being hit you will be sunk. At the bottom of the screen there is a display that shows the current ship/torpedo status (Ready, Armed, Fired, or Loading). While this is a cute bit of eye candy, it really doesn’t add anything to the game and is probably there just to fill up the available screen space.