Home of the Underdogs
About News FAQs Contact HOTU GoogleGroup Music Manuals
Category Applications Action Adventure Education Interactive Fiction Puzzle Role Playing Games Simulation Special Sport Strategy War




Support the EFF
Welcome How you can help
Browse Games
Welcome Random Pick
Welcome By Company
  Welcome By Theme  
Welcome By Alphabet
Welcome By Year
Welcome Title Search
Welcome Company Search
Welcome Designer Search
Recommended
Welcome Freeware Titles
Welcome Collections
Welcome Discord
Welcome Twitter
Welcome Facebook
Welcome File Format Guide
Welcome Help: Non PC Games
Welcome Help: Win Games
Welcome Help: DOS Games
Welcome Recommended Links
Site History Site History
Legacy Legacy
Link to Us Link to Us
Credits Thanks & Credits
Abandonware Ring

Abandoned Places

dungeoncrawlers.org

Creative Commons License


Game #2026
GATO   Collection: WISE Games
Simulation   Submarine

Rating: 8.99 (370 votes)

GATO box cover

GATO screenshot
The first World War II submarine simulation ever made for the PC, GATO was a true pioneer in this niche genre, an ambitious sim that features a lot of realistic instruments and weapons. As the submarine history page at Subsim.com describes it: "This was the first sub simulator for a personal computer. The graphics were very limited, CGA with stick figures for ships, of which there were five enemy types. Although it simulated GATO class subs, there were only four bow torpedo tubes available. All functions were generated by the keyboard (mouse? what's a mouse?). The mission area was very limited--a group of islands in the Pacific, which was subdivided into 20 "quadrants". You pressed the "M" key for new missions and they were transmitted by Morse code. You were instructed to keep in mind "the enemy may break Allied code at some point. Some messages may be enemy fakes designed to trap you." How's that for early efforts at realism? Resource management was one of the game's subtler features. Your primary strategic objective was to complete as many missions as possible with the supplies you carry before returning to the quadrant where your subtender waits.

Gato was the Pong of submarine simulations. When the first players encountered Gato, you can imagine they thought it was pretty significant. They had to start somewhere." True enough. Primitive, but honorable for the pioneer that it was.

Reviewed by: Underdogs
Designer: Paul Arlton & Ed Dawson
Developer: Spectrum Holobyte
Publisher: Spectrum Holobyte
Year: 1983
Software Copyright: Spectrum Holobyte
Theme: Naval, World Wars
Multiplayer:  
None that we know of
System Requirements: DOS
Where to get it:
Related Links:  
Links:    
If you like this game, try: Up Periscope!, Sub Battle Simulator, Search & Destroy

© 1998 - 2024 Home of the Underdogs
Portions are copyrighted by their respective owners. All rights reserved. Please read our privacy policy.