Greek magazine PC-Master has a very favourable review of Days of Sail at its May, 2007 issue!“If you are daydreamers and you love simulations, then this game is a must for your collection. It’s a game made by Greeks with a good taste.As we all know, Greece is surrounded by the sea. Our islands, the clear blue sky and the mediterranean climate which remains the same throughout the year are some of the big advantages of our country.

That’s why most of the tourists choose us. Most of them know about our country’s most beautifull places more than we Greeks do. So they try to visit us in every way possible. One of the most popular ways is sailing. With this game we have the chance to explore some of the most famous sailing routes and to learn how to sail small sailing boats.

When loading Days of Sail for the first time, we are confronted with a magnificent introduction. With a wonderful Aegean sunset at the horizon, soft music in the background, we are transported to a world of peace and tranquility. The game is addressed to both novice and experienced sailing enthusiasts. For novice users, there exists a detailed manual with the most important sailing terms. I suggest that you begin from here, so that you can learn all details about the wind and the sails positions. There is also ingame help.

In case of experienced users, the help offered by the game is somehow limited. However it will help you understand how to trim the sails to gain speed, taking advantage of the blowing wind. The indications available at the HUD are the boat speed, the wind force on the sails and the wind speed and direction as shown at the anemometer. The routes where you can practice your fist sailing lessons are the roundtrips of Aigina, Salamina, Hydra, Poros and Spetses. When you are through these routes, both in novice and in experienced level, you will be ready for the regattas at the Saronic islands.

In Race mode, you can select any of the longer and more difficult routes which you will have to complete at the best time available. To make this task more difficult, some opponents are in your way. As the game states, these are some of the most well known skippers of the world. Are you ready? Sail to the idyllic Saronic islands.

“The Greek developers have done a great job. This simulator is close to perfection”.

The Greek developers have done a great job. This simulator is close to perfection. The graphics are great, while the sound of waves crushing on our boat and the seagulls noises travel us to distant places with peace and tranquility. Days of Sail, even though not so large in duration and depth, needs a relatively high-end PC. You may need a fairly good graphics card to enjoy the gameplay, but the rest of the game needs no extra power from your computer.

The company has given special attention to the sailboat mechanics, which moves based on the wind speed and direction. Less attention has been given to the details of the island terrain. Every moment on your sailboat is unique. The wind direction relative to the sailboat speed needs your constant attention to avoid crashing on a rock, thus there is no time left to just admire the scenery. Maybe that’s the main reason that the developers didn’t pay special attention to the land detail. The gameplay is relatively easy, the keys available for triming the sails are only a bunch. The camera rotates with the mouse in freestyle mode.

To summarise, we are dealing with a game made in Greece which should not be missing from anyone’s collection if you’re interested in sea sports and especially sailing. Days of Sail comes in English and Greek version. While it is not extremely large in duration, it will keep you busy for several hours. The calm and peacefulness will knock you off and at the same time will make you feel that you have left behind the city’s daylife. Sail away!”

Tags: athens greece, Days of Sail, game review, greek islands, greek magazine, IceBytes, immersionFX Games, music composer, PC Master, Pedro Camacho, sailing knowledge, sailing lessons, salamina, saronic islands, simulation game, spetses, Wind over Waters