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Combat is conducted using a screen with a view through the periscope and at various gauges and indicators. The islands on the map are randomly generated and not based on real-world geography.
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The player is tasked with chasing Japanese shipping across a 20-sector map while returning for resupply as necessary from a submarine tender. In 1987, Atari Corporation published a version on cartridge for the Atari 8-bit family, to coincide with the launch of the Atari XEGS. GATO was later ported to the Apple IIe, Atari ST, and Macintosh. It simulates combat operations aboard the Gato-class submarine USS Growler (SS-215) in the Pacific Theater of World War II.
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GATO is a real-time submarine simulator first published in 1984 by Spectrum HoloByte for DOS.
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