I don't see how completely ignoring player actions in the campaign is "just like real life". For instance, it is possible to sneak into Tokyo Bay early in 1942 and sinking a whole lot of battleships and carriers and if this had been done IRL such an action would have massively impacted future events like Midway or Coral Sea, but all that happens in SH4 is another Yamato or Akagi is randomly spawned later as if they come off a never-ending supplyline. Is that really more true to real life? At the end of the day I don't really care much for "realism" if it negatively impacts the fun factor by turning the game into a meaningless grind. Sure you can spend hours sneaking into this or that harbor and doing all kinds of daredevil, beat-the-odds attacks or sink 15 Yamatos but the only noticeable impact it has on the game is your personal tonnage.
This is why I've always preferred the dynamic campaign as it was done in Red Storm Rising where you can readily lose the war if you are not careful and events can be unpredictable. Strike Fighters does this too and its campaigns have lot more replayability than SH4.
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