Battleship (GBC) Review (no fat)

Game Description

Battleship is a faithful port of the famous board game that allows you to play against an opponent and sink all his ships in the fewest number of turns possible. This Game Boy Color version boasts both an exhaustive single-player mode with numerous missions to try out, as well as a two-player alternative, which obviously constitutes the game’s main feature. Several distinct ships are available in the game, along with a password save feature, which should prove useful in the single-player mode.

Battleship Gameplay

The objective is simple, regardless of which mode you are playing. At the start of the level or mission, you place your ships on the map. After you’re done positioning your fleet, your task is to guess where the opposing units are and to blow them up before your own naval forces are sunk. Each ship occupies a varying number of units, which makes knowing where to place them crucial. Similarly, by applying your knowledge of each ship’s size, it can become easier to destroy all your opponent’s units. Moreover, the maps have varying sizes, which obviously adds more replay value to the game.

You begin Battleship with four ships, which include a destroyer, a frigate, a submarine, and the coveted battleship. Because each unit requires a different number of squares on the map, it’s important to scatter them effectively so that they’re well protected. Positioning them too close to each other will only make your opponent’s task easier. The destroyer occupies three squares while the submarine is the most elusive to hit since it covers only one square on the map. On the other hand, the battleship, which is the best ship in your fleet, is your biggest unit with a five square requirement. The number of squares covered by a ship also indicates after how many hits it can take before it is destroyed.

Each ship has a unique weapon that you can use as long as it hasn’t been hit yet. Moreover, you can rely on such weaponry a limited number of turns and cannot constantly abuse them. The submarine thus boasts a radar that allows you to spot enemy ships in a four-square radius while the destroyer’s weapon has the nifty ability to destroy an opposing unit instantly. The battleship, as your fleet’s main unit, hides a harpoon that excels at hitting an enemy from a distance. The inclusion of such a neat feature makes the game more fun, as there’s a lot of strategy involved in knowing exactly when to use your weapons. Since you automatically lose them as soon as that particular unit is hit and there’s a limit on how many times you can use them, they often hold the key to victory.

Additionally, you gain two new ships throughout the single-player mode. This event obviously exists to convince you to play through the 48 missions included in the game since both units share amazing destructing power. The cruiser can shoot a couple of missiles while the carrier, which occupies a whooping eight squares, is definitely the most powerful unit in the whole game. There’s also a password save feature, which is useful given the large number of missions Battleship proposes.

Unfortunately, in spite of such neat additions, the single-player mode suffers from the computer’s rather bizarre A.I. While it mostly appears to know where you’ve positioned your ships and will erratically wipe out all your units with minimum effort, there are also instances where it will amicably choose to completely ignore you. You just know something’s wrong when it’s been busy hitting your carrier for a couple of turns before suddenly opting to shoot at an empty square miles away from your location.

It’s not such a glaring flaw though because Battleship is a game that’s meant to be played by two humans. Two opponents can very easily taunt each other and engage in fantastic wars by connecting their systems via the link cable. The replay value in this mode is endless, and the game’s eternally fun when two players are frantically guessing where to shoot their weapons.

Battleship Visuals

Battleship benefits from lush backgrounds, and the color palette is particularly brilliant. Your actions are showcased in superb animations with your missiles flying above a whizzing background. More scenes pop up whenever a ship is hit or sunk, and these are always well designed. However, all the animations make the game needlessly long. An option to turn them off would have been welcome, because of the repetition.

Battleship Sound

The music in Battleship is merely average, and gets extremely irritating after some time since the same theme plays throughout the game’s missions. The sound effects are better and suitably correspond to their actions.

Battleship 2cent

Battleship is an excellent title in spite of some frustration incurred by the single-player mode. It’s faithful to the board game, but nevertheless introduces great ideas such as the unique weapons for each ship. Moreover, the two-player mode alone is exceptionally fun.

Battleship Cost

Battleship currently retails for $24.99 US, at the time of this review.