BATTLESHIP [rating: 4.5/5]
To quote We Are Scientists, it’s a HIT, IT’S A HIT!
The return of thee classic board games of all time sails onto the iPhone and into the 21st century with two fresh gameplay modes adding to the classic hit ‘n’ miss. Starting with Salvo mode which lets you target as many points on your opponents board as you have ships in the water and Superweapons mode which lets you choose three additional weapons to the standard single shot missile which really mixes up the game dynamic with mines, cluster bombs and other unlockable weapons earned through achievements or promotion. Rounding off the package Battleship for iPhone has an excellent multiplayer mode which supports WiFi, Bluetooth and pass ‘n’ play for those friends who just don’t have an iPod touch or the game to play against.
As you’d expect from such a game, everything has a Navel Military theme albeit a bit too cartoony for my liking but no major issue. By default the game has 3D cutscenes and not just pre rendered CGI films but dynamic cutscenes that reflect the position and condition of your fleet, while they look good they also sneakily ramp up the tension as you see armaments flying through the air and always curve slightly to the left. Thankfully these can be turned off as they do add a good amount of time between turns and I personally feel they don’t add much to the gameplay.
The screen you’ll be spending the most time is the peg board, green for yours and blue for your opponents complete with traditional looking ships, pegs and nice explosions on hits along with gunshots, the sound of the ocean, it couldn’t be more fitting along with the the odd bout of rousing military band music really piles on the the atmosphere.
The only sizable issue I have with this game other than being *way* too addictive is that the lineup sight on the standard missile isn’t as clear as it could be, with the x and y axis showing as feint translucent lines on the game grid which could easily be mistaken for being in different rows or columns and cause the player frustration.
A great port of the all time classic board game with new weapons and modes, bringing interesting and new dynamic gameplay while remaining true to it’s root.
Price: $2.99 as of 15/12/09
Version reviewed 1.0.5
The Good
- Classic addictive gameplay
- fresh new game modes
The Not So Good
- Annoying sights on standard missile
- Lots of loading screens
Reviewed by: @TylerDurdan