Battleship

Copyright KBkids.com

You have undoubtedly played Battleship as a child. You may recall with fond memories, the blue and red fold out playing boards where you placed your ships and tried to guess where the other player had hidden his by calling out coordinates. Battleship is now ready for the next century with full motion video clips, radar, great sound effects and new game options. While some adults may miss the 'good old days,' most teens will like this new, high-tech version much better.

Late in 1997, Hasbro re-released it's Battleship computer game. The original was called "Ultimate Naval Warfare," while the newest version is called "Classic Naval Warfare." They are basically the same programs, except that the newest version puts more emphasis on the classic board game. You will find many variations and more complex versions of Battleship on this CD. The newest version still retains those complex versions, but has gone back to the basics a bit more.

In this program, you will find Classic Battleship which is much like you would expect. You place your ships around your 10x10 grid and try to guess where your opponent has hidden his ships. On the computer you can choose various weapon options, however, and can play against multiple opponents, or over the Internet. You can shoot single shots, or volleys of multiple shots. This is a particularly fun Internet game, because the whole idea of Battleship is anonymity. Testers found the game play at the beginning, Classic level much like the board game. The main difference being the video clips which run behind your playing board. These live action ships show battleships, airplanes and submarines launching missiles and either hitting or missing their targets in full color. Testers felt this version was a bit slow moving, not due to computer speed, but simply a slow moving game.

If you are ready to increase your skill level, or play Ultimate Battleship, you are in for a much better challenge. There is unfortunately little help, at least the kind that jumps out at you and tells you what to do or how to do it onscreen, so be prepared to read help files or the instruction manual. If you are totally anti-instruction manual, this may be a difficult and frustrating game for you. In Ultimate Battleship there are four skill levels, options for four opponents (local or on-line), and many more radar and weapon options. A practice mode is supposed to help you 'get the hang of the new high-tech weapons,' but testers found even this level hard. You can play "World Domination," or "Scenario" versions of Battleship. Thirty-one battle scenarios are included for a wide variety of game play. Teens who enjoy Age of Empires and Civilization II will already be familiar with the idea of 'scenarios.' For the rest of us, scenarios are planned scenes where you are given an objective and must work within the computer generated world. These can be a lot of fun for more advanced players.

While testers found Ultimate Battleship a bit overwhelming, and the Classic Battleship a bit slow moving after a period of time, your family will still enjoy this program if you are Battleship fans. While a good board game and much more exciting than the original plastic version, it is not the best board game conversion.

Bottom Line: A classic game, but not nearly enough online help for the more advanced games. Lots of high-tech flare, but not your best bet for a computerized board game unless you are major Battleship fans.

Ratings: (based on KBkids.com's 4 star rating system)

Overall: 2

BrainGain: 2 1/2

FunFactor: 2

EasePlease: 1 1/2

Buy Battleship Classic at Amazon!