Tue 08 Nov 2011
App Reviews and News
Battleship
You play against either the computer or against another player either through local multiplayer or online. Each side has five ships, and you take turns firing at the water in an attempt to uncover your opponent’s ships.
The ships come in different sizes, from the small submarines to the giant battleships.
Much of the strategy of the game comes in how you array these ships on your grid. Will you bunch some of them together, or will you spread them out to the four corners of the high seas? Each strategy has its advantages and disadvantages.
The only disappointment is how the game registers your strikes, showing you exactly what ship you hit, which takes away from some of the mystery and strategy.
There are even a few different modes to play in the event you get tired of standard play. I’m a big fan of Salvo mode, in which you get an amount of shots equal to how many ships you have left. It makes finding and sinking ships quickly of the utmost importance, so your opponent has less shots to play with. This makes the strategy slightly different, as you’re better off bombarding the area around a hit with all your shots instead of playing it one at a time while continuing to feel out the rest of the digital waters like in standard mode.
The other mode is Super Weapon mode, where you’re given a dozen new weapons to play around with. It’s fun to test out these new weapons, and they give you powerful attacks that speed up the matches. Personally I thought they were too overpowered though, and made the games fly by too quickly. I prefer the more traditional and relaxed matches.
The graphics are a bit of a mixed bag, I like the look of the game board, but was hoping for something a little more graphically intense, perhaps a look that showed actual water and ships with the playing grid on top of it, instead of the board game and pieces look. Still, the game looks fairly authentic and familiar, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
While Battleship isn’t necessarily the most exciting game to ever grace the iPhone, it is an enjoyable diversion that offers simple and fun gameplay that doesn’t make you think too much. Go ahead and give it a try if you miss playing this classic of gaming.
RATING – 4.6/5
Platform – iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad (iOS 3.0 or later).
Genre – Board Game
Price - $0.99
The ships come in different sizes, from the small submarines to the giant battleships.
Much of the strategy of the game comes in how you array these ships on your grid. Will you bunch some of them together, or will you spread them out to the four corners of the high seas? Each strategy has its advantages and disadvantages.
The only disappointment is how the game registers your strikes, showing you exactly what ship you hit, which takes away from some of the mystery and strategy.
There are even a few different modes to play in the event you get tired of standard play. I’m a big fan of Salvo mode, in which you get an amount of shots equal to how many ships you have left. It makes finding and sinking ships quickly of the utmost importance, so your opponent has less shots to play with. This makes the strategy slightly different, as you’re better off bombarding the area around a hit with all your shots instead of playing it one at a time while continuing to feel out the rest of the digital waters like in standard mode.
The other mode is Super Weapon mode, where you’re given a dozen new weapons to play around with. It’s fun to test out these new weapons, and they give you powerful attacks that speed up the matches. Personally I thought they were too overpowered though, and made the games fly by too quickly. I prefer the more traditional and relaxed matches.
The graphics are a bit of a mixed bag, I like the look of the game board, but was hoping for something a little more graphically intense, perhaps a look that showed actual water and ships with the playing grid on top of it, instead of the board game and pieces look. Still, the game looks fairly authentic and familiar, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
While Battleship isn’t necessarily the most exciting game to ever grace the iPhone, it is an enjoyable diversion that offers simple and fun gameplay that doesn’t make you think too much. Go ahead and give it a try if you miss playing this classic of gaming.
RATING – 4.6/5
Platform – iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad (iOS 3.0 or later).
Genre – Board Game
Price - $0.99
