The pistol is a pea shooter. Replace it with one of the aliens' chain weapons instead.Just to be clear, this Battleship is not based on Milton Bradley’s beloved naval strategy game for children of all ages. It is, however, based on this summer's ridiculous-looking film starring CGI aliens and Rihanna that is very loosely inspired by the aforementioned kid’s classic, which explains why Battleship is primarily a first-person shooter and not, say, a strategy game.
This videogame tie-in puts you in the role of Cole Mathis, a Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician who, when not defusing bombs, can command the entire naval fleet via his mobile Battle Command interface. After an alien force attacks the Hawaiian islands, you lead a battle on land — shooting invaders and destroying key targets — while also using a grid to orchestrate simplistic sea battles between the Navy’s battleships and enemy craft.
You can call in air strikes from the fleet to destroy large targets or even clusters of enemy troops.The shooter action is a weak Halo knock-off. (You’re even called Master Chief by a fellow soldier.) You can switch between first-person mode and Battle Command at will to move units, direct attacks, and arm ships with Wild Card upgrades, earned by killing aliens in first-person combat. Battle Command is frighteningly easy, while the shooter part can be more frustrating due to the sometimes large distance between save points.
Poor value is the real deal-breaker, though. Because Battleship weighs in at just seven single-player missions and zero multiplayer (seriously???), it’s only a few hours of mindless fun, and you can easily beat it in a long afternoon. For $60, we deserve a game that sinks battleships, not wallets.
Using a Wild Card to take direct control of a battleship for 20 seconds is one of the game's few high points.PUBLISHER: Activision • DEVELOPER: Double Helix • ESRB: Teen • MULTIPLAYER: None • ACHIEVEMENTS: Fair • COST: $60 • AVAILABLE: May 15, 2012
+ Mindless shooting action.
+ Wild Card upgrades make strategy sequences entertaining.
– A cynical cash-in that charges full price for a short, uninspired game.
? Why couldn’t we get a really good, strategic Battleship game instead?
