Let’s be honest; we’ve all played Battleship at some point. If you say you haven’t, then you’re probably lying. It’s a classic that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Monopoly, and it’s something that generations of children have grown up playing. In the past, board games haven’t translated particularly well to console, and so I did not have high expectations when I began playing Battleship on Xbox One; it’s not the sort of game I usually play, and the was every chance it would be one of those bargain-bin games. That wasn’t the case; I actually had fun.
The classic board game is there, with players taking turns to select squares on the other player’s grid. If you hit a ship, a red peg appears, and if you miss, a white peg appears. It’s a very simple system that translates well into the game, and the colourful visuals really make everything stand out. However, there is a mode that switches things up a bit, while still maintaining the core Battleship experience. Clash at Sea mode still features turn-based combat, but now players are given two different types of resources that dictate what you can do every turn.
This new game mode gives Battleship a whole new dimension of strategy, as the limited resources force you to think more about your actions. You gain a set amount of resources each turn that allow you to attack, like in the classic mode, but you also receive a second set of resources that allow you to select a grid square and detect whether or not an enemy ship is there. On top of this, each battleship has its own abilities that you can use, such as the submarine’s ability to detect enemy battleships. Outside of gameplay, Clash at Sea gives you the option of reskinning your fleet of battleships. It doesn’t really add anything, other than the novelty of seeing different ships battling at the top of the screen, where battle animations are played as you fire and destroy ships.
Time will fly as you play, as you’ll find yourself thinking “okay, that last game was fun. Maybe just one more.” I found myself playing until 2am after having started around 11pm. It’s just fun to play online, knowing that someone else is reacting to you blowing up their submarine elsewhere in the world. When it works, it works well. However, the animations do start to get a bit boring after a while, as they just take so long to play out. There’s only so many times that you’ll enjoy watching an enemy carrier explode in exactly the same way. Being able to skip the animations would be a nice option, but nope; you’re going to watch that ship sink, even though you’ve seen that animation 30 times already. This is particularly awkward when it’s your ships that are getting wrecked, and games can really start to drag.
Believe it or not, there’s also a campaign mode. It took a surprising amount of time to find, but it’s there and it’s definitely the best part of the game. There are around 30 missions, each slightly distinct from each other, and almost every mission is enjoyable in their own way, although it does start to get a little tedious as you progress. Still, you’ll be spending most of your time in Battleship playing against other people online, so the campaign mode is a welcome distraction as a way to take a break if you’re facing fatigue from the long, clunky animations.
In summary, Battleship is a surprisingly enjoyable adaptation of the classic board game, featuring some welcome changes that make it work better as a videogame. However, you shouldn’t expect it to be a revolution in comparison to the board game; it’s still Battleship at its heart. Keeping that in mind, you wouldn’t be missing much if, instead of buying this game, you just dug out your old board game and started playing with your family. Still, if you’re interested in playing it as a videogame, I’d happily recommend taking the plunge. It’s a fun little game that does exactly what you expect it to, with some added extras.