Battleship

Description

Battleship follows the movie’s broad alien invasion premise through a sequence of naval engagements where officers, ships, and alien craft collide across hostile waters. The story is thin, built around humanity fighting back after communications are cut during a maritime exercise. Following the common trend of the era, the handheld version is a turn-based strategy game developed by Magic Pockets, marketed together but otherwise entirely separate from the the PS3 and Xbox 360 FPS game by Double Helix Games.

Gameplay involves moving ships across ocean grids, consider weapon range, unit size, firing angles, water depth, and ship health, then commit attacks before the enemy responds. Campaign missions include destroying alien forces, defence objectives, retreats, harbour control, and debris clearing, while Duel sequences briefly shift into first-person targeting against larger vessels. Officers bring special abilities, ports can be captured to reinforce the fleet, and performance grades reward careful play, low damage, and efficient completion. The title is a modern attempt at maritime strategy, which has its roots in Namco’s Battle Fleet. Its closest contemporary is Advance Wars in how it uses unit roles, grid movement, turn order, and tactical counters in a plainly recognisable form.

Contemporary reception was mixed, but the handheld strategy version was generally treated more kindly than the home console shooter. Critical reviews praised its challenge and tactical depth, calling it competent but uninspired, noting its lack of originality and weaker presentation.