Hey! You Sank My Battleship!

[Brad Adrian]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.handango.com/brainstore/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&productId=80779' target='_blank'>http://www.handango.com/brainstore/...productId=80779</a><br /><br /></div>If those words sound at all familiar to you, then you are one of millions of people who grew up playing the famous "Battleship" game from Milton Bradley. Introduced in 1967, this game has now entered the 21st century as a new version for the Pocket PC.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/adrian/battleship.gif" /><br /><br />Now owned and sold by Handmark, the Pocket PC version of Battleship remains true to the earlier versions, with a few electronic twists:<br /><br />• Single player against computer AI <br />• Two levels of AI (Normal and Hard) Multi-player <br />• Multi-device play via IR and TCP/IP <br />• Salvo game variant with number of shots determined by the number of ships remaining in each player's fleet <br />• Realistic game sounds <br />• Adjustable game volume and speed <br />• Statistics presented at the end of the game <br /><br />I've played with this for a while, and the graphics are better than the various cloned versions. And, even though other Handmark games for the Pocket PC are pretty expensive, there is a free demo, and the full version of Battleship goes for "only" $19.99.

[theone3]

full version of Battleship goes for "only" $19.99.But think of all the money you'll save on paper!

[Snail]

$20? Seems expensive for a low-tech game IMO... :|

[rpommier]

I agree with that, they could've added a little twist to it. $20 for a simple game like battleship doesn't seem all that good of a value. Now Snails, that's a game worth thet cost!

[lonesniper]

Would be nice if multi play would work via Bluetooth.
Can it??

[Jason Dunn]

With most of these "name brand" titles, I imagine the royalty rates are a significant part of that cost...

[GoldKey]

For multiplayer, do both people have to own a copy, or can you "spawn" a copy for use in a multiplayer scenario.

[blazingwolf]

For multiplayer, do both people have to own a copy, or can you "spawn" a copy for use in a multiplayer scenario.

Both people have to have a copy.

Would be nice if multi play would work via Bluetooth.
Can it??

They were supposed to add this feature to the final version. If this doesn't work you can play via infrared.

[GoldKey]

For multiplayer, do both people have to own a copy, or can you "spawn" a copy for use in a multiplayer scenario.

Both people have to have a copy.

So $20 to play by yourself, $40 to play with someone else. WAY too much!

[feo]

For somethging that you know you are going to like (in a way is more of a sure thing than going with a practically 'unknown' new game), then $20 is not necessarely 'that' bad.
Think of how cool it would be to play with the volume off in a meeting against a co-worker on the other side of the table (volume off), while your boss goes on and on about something that you don't really want to hear about.
It makes you look like you are taking lots of notes, plus it makes the time go by faster. :lol:
Not that I am doing that right now, but I have a 'friend' that is... :roll:

[Dr. Smooth]

Isn't there ANYTHING more interesting than an update to a Pocket PC version of Battleship, one of the most godawful boring games ever invented? This is like the kind of application that gets bundled with your development tools as a free example, and these people want $20 for it, and PPC Thoughts finds it newsworthy? Please. I mean, I know you're getting a cut of the sales, but must this site turn into purely paid advertising space?

[Jason Dunn]

Isn't there ANYTHING more interesting than an update to a Pocket PC version of Battleship, one of the most godawful boring games ever invented?

Battleship is a staple of North American gaming, just like Monopoly, so yes, it is a "big deal" when something as big as this gets ported over to the Pocket PC platform. It might not be the kind of game you'd want to play (I know I won't install it myself), but for some people, it may bring back from great memories - let them enjoy it! Whoever told you is was a good idea to criticize everything you wouldn't use gave you some bad advice.

As for your cynical comment about advertising, Pocket PC Thoughts makes about a buck if someone purchases the game through our link - so it's not financial greed motivating the post, I can promise you that. If you'd been reading this site for a while, you'd know that Brad has a penchant for "old school" games like this - they're something he really enjoys.

[Crystal Eitle]

I personally wouldn't buy Battleship, but I can say that Handmark's games are top-quality. I have their Monopoly and Scrabble, and both are fun either against the PPC or with two or more players (passing the PDA around from person to person). Just played Monopoly on a plane with my boyfriend the other day. It was a fun way to kill some time.

[Brad Adrian]

Isn't there ANYTHING more interesting than an update to a Pocket PC version of Battleship, one of the most godawful boring games ever invented?
Sorry, but just because you don't find it interesting doesn't mean nobody else will. I'm not sure how I feel about the $20 price tag on this game, but I played the original version for hour upon hour when I was a kid (I was seven when it came out), so I like the game because of the nostalgia it offers me.

[Tierran]

Man, I love battleship! $20 is a steal...the original electronic version was like twice that. This is going right up near the top of my list :D

[rpommier]

Still would be nice if they had some altenate modes or rules. But you I guess that's an example of “One man's whatever is another ones something or other”.

Now Risk, that's a $20 game :mrgreen:

Rod

[Jeff Rutledge]

I personally wouldn't buy Battleship, but I can say that Handmark's games are top-quality. I have their Monopoly and Scrabble, and both are fun either against the PPC or with two or more players (passing the PDA around from person to person). Just played Monopoly on a plane with my boyfriend the other day. It was a fun way to kill some time.

Ditto for me. I enjoy both Monopoly and Scrabble on a regular basis. I don't think I'll shell out the $$$ for Battleship though. That's mostly because I have a version of Battleship on my T68 phone. If I didn't, I'd consider this one. Like Crystal says, the Handmark games are top notch. And it's a good diversion when you've got a bit of boring time (ie. Waiting Rooms, airport, etc.).

[Jason Dunn]

Anyone interested in reading a review of this game should check out this review (http://www.ppczone.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=11).

[rmasinag]

I played the demo.....good game I'm a super big fan of battleship since a kid ppl say I still am a kid...so this is good for me.

but $20, 8O make it it 10. I'm a student and like the guys in those hotwired commercials. Yah

I agree Risk would be a better $20 game

[GoldKey]

I agree Risk would be a better $20 game

Agreed, Risk is my all time favorite board game. But it was only fun with lots of players. A good multiplayer with some good AI would be great. But, how making alliances and then backstabbing your ally would be nowhere near as much fun in a computer version.

[aroma]

There are some board games, Risk being one, that just don't seem to translate the the computer very well. I've played it on a PC and it didn't seem to come anywhere near the real thing. Axis and Allies is another game that just HAS to be played as the board game and not on a PC...

- Aaron

[dean_shan]

I did the beta for it so i have a workable copy that I use. There are still some bugs but it is good for the price.

[rpommier]

I don't feel that way about to many games, I'm not really that big into multiplay, basically, because I stink at most games. I don't think I've ever won an RTS online :?

So playing the dumb computer and winning sometimes is actually quite satisfying to me... Sad but true

[upplepop]

If anyone's looking for battleship action at a better value, check out "Sink the Ships" in Microsoft Entertainment PocketPak or "Battle Crystal" in JS Fun Pack 4. Both which have a battleship clone packaged with a bunch of other games for $20 or under.

[disconnected]

When I'm feeling nostalgic I remember spending hours playing Clue (and reading Nancy Drew and prowling around the neighborhood looking for imaginary clues to solve imaginary crimes). I'd probably pay 20.00 for a Clue game for PPC.

[yvilla]

Introduced in 1967, this game has now entered the 21st century as a new version for the Pocket PC.


:lol: I definitely had to laugh at that! Battleship was a great paper and pencil game I played as a kid (in the 50's) long before Milton Bradley came out with it as a "game" you had to buy. :lol:

[Brad Adrian]

:lol: I definitely had to laugh at that! Battleship was a great paper and pencil game I played as a kid (in the 50's) long before Milton Bradley came out with it as a "game" you had to buy. :lol:
WOW! I had completely forgotten about that! Of course, we used to play it that way, too! The problem I now remember having, though (besides the overall honestly issue) was that my brother could even more easily cheat with the paper and pencil method.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

[Certified Optimist]

US$20 is too much. I don't mind paying around that for Monopoly or Scrabble since they are great games, but for Battleship...?

If I want to play Battleship with someone else, I'll do it the old way... pen and paper... No need for Bluetooth nor IR, and.... I don't need to worry about wearing out my batteries.... :D

[sundown]

I'd play it, though $20 seems a little steep.

Now for a pet peeve that applies here:

I know you all have the latest PPC's but I'm still dinking with a Jornada 520. This little thing plays mp3s and wmv's just fine and I have a slew of games and ebooks I enjoy mostly when travelling (which is pretty often). I'm a sucker for cool games so I often download a trial before buying. In my experience MOST of the games on Handago that advertise being compatible with the Jornada 520/540 series just don't work. It seems mostly due to color depth on the screen, since that's the type of error I get mostly. UGH - I've wasted hours! Anyway, that just annoys me. But I'm hoping Santa will bring me a Dell PPC this year.

[kinged]

We need bluetooth games!!!!!

Can someone make the first bluetooth game?

[rpommier]

Looks like that honor might go to one of the new handheld game consoles. I belive the one from Nokia has bluetooth...

http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/groups/n-gage/default.asp

I hope I can resist this thing... For my wife's sake :twisted:

[kinged]

Looks like that honor might go to one of the new handheld game consoles. I belive the one from Nokia has bluetooth...

http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/groups/n-gage/default.asp

I hope I can resist this thing... For my wife's sake :twisted:

No what I meant is to play multiplayer linked games via Bluetooth. My ipaq 3975 has bluetooth, but no games currently supports it. The nokia has bluetooth, but it only means the phone supports bluetooth (so did sony-ericsson T68i etc), but it does not mean it has bluetooth games.