Warship
Gunner 2 is a strategy game of a different color. The gameplay is in
real-time, yet it doesn’t fall in line with real-time strategy games where you
select dozens of units and direct them toward various goals. It doesn’t play
like command-based games either, where you have complete or partial control
over a few individual units.
To get you
off on the right foot, more than an hour’s worth of tutorials are provided.
You can skip it, but I recommend that you don’t. If this were a third-person
action game in the vein of Tomb Raider, I’d be telling you to avoid the
tutorial at all costs. I’d probably follow up that comment with a complaint
about how much I hate tutorials. In this game, however, you will need it.
Guaranteed. I tried playing without it and was completely clueless. The
instruction manual won’t cut it – you need to see it and perform it yourself
(which the tutorial lets you do) to understand the game’s complexities.
http://download.gamezone.com/assets/old/gamezone/28/5/78/s28578_ps2_6.jpg
For
starters, Warship Gunner 2 doesn’t control like other games. It feels like it
was designed with the PC in mind, applying not one, but two camera functions.
Each one is controlled with one of the analog sticks; the left one changes are
your firing position (very precise and effective), the right one zooms in and
out. This is a bit confusing at first. I don’t know about you, but the first
thing I do when I’m playing a game is push the left stick to move my
character/vehicle or whatever it is that I’m supposed to be controlling.
To move your
ship you’ve first got to start your engines. That sounds like a cheesy line
from a racing game, I know, but it’s true here as well. Your ship is started
by pressing up on the D-pad. If you look carefully you’ll notice that the left
circular bar has moved. It’s the one toward the middle of the screen. It has a
few speed ratings, as well as an engine shutdown feature that lets you stop.
To slow, reverse, or stop your ship, simply push down on the D-pad and the
speed gauge will drop.
There are
times when you’ll want to slow your ship, and maybe even stop it, to attack an
enemy base. These are rare moments as enemies are in great abundance, are
pretty relentless, and aren’t very easy to kill. (Unless you’re playing in
"very easy" mode. Don’t bother.)
The D-pad
also lets you control your ship’s movement by pushing left or right. Remember
the second camera stick I mentioned? It zooms in and out, also by pushing left
or right. Pushing up on that stick changes the game to a special view that
lets you examine your enemies more closely. You can also use this view to
lock-on to enemies for a more precise hit.
As much as I
appreciate the wealth of options, with so many similar motions applied to
different buttons, the D-pad, and two analog sticks, there is a reasonable
(but unpleasant) amount of room for mistakes. I couldn’t tell you how many
times I pushed the wrong button or the wrong stick, primarily because I got
bored of keeping track. It gets better with time, as any complex game does.
But to maximize the control’s potential, this game would’ve had have been
developed for the PC. Or have mouse and keyboard support for PS2, if that’s
even possible.
It’s easy to
tell when to attack because your crosshairs start flashing whenever an enemy
is within range. This does not mean that a cannon or torpedo is guaranteed to
hit. Terrain effects the situation, as do other environmental factors.
Structures also pose a barrier. The enemy is generally clustered together, but
you may have to blast through a lot of buildings to get to the main target.
Your ship’s position, location, and mobility have an impact on every attack.
The same is
true for submarines. In Warship Gunner 2 you get to travel deep under water to
avoid detection and enemy attacks, then surface for a deadly strike. Players
will encounter a control change during these missions this mechanic. Press L2
to dive; press R2 to submerge. Anyone who’s played the game long enough to get
to this point shouldn’t have a problem. You’ll also get a taste of the
submarine controls during the tutorial.
Enemies are
relentless and literally attack from every angle. You can’t stay stationary
for more than a second without being hit. And believe me when I say that every
hit counts. Different parts of the ship can be damaged, affecting your speed,
maneuverability, and ability to attack. There’s a repair function that’ll heal
your ship’s wounds, but using it shuts down your engines. No attacks allowed
during this period, until that portion of the ship has been repaired.
Its only
downside is the stale period in between battles where you’re traveling from
one target to the next. It doesn’t take too long, but the raft rides of The
Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker came to mind. Nice in theory, and certainly
more realistic than the crammed-together games of previous generations. But to
go from excitement and intensity to a slow ship ride – even if it only takes a
minute or two – takes away from the rest of the game’s enthrallment.
Another,
more welcome slowdown comes from the game’s design and R&D portions. Here
you’ll build a ship from the ground up using over 1,000 different components.
Weight, speed, and armor come into play, as do other factors that can turn a
hunk of metal into a glorious masterpiece. Or the complete opposite. If you’re
not within the weight requirements the ship cannot be made. Vital parts must
be stretched over more than 54% of the ship’s length to be "full"; if it’s
anything less it’s considered "core."
These are
just a few of the things you’ll have to worry about when designing your ship.
R&D is almost as complex, and the rewards are almost as satisfying: new parts
with unlimited usage. Parts acquired at sea (you know how enemies just love to
leave them behind for you to snatch!) will run out over time, but if you learn
how to build a part, it’s yours forever.
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Gameplay: 7.3
Warship Gunner 2
gets very involved. It’s not hard to fall in love with the combat, as this is
one of the most satisfying wars ever waged on water. Battles are an intense
mixture of preparation, diversion, and head-on attacks. The constant need for
your attention rarely gives you the chance to breathe. Getting past the
controls isn’t easy, but they’re not frustrating enough to deter gamers that
are serious about the genre.
My only
serious complaint – and primary reason for not scoring this game higher – is
it that has several highly repetitive missions. It’s a great experience, but
it’s impossible not to feel the repetition sink in. Don’t let that deter, just
know that the game isn’t perfect.
Graphics: 6.5
Nowhere near the
beauty of other PS2 strategy games. The water looks nice, as does the ship on
top. The environments, however, are a whole other story. They lack polygons,
which in turn means they lack realism. Explosions are alright, but there
weren’t any visual moments to get excited about.
Sound: 7.5
War music is
tough to write when everyone already has a favorite soundtrack in mind (Saving
Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, Medal of Honor: Frontline, etc.). Despite the
odds, Warship Gunner 2’s composer wrote a solid score that fits the game’s
oceanic environments. It has its repetitive moments, but prevails with a
number of war-driven tracks.
The sound,
however, isn’t too spectacular. Where are the annoying voice-overs I expect to
hear with every cutscene? Strangely, this game doesn’t have any. It’s rare
that a PS2 game will tell its tale via text and character art. I know I’d be
complaining if they had included voice-overs and they sucked, but there are
times when the game is too quiet.
In battle
the sound isn’t spectacular or particularly disappointing. It’s just kind of
there. Explosions are typical for the generation, as are the sounds of gunfire
and other, more powerful weaponry.
Difficulty: Medium/Hard
There’s a “very
easy” mode that dummies the difficulty down to nothing, but why would you want
to take away from one of the game’s strengths?
Concept: 8.0
This one takes
its own path, sailing the high seas at a time of war. The controls are
complex, yet the gameplay is action-oriented. The tactics employed during
combat are crucial to your success. But they may not be as crucial to your
success as the time spent preparing your current ship, or a new ship, for the
mission. That’s where a lot of Warship Gunner 2’s strategy comes from.
Overall: 7.3
Warship Gunner 2
is a lengthy strategy game with a fair learning curve. It’ll take you an hour
to understand the controls and combat system; it could take twice as long to
grasp the massive ship-building system. Battles are action-oriented, but that
doesn’t mean the game is free of slow, real-time moments. The massive
environments were as cool as they were annoying. Spinning the camera around
and seeing nothing but water makes you feel like a tiny ship in an enormous
world. Having to travel from one location to the other – in real-time – isn’t
all that exciting. I’ll take the good with the bad, because overall this has
been a satisfying experience.
