READY, AIM, FIRE! – In the car pool line!
Written: May 24 '02 (Updated May 24 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Challenging, addicting, great time killer
Cons: Great time killer!
The Bottom Line: This is a fun little diversion that our whole family loves. It works just like the old Battleship we played when we were kids, but it can go anywhere!
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| sloving's Full Review: Electronic Hand-Held Battleship |
Electronic Hand-Held Battleship has taken up permanent residence in our car for about the last year. It’s been a great diversion while I’m waiting for trains to pass, waiting in line at the bank, and mostly, while I hang out in the car pool line. But now school is almost over, so I thought it was time to move Battleship inside. Apparently my family has never realized that I kept Battleship in the door of the car, because my son and husband keep insisting that they thought it was lost forever. So, now I guess I’ll have to share again.
Most of us remember the old Battleship game from when we were kids. Each player had a grid with coordinates on it, onto which he places little tiny ships. Each ship has varying number of peg holes on it. You then took turns calling out coordinates to the other player in an attempt to find where his ships were placed. When you got a coordinate right, your opponent placed a small peg in the hole of that ship. Once you had discovered all the coordinates of a ship, that ship was sunk. The first player to sink all his opponents’ ships was the winner.
THE OBJECT OF THE GAME
Electronic Hand-Held Battleship works very similarly. In this version, you play against the computer. There is only one grid, which changes depending on whose turn it is. The computer’s five ships are placed automatically without you knowing where they are. You have the option of choosing the placement of your five ships, or letting the computer do it for you. The ships are worth varying hits. One ship is worth 5 hits, one is worth 4 hits, two are worth 3 hits, and one is worth 2 hits. There are pictures of the ships at the top of the screen, which blink to show you which ship has been hit. And the ship will disappear when it has been sunk. This helps you keep track of which ships are sunk, and which ones you, or the opponent, is still looking for.
PLAY
Play begins when you see a blinking light on the grid, which you can move around using the arrow keys. Once you have chosen a spot you want to hit, you hit the red FIRE button. If you have hit a ship, the grid lights up, the word HIT shows up at the top of the screen, and a happy little tune plays. If you miss, a different little tune plays, and the word MISS shows up at the top of the screen. Next, it’s the computers turn. He randomly takes shots at your ships. Play continues until either you, or the computer, has sunk all his opponents ships.
LEVELS AND SCORING
There are also three levels at which to play. You start out with varying numbers of points, depending upon the level you are playing at. Level 1 begins at 90 points, Level 2 begins at 95 points, and Level 3 begins at 99 points. You lose 1 point for each missile you fire, lose 2 points for each hit one of your ships take, and you gain 2 points for each ship not sunk in the game. The computer also gets “smarter” as the higher level. Fore example, when the computer hits one of your ships, his next logical move should be to fire at a spot next to it in an attempt to sink the ship. However, at Level 1, he doesn’t always do this. His moves seem totally random and not based on strategy at all. He seems to be more logical at Level 2, and at Level 3 he doesn’t miss a beat. At the higher levels you also get a second move each time you make a hit. I don’t really pay attention to the score at the end of games at all, although the computer does keep track of the high scores at each level. I’m just concerned with who sinks all the other’s ships first.
AESTHETICS
Electronic Hand-Held Battleship is about 4x5 inches, so it easily fits in a pocket, purse, or glove compartment. The case is made of a smoky gray plastic and from the backside, you can see through to the guts of the computer. The top of the game is rounded and has a sticker with some graphics and pictures of the ships and their numbers of points on it. In the middle of this rounded portion, a little screen is inset where all the action takes place. The screen itself is about 1 ½ x 2 inches. Surprisingly, it’s roomy enough to play the game with no problems at all! Underneath the rounded part of the case are all the buttons, which allow you to play. All the buttons are red and yellow, and are made of a soft rubber.
BUTTONS
The arrow keys are on the right and are bright yellow. On the bottom left is a big red ON-ENTER-FIRE key. This key turns the game on, it enters your ship's coordinates when you are placing them, and it fires at the computer’s ships. Above this keys are three tiny little red keys. The first is the MOST IMPORTANT button on the game, in this mom’s opinion. It is the SOUND button. Yes! Sound is optional! All those beeps and bleeps can get quite annoying after a while! The next button is the ROTATE/HI SCORE button. This allows you to position your ships, and shows the high scores. Finally, the NEW GAME key is pretty self-explanatory. It begins a new game! Strangely enough, there is no OFF button. The computer simply turns itself off it it’s not touched for several minutes. When you pick it back up again, it starts up where you left off, unless you press the NEW GAME button of course.
So, that’s Electronic Hand-Held Battleship in a nutshell. All of our family loves this little game, and I’ve found that it makes a great birthday gift for those hard to buy-for six and seven year old little boys. The only downside I can see to this game is that it uses strange sized watch batteries. Fortunately, it has lasted since we’ve had it, and doesn’t show any signs, yet, of giving out. I can highly recommend Electron Hand-Held Battleship as an affordable diversion that your whole family can enjoy at almost any location!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 8.88
Type of Toy: Game
Age Range of Child: 6 to 8 Years
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Epinions.com ID:
sloving
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Member: Shelly Loving
Location: Richardson, Texas
Reviews written: 192
Trusted by: 212 members
About Me:
I'm a busy SAHM still trying to teach my 6-year-old how to tie his shoes!
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