Naval warfare games?

[Darwock]

I started this topic to ask about this PS3 KOEI game 大航海時代 Online ～Cruz del sur～ (Uncharted Waters online)



I spotted it in the shops but had never heard of it. It piqued my interest cos I went through a bit of a Horatio Hornblower phase a month ago.. was thinking at the time how great it would be if there was a decent game where you could take command of a 'ship o' the line' and tear holes in other ships.

However I found this information that tells me enough to know it's not quite what I was hoping for. It's set a couple of centuries too early for any Battle of Trafalgar type stuff.. also I don't really want to get into another MMORPG.

It's a bit odd that a game with such strong European focus is only available in Japan & China, lol. Is anybody here familiar with the PC version? (i expect nobody is on PS3 or I might have heard of it)

So I thought instead I'd ask if anybody knows of any other games that might fit the bill... there's bound to be a ton of pirate games, but they're probably a bit lacking in cannon action.

Actually the closest match i can think for battling ships of is Skies of Arcadia, but I don't want to ever go through that again!

[abigsmurf]

There are some hardcore naval simulators on the PC (subs and battleships and whatnot). Can't think of any that are pre-WW1 though

[QualityChimp]

Ha ha, the only game I can think of is Overboard! for the PS1.



It was one of those games that I hammered the demo over-and-over but never bought the full product.

I... I don't think I'm helping you, am I? :S

[Number45]

What about Sid Meiers Pirates? Or Booty Bay (The recent Capcom PSN title)?

[mekanor]

Sid Meier's Pirates!

one of the greatest games ever (im talking about the recent one, never played the original)

seriously, check it out. think it might even be on steam nowdays

[chopemon]

If you can do a bit more modern, Battlestations Midway and Battlestations Pacific are excellent.

[Darwock]

Cheers for the suggestions, not averse to a spot of submarining either so more modern sounds good. I remember Overboard, I also used to play the demo but never the full game

[Flabio]

Empire Total War?

[yesteryeargames]

anyone picking up battlestations pacific today on 360? playe dthe demo it was goo, and i enjoyed midway

[fallenangle]

The only three console (all PS2) naval battle games I know are all modern/fantasy ones and all Koei too. Naval Ops: Warship Gunner, Naval Ops: Commander and NTSC only Warship Gunner 2. All appeared as Jap titled games first of course.

Naval Ops: Warship Gunner has a specific WW2 mode but still includes fantasy 'boss' fights. BTW in an effort to be different presumably NO: Commander fiddled with the gameplay trying to give it a more RTS flavour. It is undoubtedly the least successful of the three.

They're arcade orientated naval shooting games at heart but have added depth by including a wonderfully addictive ship design feature element. WSG2 (the one I'd recommend) has a particularly vast unlockable/collected parts system. This allows you to customise and upgrade ship design in an almost RPG way during the game.

The shooting physics for all is particularly well done but the games are unfortunately technically and otherwise flawed. Crude story presentation, cliched anime style characters and above average but still regularly wince inducing script are also something I could have done without too.

Slowdown bites very badly when too much is going on and aspects of the game design seem exceptionally badly implemented ie. the feebleness of the aircraft render your use of carriers, except as gun platforms, utterly redundant.

However they are great entertainment if you look past the faults and there's nothing else in the naval warfare line I know like them on a console.

[gossi the dog]

Suikoden IV, whilst possibly the weakest in the series was ship based.

[Darwock]

I'm not really a PC gamer at heart, so those games fallenangle mentioned might be worth a look.. I also found out that Sid Meier's Pirates got a PSP release so that's another one I'll look out for! Older PSP games are not so easy to find in the shops though.

[Flabio]

Going back to Overboard! on the PS1, that was actually an overlooked gem of a game. Well worth a play if you can find it, not many pirate ship based top down shooters in the world...

[Golgo]

There's 'Pirates: The Key of Dreams' on WiiWare, which is another topdown pirate shooter. A blatant rip of Overboard, by the looks of it. I've never played it, though. Although enjoyed Overboard demo from Official PSM coverdisk.

[Number45]

Going back to Overboard! on the PS1, that was actually an overlooked gem of a game. Well worth a play if you can find it, not many pirate ship based top down shooters in the world...

I played this a lot, but bizarrely I can't remember if it was the demo or I owned the game.

Darwock, isn't Sid Meiers Pirates for the PSP available as a download on one of the stores? I have a sneaking suspicion it is, although I can't check at the moment.

EDIT: It's on the UK store on the PS3, for £14.99.