For its budget price, it won't work if you're looking for great graphics or a lot of all-out action, but once you get into the game's wacky style of play I think you'll find it's wonderful and very satisfying.
This game is by fare one of my favorites, and for many a classic. It's somewhat dead now since so many new games have come out, but there's still a handful that play. The concept is simply awesome, no game has ever come close to this. The map is easy to follow and it's simple enough for a young adult to get into. It's a thrill that not many games give because you're constantly being stalked one or more people throughout your lifespan.
It's one of the games that you MUST play before it dies completely.
The Ship is a fresh and different slant on multiplayer death-matching; one not dependant on speed of reflexes and advanced techniques. It’s fun and innovative – something that some of the big name games dominating the charts seem to forget about every so often.
Artful and warmly considered (even the menu options are caught up in it - the "Options" menu is the "Engine Room", and the "Quit" button reads "Abandon Ship"), it's a well-formed idea that will almost certainly grow as it builds up a head of Steam.
Outerlight will patch out the inconsistencies and interface issues, and the community around it will settle. The final delight: this game will get better. The last frustration: we're being made to wait. [Sept 2006, p.83]
This is a fantastic game, be sure to play it online as the AI are not the brightest, but its still playable offline. its a shame it didn't sell so well, I only recently discovered it and Loved it. the GFX look really good for its age, cheesy, but solid gameplay make this one of the best games I have ever played. There are plans for a squeal too, so watch out for that!
The Ship is the first online battle royale video game that I can remember, a genre that became extremely popular 11 years later due to likes of PUBG and Fortnite. Agatha Christie and The Sims seem to be other influences and the game combines all these elements rather well. iT is built on source engine and has a beautiful art deco style.
The Ship multiplayer is quite distinct from single player and thus, should be reviewed separately.
Single Player
You can consider the single player mode as a tutorial for the multiplayer and beating it once will probably suffice to rank among the top in online play, as many players seem to ignore the single player campaign and jump into multiplayer with little clue as to how the game plays. That said, unfortunately the single player campaign is also quite mediocre. There is a story and in every mission, you are given some quests that you need to complete, which mostly are designed in a scripted manner. There is no point in playing it in hard difficulty, as it will only make you die instantly when enemies shoot at you. This is a problem because they almost never miss and since the game has a checkpoint autosaving system, the game can become unnecessarily frustrating. You will also find plenty of bugs, but what kept me on playing (and beating) the single player campaign was the charming humour and short duration (it can be easily finished under 6 hours).
Multiplayer
WARNING: The online mode is NOT DEAD. To reach active servers, you need to go to Steam and choose View/Servers/Game/The Ship. I can see this is not very obvious to most and many players unfortunately give up after failing to find active servers from within the game menu.
This is where the game shines. You are given a target and you need to find and follow her/him until you find the opportunity to kill. Many areas within the ship are constantly watched by cameras & security guards and drawing your weapon in those areas will send you directly to jail. In order to score higher than the other players, it is not enough to kill your victims but also kill them with higher scoring weapons designated for that particular game. Therefore, you need to search all the drawers, wardrobes in your vicinity (thus, the battle royale) to find the perfect weapon (which range from rifles to poisoned syringes, from cooking pots to pool cues…).
But what keeps players from just waiting in front of cameras and playing safe? The Sims elements are merged into gameplay to address this. All players have “needs”. They need to eat, drink, go to toilet, sleep, wash themselves, read, socialize… For instance, to wash your hands, you need to go to a washroom where there are no cameras. In order to find food, you need to search rooms also devoid of cameras and therefore, there is a high risk you will be murdered.
The Ship is not perfect and it has its flaws. But, the game is definitely unique and fun and there is nothing quite like it. Especially if you have some friends that you can play together, you will get your money’s worth.
I still believe in this, and with further tweaks it could yet become a fine murder game. Buy the pack on steam and give it a try. If you haven't played this game yet, you're missing out greatly.
Ranks in my worst 5 games of all time. The concept is good but in practice it just does not work. People do not "role play" and because of this they just run around all the time. It's just not fun.
SummaryThe Ship is primarily a multiplayer, online murder game with a unique set of game rules. The Ship is owned by the mysterious Mr X and as one of many "lucky" recipients of a free ticket you arrive on board The Ship to find there's a catch to your luxury cruise. You are coerced into a brutal Hunt to indulge Mr. X's fantasies, under threat ...