Gunboat

"A lot of good aspects to this game ... just not put together right."

Gunboat was a game I was nearly talked out of buying. I was in a Radio Shack with my parents, and I desperately wanted a new game for my Turbo Grafx 16. I had the choice between some Tennis game, and this. I thought ''Woah, this war game sounds cool!'' Graphics were said to be awesome, and gameplay was supposed to be out of this world. At the time, I was rather young, and didn't really understand how to play the game. Naturally, I hated it. Now when I play it, I can appreciate a bit more. Not a whole lot, but more nonetheless.

Gunboat is a game based on ''the war''. You travel from Vietnam, to Colombia, et cetera to try and be the American War hero. Obviously, this war is being fought on the water with various weapons, and commanders. It's up to you, the player, to decide on how the war ends. Several weapons are used for certain reasons, and different strategies are needed for every mission. This makes for one great sounding game. Alas, it doesn't quite deliver like it should. I admit, I was dissapointed with this game when I took it home.

This game isn't the most fun I've had in years. The time I did spend playing this game could be forgotten. The basis of the game is great, but it didn't live up to my expectations. The game is hard. I'm not saying I dislike the game because it is hard, but it's impossible. You have trouble telling what to do next, or what you're currently doing. On the screen, you sometimes have trouble figuring out what you're shooting at. Heck, even the menus are difficult to get through! As for control, everything is just hard to move. You can't really tell what you're doing. This just hurt the game.

The storyline is simple: Enter the war, and win it for the Americans! This makes for an interesting story in my opinion. For normal gamers, it doesn't give you a lot of motivation to play this game. If you love war games and such, it'll definitely be enough for you. (The storyline, not the game.)

The graphics look wonderful when you first turn on the game. There are images of actual soldiers, and weaponry, and to be honest, it blew me away. At the time, there were not a lot of games that would have these kind of pictures. However, after you begin the game, the graphics just bomb. They are horrible in-game. It's hard to make out some objects, and it gets rather frustrating. As for audio, the sound effects are all right. Nothing great, and some things are sort of annoying. The music is decent though.

Would I play this game again? Probably not. Sadly, I purchased it, and cannot get my money back. The game is certainly not addicting in the least. Whenever you do try and get hooked, you can't. It takes so long to just get into the game, and I cannot tolerate that. It would literally take you forever to conquer this game, assuming it's possible, and it certainly is not worth it. Don't waste your time.

In conclusion, this isn't the best game ever. It's one of the worst titles I've ever played, but I hold some respect for it. It is a TG16 game after all, and well, the storyline is cool. I love certain aspects of this game, and it's sort of sad that they couldn't make this game work. I'm not ashamed of this game, but I don't find myself playing it a lot. I wouldn't buy this game, but maybe it'd be worth a rent. Perhaps you'll enjoy it more than I would. But please ... don't hold your breath. And please, don't find me accountable should you dislike it!

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 03/06/04