The Ship - Introduction
The Ship is one of the latest titles available to purchase through Steam and utilises Valve Software’s source engine. This multiplayer murder fest from U.K developer Outerlight blends the graphical style of the art-deco period with cartoon-styled animations, reminiscent of the Broken Sword titles, whilst taking the gamer on a paranoid and intense cloak and dagger trip that leaves you with sweaty palms and an appetite for murder.
The Ship is set on board a cruise ship (there are six in total) where, as a passenger, you’re on the hunt to track down and murder specifically set targets using any weapon that you can lay your hands on. The story behind the game tells us that a character by the name of ‘Mr.X’ has handed out free tickets for a luxury cruise, but really it’s part of his ploy to lure you onto his ship so that he can set up a twisted game that involves all of the passengers hunting down specific targets and slaughtering them for no specific reason. If you refuse, MR.X will apparently kill you and your family.
This wishy-washy background story doesn’t really matter as it’s really down to whether you'll actually enjoy the game or not and The Ship does have that addictability factor, despite its repetetive nature.
Click for larger imageThere are four game modes available, hunt, elimination, duel and deathmatch. Apart from the duel mode, which is a one on one battle, the servers allow for a maximum of 16 passengers to board the bizarre cruise liner and hunt each other down for cash rewards.
Click for larger imageThe game begins with the allocation of a specific mark/quarry that you'll need to hunt down and kill. At the same time another passenger will have been given your name to track down. It’s a paranoia induced ride that sees you eyeing up every passenger that you encounter; just in case they’re about to bury a fire axe in the back of your head. The twist is that, whilst you can use the map to locate your quarry, you have no idea who your pursuer is, you can only guess. So, if there’s a suspicious looking guy that seems to be following you or hanging around like a bad smell waiting for you to turn your back or enter a area that’s not covered by the numerous security cameras, it’s likely that it could be your attacker. If you think you know who your attacker is you can kill then in self-defence before they deliver the lethal blow, thus enabling you to concentrate on slaughtering your own quarry.
Sounds simple enough, right? There’s much more to it than that though. The six maps (cruise ships) on offer are littered with security cameras. If you draw your weapon whilst in full view you’ll spend time in jail and lose money that is vital to your survival.
