First person shooter frag matches all seem to boil down to one or two categories: 1) a sci-fi adventure with aliens, or 2) Nazi occupied Germany. While it can be fun running around alien worlds or decayed war ruins of a foreign country, at times they can start to merge together, and feel a bit dull and boring. Thankfully, a first person shooter will come around that has never been done before, and manages to mix it all up to create a new and intriguing game concept. However, that doesn't always mean it is necessarily an amazing game. Welcome to The Ship, and prepare to say bon voyage…potentially for good.

The ship comes in a single player and multiplayer variety pack, though multi is obviously where it is all at. Still, there is an interesting single player game, and though while short, introduces the game world and sucked me in initially; it's a shame that a more fleshed out and longer journey couldn't have been developed.

You play as a guy who finds himself onboard a huge, multi-deck ship, with many other patrons confused and in your exact same predicament. Along comes Mr. X, a wealthy and sadistic wacko who has put all of the patrons on the board to play a game – a game of death and murder. You see, each patron is a player who is both the hunter and the hunted. Before each round, you'll be given the name of someone you need to kill, and while you're going after them, someone is equally coming after you. As a single player game, you'll obviously try and kill your target, meanwhile trying to stay alive and find a way off this boat and ending this game.

The setup is really good, it's just the execution is terrible. For instance, I thought I'd really have to scour the ship to find my first target, but she was right outside my cabin, asleep on the couch, and all it took was one axe chop to the head; not exactly thrilling action. Soon after I found myself running errands for a guy, and they were the same errands over and over: sit at a bar, get a target, go after them, kill them, steal money, and give some to bartender. It didn't seem as if I had played long, maybe just an hour at max, and yet I was already through most of the game's chapters. Another problem was my hunter always came at me at the exact same point, like clockwork each and every time, which takes much of the randomness and worry out of the game. Combat with them was also very uneven, as death usually came either too quick for them or too quick for me.

Multiplayer is obviously what the game is really all about, as true humans and their paths on a ship would be random, and not controlled and point based like the AI of the game. The main game modes of the multiplayer include The Hunt (plays out like that of the single player game), Elimination Mode (the winner is the last one left alive while playing the game), Duel Mode (challenge another player to a one-on-one fight), and Deathmatch Mode (like a normal deathmatch game, though with the rules of The Ship in play).

Beyond the premise and the setting of the game, there are several different things that make this anything but your traditional FPS for fragging. For starters, the action is a lot slower paced, as there are no constant sprints, and you don't clip through the corridors of the ships at any breakneck speed like in some games like Unreal Tournament. You can still sprint, but only for certain bursts of time, but otherwise everything is very deliberately paced and methodical. The weapon choice is also unique, as you must find weapons across the ship. Yes, guns are still a factor, but are more hard to come by, so you'll be picking up things like emergency axes and whatever other objects you can find sitting around you can brandish as a weapon. Kills with certain weapons will also make you more money to add to your bank, as a kill with an axe, since it is more creative, might get you a few hundred dollars more than a regular kill with a pistol. You also can't randomly attack and kill people, as you need to make sure that no security cameras are looking at you or there are no witnesses, or else you'll have to go to jail and stay there for a short time.

The most interesting gameplay mechanic is The Sims-esque situation of having to balance several different needs, all the while you are still trying to kill your target and not be killed in the process. You'll need to eat, drink, sleep, socialize, be entertained, have good hygiene, and go to the bathroom when needed. A ticking clock need emblem will change color to show when things need top priority, and if they aren't met, they will cost you in combat, as they may leave you open and vulnerable to attack. Of course, fulfilling your needs can also leave you vulnerable for attack, so you really need to plan properly and wise. Many of your needs will also take money, which means you'll need to kill people to keep your bank going, so you can pay for your needs. You'll have to buy meals or snacks from vending machines, drinks from the bars, etc. You'll also have to take routine showers, wash your hands after going to the bathroom, take naps, and talk to people all to keep you in fighting form.

The sound works well at establishing the world onboard these ships, because you'll hear old music from the era, and people have very exaggerated, but often fitting, voices that go with the semi-lighthearted atmosphere of the game. The sound of the ships chugging through the water, the using of elevators, and the wielding of bludgeoning objects are also rendered nicely. The environments and characters go for a bit more Pixar human look rather than straight-up perfect real world recreation. With that said, we've always been Pixar fans, so we enjoy the graphical stylings of the game. The levels and rooms of the ship are also really detailed, and feature some bright and cheerful settings, though death is still happening all around.

Though the game is good, it fails to really grab us and impress us. The gameplay ideas and story are unique, so we give them props for that, it's just the single-player game isn't long enough, things move a bit too slowly, and the controls and overall new gameplay mechanics don't merge perfectly to meld into one truly special game. Still, if you are looking for something beyond aliens and Nazis when it comes to your first person shooters, you might not find your journey on the open seas such a bad time at all.

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