Name: The Ship
Genre: First Person Shooter
System: PC

The Ship might be one of my favorite games ever made. No, I am not joking. Graphically it will not leave you drooling, and the sound doesn’t win it any awards, but none of that will matter once you start playing.

Let me explain The Ship before I give any more of my opinions. The game takes place on different cruise ships during what appears to be the 1940’s. The passengers on the ship were invited by a mysterious benefactor who apparently kidnapped everyone’s families and is threatening to kill them - or something. He is forcing each person to take a part in what essentially is a massive game of Clue.

On the ship there are dozens of people; most of them have a person they need to assassinate. They need to find the person, kill them, and not get caught. They start with no weapons and can only use ones found throughout the level. Here is the catch: someone is out to kill them, too.

The game is utter chaos while everyone tries to kill their target with mostly improvised weaponry (pool cues, kitchen knives, mannequin leg,) and sometimes more traditional weaponry (flare gun, Tommy gun, wallet bomb). Guards and security cameras watch most of the ship, and if you are caught you are sent to the brig for an amount of time decided by your crime. In large online games or, better yet, large LAN games, the game is easily some of the most fun of any game ever. Each person needs to kill someone and no one will give away their target. The game does not give your character the same name as your user-name, so distinguishing between players and random NPCs is nearly impossible. The rounds go by with each person watching their back and trying to find the best way to kill their target.

Oh, and one more thing: you might have to take a piss.

The game also throws “needs” into the mix. “Needs” are just like in The Sims, where your character will gain the urge to wash their hands if they use the bathroom, socialize if they murder someone (you will be doing this a lot), get a drink if you are thirsty, use the bathroom if you are full, and sleep if you run around too much. This keeps players from hiding in a room after they assassinate their target. The Ship feels real – more real than other games I have played. These are just a few of the features of the game but there are literally dozens of other amazing gameplay mechanics I won’t even get into. I love this game and highly suggest that you: