PS1 EA Battlestations (Sony PlayStation 1, 1997)

Battlestations doesn't mess around with fancy storylines or deep, involving mission objectives; instead, it focuses all its energy in two players blowing the smithereens out of each other on open water! Either two human players or a computer-controlled opponent can play a barrage of different war games set throughout different game play options.

With a total of seventy-six action-packed missions (both single-player and multiplayer combined), game play options include the Arcade, Campaign, and War Games modes. The Arcade mode offers a no-frills ship-to-ship war simulation between you and an opponent. With the overall objective to become Fleet Admiral, players will earn points for sinking their opponent's ships and progress through ten different naval rankings.

Campaign pits man versus computer in a variety of single-player missions. Mission objectives include search and destroy operations, seeking out lost crew members, mobilizing and deploying various fleets and ships, and spine tingling one-on-one battleship rumbles. There are five different enemy commanders each with his or her own unique skills and weaknesses; Rear Admiral Evelyn Kennedy is terrifically skilled in all areas while Ballast is a patient and methodical opponent, eventually exploiting your own strategies.

Multiplayer comes in the form of War Games with twenty-six different locations and various game play options. War's objective is to destroy your adversary at all costs while retaining little to no damage; Capture the Harbor requires players to reach their opponent's harbor and deploy marines; and Capture the Flag requires the sinking of a flagship.

Game play options aside, Battlestations features a real-time 3D engine with a plethora of units and ships. There are eight heavily armed ships including the Mine Layer, Patrol Boat, Destroyer, and the obligatory Battleship. Each unit is equipped with various attack and defensive weapons including F-14s, Cruise Missiles, and Torpedoes. Additionally, players can customize fleet layouts and strategies.

So damn the torpedoes...this is Battlestations!