The Steam Review

Picking out human players from the throngs of innocuous NPCs is only the first step on the road to offing them…

I’m sure many of you will recognise the Half-Life 1 mod The Ship, if only by name. It was a quirky deathmatch-but-not in which players became assassins, given a target to kill before the round ends, with the macabre “Mr. X” overseeing proceedings and rewarding successful killers, his cash prize sized on the ‘style’ of their take-out. Things became more complex when the cruise liner on which each game is set is filled with NPCs, and when you realise that you’ve got to avoid the player assigned to you as well.

“The Ship is not just about killing though, the trick is to kill cleverly, to select the right tool for the job, to find your quarry and to despatch them in style without being caught by security. Players who broadcast their actions will end up dead, fined, or doing time in the ships brig. Players also have to take care of themselves; they must eat, drink, sleep, wash, use the bathroom, socialise and entertain themselves. These needs make for an interesting interactive and immersive world, and they ensure people are in constant motion while providing many opportunities for stealthy murders.”

As you may have already guessed, The Ship is taking the fashionable ‘mods to riches’ route with a vastly improved Source version (in fact the mod release was only ever a preview), The Ship Online, winging its way to your wallets this June. An interview with developers Outerlight can be found on TotalVideoGames.com.