Although the premise behind Naval Ops: Warship Gunner may seem pretty straight forward at first, it isn't quite what it seems to be. This fast paced real time action/thoughtful strategy design game just so happens to take place in a parallel universe. You and your boat have been transported to a universe not unlike our own, filled with the technology of the past, present, and future at your disposal. Sound a little odd? Surprisingly, this little twist is a good thing. It adds more depth to the game then your regular run of the mill WWII game. Of course if regular run of the mill WWII games is more your speed, then you are given the option to play with weapons of that time period only. As the game begins, you are a stranger in a strange world and who has teamed up with a group called the Freedom Forces to help in their battle against the increasing threat from an enemy known as the Empire. Not the most original of names and don't expect to see any Star Destroyers flying by. There is another side to the run and gun, or rather float your boat gameplay found in this game. As the missions are played out in the Battle Phase, in between missions you use the money you earned from previous missions to upgrade your boat in certain areas of technology and buy parts in the Strategy Phase.

While Naval Ops is a good looking game, the scenery can get a little repetitive. Being surrounded by endless expanses of water level after level doesn't help much in that regard. The enemy boats don't look threatening at all; but in later levels when the enormous ships come after you, they are as gorgeous as they are deadly. The Skies reflect the time of day very well whether it is a bright sunny afternoon or a cloudy dull grey morning. The water reflects the sunlight and is transparent enough to see the subs as they slip under you. The land masses that you encounter along the waters edge are similar to the small bases and cities found in MechWarrior games, where it just seems to be a few buildings here and there for no real purpose other than to provide a backdrop to a missile launcher or a gun placement. Explosions are satisfying and the chunks of plating and debris that fly off when you are hit cause a sense of dread as they fly by, and bring a smile to your face when you are the one causing the damage. The varied weather patterns such as rain and crashing waves on the rough seas help add some variety to the graphics with darkened skies as well as night time sneak attacks and missions at the crack of dawn.

In between each mission you are given the chance to purchase an entirely new vessel ranging from regular Destroyers up to the powerhouse Battle Carriers or just splurge on new parts for your current boat. Also you can just spend your money on upgrading certain areas of your ships technology such as armament for superior firepower or metallurgy for increased defense. You can also pick up new parts from other ships you destroy in battle. When you have purchased the parts you would like to use on your boats you can enter the design area and customize your boat the way you like as long as it is within the weight and space limits. To build your boat you can either use the automatic builder where you will specify a number of points to use in each area of the technology categories and the game will build the best ship it can for you within your limits. Manually building your ship takes a bit of time to learn but thankfully there is a tutorial to help you through the design steps. It is worth the extra time to learn to customize your ship yourself, as it is much better then having the game do it since you can come up with some unreal creations that cause devastating damage to the enemy. After you are done with your designing, you can use the camera to take a fly by of your newly constructed boat to see how it looks. When you are ready to deploy, a mission briefing will play to inform you of your next mission by showing you the objectives and warning you of impending dangers.

The Battle Phase of the game is where the action lies, and there is no shortage of it. If you are expecting realistic controls of your boat in this game, you won't find them. If you want it to take ten minutes to turn your ship around, then you may want to try a warship simulator. The boats in Naval Ops can stop on a dime and turn quick to make some pretty evasive maneuvers from incoming fire. Binoculars are used to spot incoming boats and subs in the distance which can then be switched over to the crosshair for the big guns that are your main weapon of attack, although most boats come equipped for all occasions. Machine guns are used for torpedoes while rockets and depth charges are always handy for those pesky submarines that try to sneak up on you. The onscreen HUD is very easy to navigate and is very informative telling you everything about your ship such as the required heading but other useful things such as damage taken and what is inoperable due to the damage. Enemy vessels and mission objectives are also displayed as well as messages pertaining to the mission at hand. For some missions you will need to customize your boat accordingly. It can make the difference between a mission being very easy or very hard.

There are plenty of missions to keep you occupied and the building stages can take a large chunk of your time if you care to get elbow deep into it. Each mission that is thrown at you is different in it's own but always involves blowing something up, be it a convoy of transport boats or a pack of submarines or even a mammoth SuperShip. There are also some missions where you need to protect your new found friends from attacks by, again, blowing the Empire out of the water. One frustrating part of this game is after you complete a mission objective, you need to exit the battle area which requires you to reach the edge of the map. If you happen to get destroyed while making a run for the exit, you have to replay the entire mission over again. Frustrating indeed. Other than that, there really wasn't much to complain about in this game except for the absolutely most annoying sound of a dog barking (or so it sounds like) whenever you hit the go back button. It will drive you up the wall in no time when building your boat.

As you play through the game in your missions against the Empire and get more weapon upgrades and technological advances, Naval Ops: Warship Gunner becomes a more and more enjoyable game. If you don't like the idea of having to buy parts and designing your own warship then this game might not be your cup of tea, but if you like the challenge of building the most powerful warship on the high sea to play through numerous diverse missions then this is definitely a game for you.