Battle Shark is a first-person shooter which has the player looking through a 'periscope' in order to destroy the enemies. This game features simulated damage whenever the player gets hit by either an enemy torpedo or a missile.
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A somewhat dull naval rail shooter.
(Taito Legends)
Kinda neat but it feels like the sort of arcade game where the proper experience has to be on actual hardware
Kinda neat but it feels like the sort of arcade game where the proper experience has to be on actual hardware
One day while browsing around in one of the barcades in my town, I saw the arcade machine for the game Battle Shark, and just from looking at it, I was immediately intrigued. Not only does the name sound somewhat cool (albeit a little generic), but the arcade machine itself was pretty unique, having a submarine periscope that you would use to view the game as if you were actually firing from a submarine (even though it isn’t effective at doing that), while firing shots from a yoke-like controller, and for an arcade game from 1989, it looked pretty impressive and inviting. So, I decided to check it out to see how it was, and thankfully, it wasn’t all just for show, as I found myself having a good time with the game. I would say it is a pretty decent game, held back by a few factors that plague plenty of games around this era, but for a game that only lasts around 20 minutes, it is a neat distraction.
The story is your somewhat average video game war story, but this one takes place in World War III, so I’m glad to see what’s gonna happen whenever that does go down, the graphics are pretty good, with all of the objects and enemies seen in the game having a great amount of detail, the music is alright, with the accompanying sound effects and voice lines being pretty impressive, the control is extremely simple, but it at least works, even if the aiming can be a little wonky sometimes, and the gameplay is also extremely simple, but again, it does serve as a pretty good distraction.
The game is a first-person-rail-shooter, where you take control of the Battle Shark (which is not a shark that shoots torpedoes, unfortunately), travel through various warzones either on or under the water, take out the many enemy vessels that will try to take you out, shoot powerups and health items along the way to help you out, and take on plenty of gargantuan bosses throughout the game. This is the first time I am properly playing an arcade rail shooter, so for the most part, I didn’t mind the lack of originality to be found within the game, and I still ended up having a good time with it. What also helps with the fun I had was, again, with the arcade machine itself, being so unique compared to others that I have seen before.
Of course, there were some problems that I had with the game, whether they be general problems or personal ones. For my general problems, this game falls into a lot of the trappings that these old arcade games tend to fall into, that being how extremely repetitive they can be. Sure, it can be fun, shooting up all of the enemy ships, helicopters, mechanical dragons (yes, really), and what have you, but it doesn’t really take the gameplay anywhere further then that, which the game doesn’t necessarily need, but it did kind of take away from the quality. As for the personal problem that I had, I was having a pretty good time with the game for the most part, but then here comes the second-to-last stage with a boss rush, and I finally had something to complain about. To be fair, this boss fight wasn’t really that long, and it did have a new boss at the end of it, but even still, it is still unnecessary.
Overall, while not that in-depth or exciting, Battle Shark was still a neat, visually appealing distraction that I am happy that I tried out, even if I am probably never going to touch it again. If you happen to stumble by it yourself in an arcade, go ahead and give it shot. You may end up having fun with it.
Game #296
The story is your somewhat average video game war story, but this one takes place in World War III, so I’m glad to see what’s gonna happen whenever that does go down, the graphics are pretty good, with all of the objects and enemies seen in the game having a great amount of detail, the music is alright, with the accompanying sound effects and voice lines being pretty impressive, the control is extremely simple, but it at least works, even if the aiming can be a little wonky sometimes, and the gameplay is also extremely simple, but again, it does serve as a pretty good distraction.
The game is a first-person-rail-shooter, where you take control of the Battle Shark (which is not a shark that shoots torpedoes, unfortunately), travel through various warzones either on or under the water, take out the many enemy vessels that will try to take you out, shoot powerups and health items along the way to help you out, and take on plenty of gargantuan bosses throughout the game. This is the first time I am properly playing an arcade rail shooter, so for the most part, I didn’t mind the lack of originality to be found within the game, and I still ended up having a good time with it. What also helps with the fun I had was, again, with the arcade machine itself, being so unique compared to others that I have seen before.
Of course, there were some problems that I had with the game, whether they be general problems or personal ones. For my general problems, this game falls into a lot of the trappings that these old arcade games tend to fall into, that being how extremely repetitive they can be. Sure, it can be fun, shooting up all of the enemy ships, helicopters, mechanical dragons (yes, really), and what have you, but it doesn’t really take the gameplay anywhere further then that, which the game doesn’t necessarily need, but it did kind of take away from the quality. As for the personal problem that I had, I was having a pretty good time with the game for the most part, but then here comes the second-to-last stage with a boss rush, and I finally had something to complain about. To be fair, this boss fight wasn’t really that long, and it did have a new boss at the end of it, but even still, it is still unnecessary.
Overall, while not that in-depth or exciting, Battle Shark was still a neat, visually appealing distraction that I am happy that I tried out, even if I am probably never going to touch it again. If you happen to stumble by it yourself in an arcade, go ahead and give it shot. You may end up having fun with it.
Game #296