The Ship (video game)

Infobox VG
title = The Ship


developer = Outerlight
publisher =
distributor = Valve Corporation (Steam) Mindscape Group (Europe) Merscom (North America)
designer =
engine = Source
released = July 11 2006 (Steam)
September 15 2006 (Retail)
genre = First-person shooter
modes = Single player, Multiplayer
ratings = ESRB: T (Teen)
PEGI: 12+
PEGI: 11+ (FI)
platforms = Microsoft Windows
media = DVD, Steam download
requirements = 1.8 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM, DirectX 8.0 compatible graphics card or higher.
input =

'The Ship: Murder Party' is a first person shooter computer game utilising Valve Software's Source engine developed by Outerlight.The game was released on July 11 2006 on Steam with retail distribution in Europe and Australia in September, and April 10 2007 for North America. [http://www.merscom.com/corporate/ship2.php] A playable concept for The Ship was released as a modification for the game "Half-Life" in 2004.

The game is set on a 1920s recreational cruise ship. Each player is assigned a quarry, and the object is to murder him or her with nobody watching, while at the same time watching out for, and defending yourself against, your own hunter.

tory

A mysterious man named Mr. X has handed out free tickets for his luxury cruise. Little did the passengers know, they were falling into his devious trap. All the passengers are required to track down and murder another passenger. If a passenger chooses not to do so, Mr. X will kill both the passengers and his or her family.

ingle Player Story

In the single player game you are given the name of another passenger whom you must find and secretly murder. Watch for security or do time in jail.

Gameplay

Each player is given a nickname by which they are identified. This is done to make it more difficult to tell players apart from NPCs, who have similar names and look the same as normal players. Each player is assigned a quarry, whom he or she must murder. The last known location of a player's quarry is always revealed to the player. However, the appearance of the quarry is only revealed if the player converses with the quarry.

There are several different weapons with which to eliminate one's quarry. Different amounts of money are rewarded for a kill depending on how difficult it is to use the weapon and how many times it has been used. If a player murders an NPC or anyone other than his or her quarry or hunter, a cash amount - dependent on the server settings - will be deducted from his or her bank account. Players with less than a certain figure, set by the server, in their bank account will be kicked from the cruise. Various weapons can be found scattered all around the ship, such as flare guns, fire axes, firearms, knives, swords, crowbars (which state "to be used by a free man", a nod to "Half-Life"'s main character Gordon Freeman), even secret traps provided just for killing your quarry, like falling lifeboats, saunas, freezers, even a deck that turns into a 60 degree angle by command, among others. If a player is seen holding a weapon or committing a crime, he or she will be fined and incarcerated for a short amount of time.

Everyone has eight needs similar to "The Sims". Such needs are eating, drinking, sleeping, socialising, maintaining proper hygiene and using the bathroom. Some of the needs would cause impairment, such as lack of sleep would cause the player to fall asleep on the spot. Other needs could become fatal, such as thirst and hunger. If the player does not fulfill these needs, he or she will die, resulting in a loss of $1000. Needs are sated by going to restaurants, taking showers, talking with other players, etc. This forces players into situations where they are vulnerable to attack, and also attempts to prevent players from camping.

Jail

You go to jail by pulling out a weapon in front of a guard or camera. Another way is that you are spotted by eyewitnesses. If you are watched by security the eye in your HUD turns red; if not, the eye is green. The meter for trespassing counts down and you'll be fined if the count down is complete. You can bribe a guard to pull out a weapon for a limited time.

equel

Outerlight is currently working on a sequel. They have stated on their forums that it will not be called "The Ship 2", and will not take place aboard ships.

creenshot gallery

External links

; Official
* [http://www.theshiponline.com/ "The Ship"] , official website
* [http://steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=game&AppId=2400&cc=US "The Ship"] , Steam website
* [http://www.theship.jolt.co.uk/ "The Ship (mod)" official website] ; Reviews
* [http://au.gamespot.com/pc/action/theship/review.html Gamespot 8.3/10]
* [http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/ship?q=the%20ship 76% on Metacritic]
*imdb title|id=0815237|title=The Ship
* [http://www.vgrc.net/reviews-168.html Review on VGRC.net] 8 out of 10
* [http://www.pcfastlane.com/joomla/content/view/109/47/ Review on PC Fast Lane] 9 out of 10
* [http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/932682.asp The Ship at Gamerankings.com] - composite score 72.8%. Retrieved 2006-09-10.; Communities
* [http://steamcommunity.com/groups/internationaltheshipcommunity/ "International The Ship Community"] Not Official Steam Community