Sea Battle

A fleet of warships slowly glides across the surface, you plan every maneuver like a real admiral, and at the decisive moment the screen switches to a tense man-to-man duel. Sea Battle for the Mattel Intellivision is a fascinating blend of strategy and action that dared to be far more ambitious for its time than the typical arcade game of the early 1980s.

The game combines two layers. In the first you command your fleet on a map, position your ships and try to maneuver so as to gain an advantage over the enemy. Once a clash occurs, the game moves to a second, more action-oriented phase, where the fate of individual vessels is decided. This combination of planning and direct combat gave the game a depth that console players of the era were rarely used to. Sea Battle was moreover splendid especially in two-player duels, where it turned into a real battle of nerves.

Sea Battle was released as one of the titles for the Intellivision and fits the philosophy that Mattel built around its console. The Intellivision positioned itself as a platform for players who wanted more than just reflex arcades, and strategically oriented titles like Sea Battle or various sports simulations reinforced this reputation. The naval theme moreover perfectly suited the era's fascination with war simulations and board games like Battleship.

Culturally the game is interesting for how it tried to bridge the gap between simple arcade machines and more complex computer strategies. At a time when home consoles were still searching for their identity, it showed that even on limited hardware you could create an experience that engages the mind as much as the fingers. For many it was a title over which they spent long evenings dueling a friend.

Today Sea Battle recalls how varied the Intellivision's offering was and how boldly some developers tried to push the boundaries of what the console could handle. It is a title for players who appreciate a little thinking between the action passages.

Why play: For an unusual combination of strategic planning and action combat that makes Sea Battle one of the more thoughtful and, in multiplayer, most thrilling titles of the Intellivision.