Naval Ops: Warship Gunner

Naval Ops: Warship Gunner is an action game from Koei in which the player doesn't just command a crew, but literally builds their own battleship — from the type of hull, through the propulsion system, to the placement of main turrets, secondary guns, and anti-aircraft armament on deck. The campaign takes place in an alternate history reminiscent of World War II, and the player goes through a series of naval battles where materials and technology salvaged from sunken enemy vessels feed directly into upgrading their own ship before the next mission, linking the combat and construction sides into a single loop.

This system of building and customization is the game's main draw — it combines real-time action control of the ship, where the player maneuvers between torpedoes and air strikes, with an almost RPG-like approach to managing equipment, which was a fairly unusual combination for a naval combat title on PS2. The graphical treatment of the sea surface, hit explosions, and the massive models of battleships lent the battles appropriate grandeur, even though the controls themselves remained more arcade than simulation, focusing on combat clarity rather than realistic sailing physics.

The game built a reputation among genre fans as a curious but enjoyable title precisely because of the freedom it gave in designing your own vessels to suit your playstyle, and it became the foundation for the sequel Naval Ops: Commander. The sheer range of available components also earned praise, letting players experiment with very different ship concepts, from fast patrol vessels to slow but extremely armored hybrids of battleship and aircraft carrier. Today it feels like an unusual but functional mix of building set and action that has few direct competitors on PS2, and it still appeals to players with a fondness for building and upgrading machinery between battles.

Why play it: Anyone with a fondness for building and upgrading machinery between battles will appreciate Warship Gunner as an unusual but functional mix of ship-building set and action that few other PS2 titles rival.