By Remko Molenaar (Proxzor), OnRPG Journalist
Behind the closed bars that try to fend off the masses of naval warfare fans, I was able to test the game out in one of the first closed beta sessions. I have never been a particularly big fan of naval-based titles, not that I don’t respect those that serve their countries on the open seas but I can’t see it ever translating into an engaging title. But when I caught my first glimpse of Navy Field 2’s gameplay I thought they might have found the approach to make it work.
The last few years we have seen the pendulum swing towards realism to create simulations of actual warfare to try and give people the same experience that the real heroes that fought in all the wars before witnessed. Navy Field 2 is a prime example of Massive Multiplayer Online Tactical Simulation that you can enjoy with other players in large scale battles with up to 64 players at once. I was ready to take control of my own fleet, and to achieve victory and wealth together with my chosen crew against this stiff competition.
Now before you take control of your first real ship, the game will teach you the most basic mechanics so you have a chance navigating your way through the game’s unique UI. Once you have a mastery of the dozens of menus, you are ready to man your first ship and have a go at one of the easiest missions in the game. Unfortunately for me, patience is the name of the game and my curiosity got the better of me while waiting for some action. My mission was to defend a base until the main fleet arrived to secure it. Instead I let my crew drift off exploring the coastline and before I knew it, I realized we had been heading the opposite way from the objective. Nonetheless, the mission wasn’t failed yet, and I had to turn my ships 180 degrees. Well that’s easier said than done turns out! That part about the realism? You’ll feel it trying to take a battleship through a u-turn. And turning around near land is also not a smart thing to do, unless you want to get stuck like I managed to do a couple of times.
The mechanics of operating your ship on the ocean are quite simple once you get the hang of it. You use the WASD to move and steer your ship, and you can also adjust each ship’s speed if you want to micromanage to outmaneuver a more skilled opponent. When you are done with your battle or mission, you are shown the information of how well you did and how much experience you earned. All the ships that are available in the game can be leveled up and equipped with some better tools to strengthen your vessel. The crew can also be upgraded and you should value combining the best men you can muster as your overpowered ship will be quite useless if you’re stuck with McHale’s Navy.
Shooting your cannons and other utilities that you have equipped on the ship can be done via a typical hotkey system. After you select the appropriate hotkey you’re just a targeting click away from shooting your weaponry at the designated area. From torpedos to depth charges, you can acquire just about any naval weaponry you can imagine to complement your arsenal and counter your enemies’ plans. Though even with the perfect strategy you’ll find timing and aim is vital to excelling at Navy Field II. This takes a lot of practice and experience and was incredibly hard for the first few hours I spent in the game.
How it works is your cursor offers a crosshair of where your shots will land, but it’ll also show little dots of where you are shooting. It’s not readily apparent what these two crosshairs represent and even now I believe only one of these represents the real area of impact while the other one tries to confuse the heck out of you. And as you can imagine, the combination of moving your ship around and shooting the enemy is a hard and tricky thing to do. And then the random element of having some maniacs in your team steer in front of your guns while lining up your shot makes Navy Field II even more challenging since friendly fire is enabled, and is not too kind to Leeroy Jenkins shipmates that get in your way. On that note, sailing up close to an enemy ship is also not advised. One well-placed cannon shot can bring down your lovely ship with its crew, and you don’t want to sleep with the fishes now do you? Well some people do, and some just want to see the world, or rather, ships burn.
I must admit that Navy Field 2’s biggest weakness is on the visual front, and as a simulation it’s rather disappointing. I honestly expected to see higher quality animations when you are bringing down enemy ships, but I guess I just came in with too much hype of what the game had to offer. Though in their defense, it can be a challenge creating a graphical masterpiece when your only factors on hand are metal cruisers and the open seas.
 
Conclusion
During closed beta I can say I enjoyed myself more than I expected to. This game certainly has some problems but with Nexon backing it I have hopes that it will receive the proper funding to up its quality as time goes on. Unfortunately there are plenty of buy to play PC and Console simulations in this field that offer a much more sophisticated game, though perhaps not quite as massive in scale as Navy Field II. Sure the game goes in-depth with customization features, but I found the gameplay itself and the graphics just to be quite plain. It’s saving grace is that there is so little competition in the free market for this niche, but with companies like Wargaming and Gaijin Entertainment eyeing the western market, that might not be the case for much longer.
For more info on Navy Field 2 be sure to check out our sister site MMOHut’s First Look Video.
