Toy Boat, Toi Boit - Paradox Debuts Leviathan: Warships

You know, for all their Poseidon-defying majesty, there aren't actually that many games about boats. I mean, sure, there are some sims, and World of Warships is on the way at some point, but the most recent high profile bout of virtual Boat-Fu that springs to my mind is, um, Assassin's Creed III. And those parts were super great! The rest? Not so much. But still, we need more boat games. That is my decree. And Paradox, ever the opportunistic purveyor of digital delights, has decided to heed my call. With itsy bitsy baby toy boats. They're BIG baby boats, though. Somehow. I mean, the name Leviathan: Warships doesn't really conjure up images of rubber duckies and bubble wand adventures, now does it? But then, it also doesn't really make me think of turn-based strategy, even though that's exactly what it is.

So, first things first: Paradox is developing this one with a big eye toward cross-platform play between PC, mobile, and tablets. Wait, don't leave! It actually sounds kind of promising. There's both co-op and competitive options, and all of them span each platform in whatever configuration you'd like. Plus, saves transfer between PC, Mac, iPad, and Android, kept afloat by the gentle sea of clouds that now envelops all our existences. But how does it play? Well, kinda like this:

"Leviathan: Warships is a strategic action game where players can build and customize their own fleet of warships to play with or against their friends. Play together in the co-op campaign missions against the growing Marauder threat or fight through special Challenge Missions with your friends. If you rather want to test your admiral capabilities, you can fight against your friends or foes in multiplayer skirmishes across 14 different maps."

So it sounds like a pretty standard selection of options, though I worry it could end up slightly barebones - especially given Paradox's recent track record in that respect. I do like the dedication to true, non-Windows-8-gated interaction between devices, though. Also, boats! Have I mentioned that I like boats? Oh, wait. OK, I just noticed that Leviathan's official tagline is "Ship Just Got Real."

Maybe I don't like boats anymore.