Vivendi's Navy Challenge gives battleships a lick of paint on mobile

"B1." "Miss. C3." "Miss. D2." "Miss. E1." "Miss."

Battleships was never the most exciting of games when played in old-school paper and pen form. But Vivendi Mobile believes its modern update, Navy Challenge, which boasts isometric 3D and increased strategic depth, is an entirely different kettle of submarines.

Set in the Pacific ocean in World War 2, Navy Challenge enables you to command the US, Italian, Japanese or Chinese fleet. You play turn by turn on a traditional-styled board divided in cells, and have to sink the enemy fleet before it holes all yours.

As you'd expect, opponents become more cunning as you move through the levels. But it's the new special weapons for each ship that are also unlocked as you go that promises to add real depth to the game.

Extra weapons include:

Cruise Missile (Frigate): this infamous warhead explodes when the missile hits a cell with a ship

Torpedo (Submarine): a horizontal attack that explodes when the missile hits a cell with a ship

Air Strike (Aircraft Carrier): blasts all cells in a selected 3x3 zone

Radar (Battle Ship): temporarily reveals the enemy ships in a 4x4 zone

Move Ship (TUG): enables you to move an undamaged ship to a new position

Of course, if a ship sinks, you lose its weapon.

Available in Java and Brew forms and compatible with more than 500 handsets, Navy Challenge should shortly be docking at an operator's portal or Web-based mobile games seller near you.