Battleship follows elite demolitions specialist Cole Mathis as he clashes against an aquatic-based extraterrestrial peril in the sand and sea of the beautiful Hawaiian archipelago. He uses his battle command to command the ships to battle against the alien fleet at sea. The human ships at sea are the Nimitz-class carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), Iowa-class battleship USS Missouri (BB-63), fictional Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Yukon, fictional Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS John Quincy Adams, fictional Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate USS Chesapeake, and fictional Virginia-class submarine USS Laredo.
The Nintendo versions of the game follows instead the adventures of LCDR. Danny Hunter and LT. Roads and is a turn-based strategy instead of a first-person shooter.