Reviewed: February 15, 2007
Reviewed by: Mark Smith

Publisher
Eidos Interactive

Developer
Eidos Interactive

Released: January 30, 2007
Genre: Action-Strategy-Simulation
Players: 1-8
ESRB: Teen

9
9
9
9
9.0

Supported Features

Battlestations: Midway is a totally unique experience that puts you behind the wheel of a PT boat one minute then chasing down Jap Zeroes in your Mustang the next. While the story doesn’t really grab you, it does make the game more personal by putting you in the dual roles of Navy commander and Air Force pilot as you fight your way through 11 large-scale campaign scenarios that span many of the major events of WWII, starting with that fateful date at Pearl and climaxing at the Battle of Midway.

If you prefer strategy you could, in fact, play the entire game from the map view, ordering your pilots and commanders around the map, assigning waypoints and issuing attack orders. For the most part the AI is good enough to get the job done, but you will most likely have an easier (and more fun) time winning the war if you take a more hands-on approach.

At any time during any of the missions you can click on an icon on the map and instantly assume direct control over the plane, ship, or submarine represented by that icon. At first, you’ll only be viewing the AI in charge, but as soon as you touch any control that moves or fires a weapon you take control of that unit until you reprogram it from the map screen or switch to a different unit.

What this means for a lot of gamers is that you don’t necessarily have to have good gaming reflexes to play and win Battlestations: Midway. A good tactical mind combined with the internal AI will work wonders. One particular mission comes to mind where I was tasked to defend my airstrip from waves of incoming bombers. I must have tried for hours to shoot them down all myself, and in a final fit of desperation I decided to try and let the computer fly and fight while I focused on launching planes, recalling damaged fighters, and drawing attack vectors on the map. Not only did it work, I won the mission on my first try.

Battlestations: Midway is a fairly complex game for the console crowd; especially if you think you are going into a game like Blazing Angels. A multi-part tutorial teaches you everything you need to know about the map, flying, piloting a warship, and staying alive inside a sub. It’s almost too much information too fast, and by the time you actually get to pilot a warship or sub you’ll likely have forgotten what you learned so long ago. I would have much preferred an in-game training for each element as it was opened up to me through the story.

The missions get progressively more challenging as you get further into the story. At first you only have to deal with flying a plane or piloting a small boat, but later you’ll be in charge of huge warships with all sorts of damage control stations and crew assignments that you’ll need to micromanage, all the while ordering speed and course changes, targeting the enemy, and dodging their incoming fire.

Another level of difficulty is added by simply adhering to the technology of the time. Wildcats and Zeroes didn’t have lock-on sidewinders and fancy HUD’s with targeting leads. You aim by firing and watching where your tracer rounds go then adjust accordingly. If you want to sink a ship with a torpedo you had better be a good judge of distance and speed and lead your target accordingly. The same goes for projecting your artillery arcs.

There is also an entire layer of unit strategy going on throughout the game. There are more than 60 authentic WWII planes, ships, and subs and you have to know how each and every unit performs, and what their offensive and defensive capabilities are. There is a nice tactical chart that outlines the units and makes this task easier. Plus, the in-game map is invaluable, especially when you are trying to sneak your destroyer into the harbor and you can instantly see the “circle of awareness” from the enemy patrols. All of these elements combine to make for some great strategy, like sending in a decoy to draw off the patrol so you can slip in unnoticed.

You are in command of so many units it would be an impossible task without the right tools and AI. Battlestations: Midway gives you the freedom and power to group units and send them to specific locations or attack a target or assign them to defend another unit or waypoint. Nothing is more powerful than linking a destroyer with a battleship then assigning a few planes for air cover.

Game controls work surprisingly well considering you have to use the same controller to fly a plane as you use to steer a ship. Navigating the menus is fairly intuitive as is swapping between the map and live action. There are also command interfaces for launching planes from hangers and carriers as well as damage control screens for ships and subs. It all takes a while to get used to, but once you do it becomes second nature.

The story missions are fantastic and provide an increasing challenge as you rise through the ranks, both personally and in the role of Henry Walker. There is no experience or traditional upgrade system in place, but as you win each campaign your role will change as well as the equipment at your disposal.

Once the story is finished and the war is over you can immerse yourself in 12 extremely difficult Challenge Stages that put your skills to the ultimate test in Ship, Sub, and Plane missions. These are the final exams of Battlestations: Midway and far more difficult than anything you’ll experience in the main campaign. I spent three days on one plane challenge alone.

Of course all of this solo warmongering is just practice for the epic battles that await you online. There are numerous maps that cater to those who prefer planes only, or ships only, and then you have more maps that are perfectly suited for combinations of all sorts of warfare, and we’re not talking plane vs. ship or ship vs. ship here, but huge all-out wars with hundreds of functioning units onscreen in real-time.

Battlestations: Midway does cap the online modes to eight players, four to a team, or if you are a monster in micromanagement you can control the entire war machine from your tactical map view and go at it alone. Battles can be over in a few minutes, but when you get some seasoned generals all going head-to-head the war can go on for hours.

The in-game graphics are a mixed bag with some truly exceptional models for ships and planes that border on photo-realism thanks to high-res textures, bump-mapping, and subtle details like rust stains and reflective aluminum skin on the fighters. Hopefully, while you are admiring all these excellent models you’ll overlook the rather dull landscapes and repetitive water textures.

But in all fairness, Battlestations: Midway maintains a consistently smooth framerate, even with upwards of 30-40 units on the screen, plus fire, smoke, debris, and other special effects. And don’t even get me started on the gorgeous skies and variable lighting effects. Almost any scene from the game is postcard quality and presented in stunning high-def video all the way up to 1080p.

The same can be said for the voice acting as well. The command acknowledgments and random radio chatter isn't so random after 10-12 hours of gameplay. The movies all have excellent voiceovers and there is usually some sort of pre-mission and post-mission narration by Henry. Henry does sound a bit too young, especially to be rising through the ranks as quickly as he does in this particularly story.

Sound effects are powerful and totally authentic ranging from the whine of fighter plane props to the rumble of ships diesel engines or the echoing reverbs of an underwater sub. Weapons all make a distinctly accurate sound and usually result in powerful explosions that will show off your Dolby Digital setup and put your sub-woofer into overdrive.

There are 22 various Achievement point goals ranging from merely completing the campaign on various skill settings to rewards for exceptional performance with a specific type of unit or marksmanship awards. There are also several objectives reserved for online play, so only the well-rounded gamers will earn all 1000 points for this game.

Also available on PC, I’m guessing that version has better controls and probably some slightly improved visuals, but I had no trouble mastering the game with the gamepad and playing online has never been easier than Xbox Live and there is certainly no shortage of challengers and potential teammates.

Just when you thought they couldn’t put a new spin on the WWII genre, here come Eidos ready to show that three genres can exist in harmony and even work on a console. But then again, Battlestations: Midway is far from an ordinary war game. This could be the start of a whole new genre.