14 DAY TRIAL // 
The deadliest conflict in the history books was definitely the Second World War. Between 1939 and 1945 the global population has decreased by over 62 millions (that's about 2.5%; also take into consideration that about 37 millions of the casualties were civilians). Spanning pretty much of the whole globe, World War II brought face to face two opposing factions - the Allied and the Axis. The theatres of war included Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa, Middle East, Mediterranean, the Atlantic, Asia and the Pacific. This bloodbath was over the years the setting and main source of inspiration for a countless number of creations and the gaming industry is among the top "consumers". At the end of January 2007 Eidos Interactive released an innovative hybrid of action and real-time strategy game - Battlestations: Midway. Eidos is well-known for game series such as Tomb Raider, Hitman, Commandos, Deus Ex or Thief so BS: M was bound to be a title to be on the lookout for.
Story Battlestations: Midway is set in the Pacific Theatre of WWII, following the story of Henry Walker's rise through the ranks from the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor to the Battle of Midway. You will play the part of this ambitious Navy recruit that shows up at Pearl Harbor just in time for the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941. They say there's no quicker way to rise in ranks but when in times of war. The blaze of death carried him to some of the most notable warfronts including the Battle of the Philippines, the raid on Balikpapan, the Battle of Tulagi, the Battle of Coral Sea and eventually the Battle of Midway. The game is not only focused on the military events, but it also tells the story as seen from the eyes of the recruit (managing a patrol boat) that goes up in ranks until eventually becoming captain of the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier.
Concept The single player campaign is composed of 11 missions where you'll be able to command a good variety of ships as well as aircrafts and even head into battle by taking control of any of them. The extra 12 challenge missions will allow you to concentrate on the different type of units on both the side of the barricade - US and Japanese. The multiplayer will definitely prove the most challenging (as always).
While the choice of planes is enjoyable (including the F4F Wildcat fighter, the TBD Devastator and the B-17 Flying Fortress), the variety of warships and submarines is even better. You'll be able to enjoy (among others) the speed and high maneuverability of the Fletcher Class destroyer, use the amazing firepower of the King George V. Class battleship and launch your planes from the massive Yorktown fleet carrier. The Narwhal Class submarine will allow you to rule from underneath the water and pose a good threat to any unwary enemy that doesn't enjoy the luxury of sonar and anti-sub weaponry.
You'll have to order your squadrons around and at the same time engage the battle from the cockpit of one of the planes or from the deck of your ships. You'll face the feared Japanese Zero fighters, Betty the Japanese queen of the skies level bomber, the dogfight champion Aichi D3A known as Val and others. The Imperial Japanese Navy takes advantage of the firepower onboard its Fubuki Class destroyers, the Akagi and Kaga large carriers as well as the biggest, best armored and most powerfully armed ship ever built - the Yamato Class battleship. You can find more about the units in Battlestations: Midway along with a few hints in the tips & tricks section.
Gameplay Issuing orders as well as controlling your formation members is pretty intuitive so my advice to you would be to skip the training (tutorial) as it may give you a deformed view of the actual gameplay. Just jump into the action and start your new military career. You'll start off commanding a small patrol boat on the shores around Pearl Harbor. Just aim and fire. Well, it's actually a little more complex than that since you also have to keep in mind that everything is moving so you'll need to approximate the location of your target when your projectiles reach it. Don't think that just because you fire your AA guns at a plane while it's highlighted it is imperative that you hit it. War is never that easy and Battlestations: Midway succeeds in proving that wonderfully. However you could concentrate more on managing your fleet and issuing the appropriate orders that you won't need to do much aiming for yourself. The AI does a wonderful job in helping you (as well as posing a continuously increasing threat).
The whole gameplay experience is a fast paced action with strategy elements. You'll be jumping from the deck of a carrier ship to the cockpit of dive bomber lots of times. But once you gained enough ranks and you control a large enough fleet, you'll need to spend more and more time reviewing the tactical map and issuing orders. The action (when you take control of a certain unit) never ends. You'll have to do your best at every moment to cover your weaknesses while using your strengths to hit the enemy in its critical points.
Each mission has along with the main objectives, secondary as well as some secret ones (that you'll discover in case you accomplish them). If you deal with those you'll be rewarded with medals. Another nice aspect is that you can even try to outmatch yourself since there is a score for your every completed mission. The amount of time that it takes you to acknowledge your main objectives along with your achievements for the secondary goals will all count in the final score. Since there are only 11 missions in the campaign, the score is of course a challenging way to enhance the game's replay value.
You'll need depth charges to sink a submarine and for any ship you can always count on torpedoes. Aircrafts can also launch torpedoes but you'll need to be very careful and fly low enough so that the torpedo doesn't blow up on the impact as you drop it into the waters. The light armor of most planes will be the ideal target for any AA weapons. One more thing: don't try to smash a plane into a battleship 'cause this would be just an waste of time. Bomb it, there's no other way.
Video The most impressing were the video cut-scenes. The short movies that actually present the story behind these battles are one of the aspects that I enjoyed best about Battlestations: Midway. They have a certain rusty look and feeling, at times giving you the impression that you might be watching a documentary. Of course they are nowhere near of getting an Oscar, but it bodes amazingly well with the WWII setting. In-game the visuals will definitely not knock anybody off his feet. The overall atmosphere is realistic, with beautiful skies and water drops on your windshield whenever you fly too low. Appealing units design along with appropriate various animations for each of them (for instance the crew members of your ships wondering on the deck or firing at the enemies) will make you forget about some minor inaccuracies to a simulation game. So the ship doesn't take damage if you smash a plane into it and you need a few seconds to actually realize that you've already sank the targeted destroyer with your last deployment of torpedoes. The planes will explode like small fireworks and you'll be able to notice the ships taking more and more damage. You'll also be able to notice all the projectiles that (by some miracle) have missed the wings of your aircraft.
Sound I didn't expect from a war game to have outstanding sound. It's a war zone after all - you hear lots of explosions, firing and splashes. On the other hand I did hope that at least the cut-scenes would benefit from solid voice acting to match the otherwise great impression that the short movies offer. Yet I find myself in the middle of the action and after a short while every dialogue seemed as repetitive and dull as I could never imagine. It sometimes felt like the lines were just an amateur translation from an exotic language. The bottom line - I wasn't impressed, but it was helpful at times to be offered more hints on my assignments.
Multiplayer The single player mode is usually just a warm up for multi. Battlestations: Midway is no different either. While the campaign offers you a great overview of the American forces while also introducing you to a great opportunity of strategic action, the extra missions get you a little acquainted with the basics of what the Imperial Japanese Navy has in store for you (though I'm sure you were dreaming about piloting those nasty Zeros ever since your first mission in the campaign). The multiplayer mode introduces you to the real challenge - human opponents. Up to 8 players can join the game and prove their skill in combat.
It is all about the American versus Japanese conflict so each player will have to join a team, choose a side. Of course the greatest challenge is to play as a one-man-team meaning you'll have to lookup after all the units at your disposal. This is where your skills as a strategist will have the opportunity to really shine. There's no such thing as "I don't need that ship anymore, I'll just let it be". You have to use all of the resources at your disposal to make the best out of a tricky situation. Try to use something inefficient as bait and pop up behind the enemy to surprise him as he's having fun destroying it. Get to know the strengths and weaknesses of most of the units, you'll need to be aware of what you should try to avoid and what to exploit. The multiplayer is a great challenge, be sure to try it out.
Conclusion Battlestations: Midway is definitely not another World War II game. If it was just about flight action I would have probably told you to stick to Blazing Angels. But Battlestations is much more than that. It is a wonderful blending of action and strategy. It will put you in charge of controlling the skies from the cockpit of a plane, rule the seas from the deck of destroyers and even go deeper to strike fear in your enemy's eyes with mighty submarines. You can order any of these around and even step into the action yourself. The historical accuracy of the storyline is also a nice addition and I have to say it again, the cut-scenes are beautifully realized. The game may not shine in terms of sound and it may sometimes feel a little far from a simulator, but there is no doubt it is created for strategy and action fans alike. Thumbs up for Eidos!
