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From the end of the 20th century to about 2007, World War 2 was the most popular setting
for shooters. From Medal of Honor to Brothers in Arms and Call of Duty, it seemed to be
the perfect spot in time for the genre, but with all of these shooters, people unfamiliar
with the time period might assume that World War 2 was all infantry battles, and this is
far from the case. Although a large amount of the fighting between the Nazis and the
Americans took place on foot in France, the battles in the Pacific against the Japanese
were far different. In fact, a large number of these were air and sea battles, and the
game I have today attempts to recreate this. This is Battlestations: Midway for the Xbox
360.
Battlestations: Midway is actually kind of like a few different games put together. Different
modes allow you to control vehicles like battleships, aircraft carriers, planes, and little PT boats
on the side of both the Americans and the Japanese. The US campaign begins with a Navy
man who’s been disappointed in his experience thus far as the battle of Pearl Harbor breaks
out. This section has you moving quickly across the water to take out targets in a few different
ways. The way the story was presented reminded me of one of the History Channel games, which
isn’t a bad thing, but it started off a little more personal than I expected. Again,
this is not a bad thing, just different.
For those of you aren’t aware, Midway is a very small island in the Pacific that was
a target for capture by both the Americans and the Japanese during World War 2, much
like Iwo Jima. The interesting thing is that the main reason the US fought there was to
make sure the enemy couldn’t have the location to use as a spot to launch aircraft from and
refuel, in an effort to cripple their supplies. This makes it a great setting for a game based
around naval battles and dogfights.
Gameplay in this was a little hard to get used to for me, but this is mostly due to
the fact that the game mimics the feel of sluggishness in the water, as well as the
sort of slow time necessary to take out targets. In planes, for instance, you often have to
take out targets in a few passes, which is something that helps to keep things challenging.
Battleships were my personal favorite, as I loved the mix between AA cannons and other
weapons that the vehicles brought, but I wasn’t as much of a fan of the submarines. Something
about them just doesn’t translate as well to the game, but I’m not sure there’s
anything the developers could do about that.
Battlestations: Midway is also a very challenging game, and much deeper than you’d expect.
From picking orders to tactically choosing which targets need to be taken out first,
it’s great for fans of this type of gameplay, but the game isn’t as accessible as I think
it could’ve been. I have a feeling that this game would be most appealing to history
buffs who may not be normal gamers, and while the complexity of it all may intrigue them,
it may limit their ability to enjoy it. It’s an interesting bit of ground that the developers
had to tread on.
The frame-rate in the game can take a dive, though, and this can pull you out of the experience
a bit.
Although there isn’t much here to offer than would be too enjoyable to the core gamer,
any fan of World War 2 history will have a good time with Battlestations: Midway, as
long as you realize what you’re getting yourself into. It would be great for this
genre to get some more support within the mainstream, because with the right budget
and development time, it could really be something special.