carocat
28-01-2007, 04:28 PM
http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/757/757297/battlestations-midway-review-20070123033807295-000.jpg
After we had a chance to try the demo for ourselves the other week, IGN (http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/757/757297p1.html) now released a review for the game. Some Extracts:
The single-player campaign opens in Pearl Harbor on that day of infamy. The story focuses on the ascendance of Henry Walker, from gunner of a single PT boat at Pearl, to captain of a destroyer in the Philippines, to commander of a carrier group at Midway. In the early missions, you will command only one vehicle at time without the ability to switch to another unit.
Where Battlestations Midway really begins to shine is about a third of the way through the campaign as you take control of multiple units and utilize different strategies to defeat the Japanese fleet. Do you launch wave after wave of torpedo bombers at an enemy ship or do you engage with a cruiser, using fighter planes to ward off incoming Japanese air attacks? There is a tremendous amount of choice in Battlestations and, much like a game of chess, you will need to understand how your pieces move, how to use them in combination, when to attack and when to withdraw. As you can imagine, this takes a while to learn.
Even after a hefty and excruciatingly boring tutorial that gives you the basic ideas of how to control your war machines, there is still plenty to learn about basic naval tactics. In the air, you quickly learn to send fighter escorts with your torpedo and dive bombers to stave off squadrons of quick and nimble Zeros. You then learn to send your bombers in large groups to better their chances of slipping through dangerous antiaircraft fire. You learn to lead ships with bombs and to lead enemy fighter planes with your guns. Onboard ships, you learn to utilize the long-range guns of battleships and cruisers to take out enemy ships; you learn to fire torpedoes ahead and behind ships to bracket them. As a sub commander, you'll learn to dive beneath sonar range, to surface at just the right time to replenish your oxygen tanks, and to surprise carries and battleships with a devastating barrage of torpedoes as you silently hunt beneath the waves.
Where other games reward you by leveling up, Battlestations Midway rewards you with knowledge and experience as you slowly grow from novice into master strategist. Much like you can learn the game of chess in a few hours, it takes years to master. While you can nail the controls of Battlestations in a few hours, it will be a long time before you can even begin to complete the Ship, Sub and Plane Challenges, a collection of 12 single-player missions that will have you fighting incredible odds against a dozen enemy vessels. These challenges are impossibly difficult and surprisingly enjoyable as you improve your tactical and maneuvering skills.
The single-player campaign and challenges are really just your personal training ground for some awesome, epic battles on Xbox Live in which hundreds of units fight on sprawling battlefields inspired by real-world events like the battle of the Coral Sea and Solomon Islands. One map features only planes; a few feature only ships. Most feature a combination of carriers and airfields and shipyards. The online setup allows for up to eight players to join a four-on-four, Japanese versus American battle. Usually the objective is to destroy key enemy targets like carriers or a land-based installation. Sometimes the battle lasts ten minutes. Sometimes the battles last well over an hour.
Closing Comments:
While so many action games are devoid of strategy and so many strategy games are short on action, Battlestations Midway delivers both. So many people have always wanted to take control of individual soldiers in real-time strategy titles like Company of Heroes or Battle for Middle Earth. In Battlestations Midway, you can. While the learning curve is relatively high, the time spent running ships aground and crashing planes into the ocean is worth it when you are dominating the Pacific. The graphics are a bit bland but there is a ton of detail. The score and voice-acting are well done, if repetitive. Still, Battlestations' shortcomings do not detract from a great gameplay experience that both action and strategy fans should enjoy. While the online options are thin, this game offers arguably the single-most enjoyable one-on-one match on Xbox Live as well as a great co-op experience for those that have paid their dues on the training modes. For those tired of the same old thing, check out this unique new title from Eidos -- Battlestations Midway is anything but just another World War II game.
8.5 (out of 10 / not an average)
After we had a chance to try the demo for ourselves the other week, IGN (http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/757/757297p1.html) now released a review for the game. Some Extracts:
The single-player campaign opens in Pearl Harbor on that day of infamy. The story focuses on the ascendance of Henry Walker, from gunner of a single PT boat at Pearl, to captain of a destroyer in the Philippines, to commander of a carrier group at Midway. In the early missions, you will command only one vehicle at time without the ability to switch to another unit.
Where Battlestations Midway really begins to shine is about a third of the way through the campaign as you take control of multiple units and utilize different strategies to defeat the Japanese fleet. Do you launch wave after wave of torpedo bombers at an enemy ship or do you engage with a cruiser, using fighter planes to ward off incoming Japanese air attacks? There is a tremendous amount of choice in Battlestations and, much like a game of chess, you will need to understand how your pieces move, how to use them in combination, when to attack and when to withdraw. As you can imagine, this takes a while to learn.
Even after a hefty and excruciatingly boring tutorial that gives you the basic ideas of how to control your war machines, there is still plenty to learn about basic naval tactics. In the air, you quickly learn to send fighter escorts with your torpedo and dive bombers to stave off squadrons of quick and nimble Zeros. You then learn to send your bombers in large groups to better their chances of slipping through dangerous antiaircraft fire. You learn to lead ships with bombs and to lead enemy fighter planes with your guns. Onboard ships, you learn to utilize the long-range guns of battleships and cruisers to take out enemy ships; you learn to fire torpedoes ahead and behind ships to bracket them. As a sub commander, you'll learn to dive beneath sonar range, to surface at just the right time to replenish your oxygen tanks, and to surprise carries and battleships with a devastating barrage of torpedoes as you silently hunt beneath the waves.
Where other games reward you by leveling up, Battlestations Midway rewards you with knowledge and experience as you slowly grow from novice into master strategist. Much like you can learn the game of chess in a few hours, it takes years to master. While you can nail the controls of Battlestations in a few hours, it will be a long time before you can even begin to complete the Ship, Sub and Plane Challenges, a collection of 12 single-player missions that will have you fighting incredible odds against a dozen enemy vessels. These challenges are impossibly difficult and surprisingly enjoyable as you improve your tactical and maneuvering skills.
The single-player campaign and challenges are really just your personal training ground for some awesome, epic battles on Xbox Live in which hundreds of units fight on sprawling battlefields inspired by real-world events like the battle of the Coral Sea and Solomon Islands. One map features only planes; a few feature only ships. Most feature a combination of carriers and airfields and shipyards. The online setup allows for up to eight players to join a four-on-four, Japanese versus American battle. Usually the objective is to destroy key enemy targets like carriers or a land-based installation. Sometimes the battle lasts ten minutes. Sometimes the battles last well over an hour.
Closing Comments:
While so many action games are devoid of strategy and so many strategy games are short on action, Battlestations Midway delivers both. So many people have always wanted to take control of individual soldiers in real-time strategy titles like Company of Heroes or Battle for Middle Earth. In Battlestations Midway, you can. While the learning curve is relatively high, the time spent running ships aground and crashing planes into the ocean is worth it when you are dominating the Pacific. The graphics are a bit bland but there is a ton of detail. The score and voice-acting are well done, if repetitive. Still, Battlestations' shortcomings do not detract from a great gameplay experience that both action and strategy fans should enjoy. While the online options are thin, this game offers arguably the single-most enjoyable one-on-one match on Xbox Live as well as a great co-op experience for those that have paid their dues on the training modes. For those tired of the same old thing, check out this unique new title from Eidos -- Battlestations Midway is anything but just another World War II game.
8.5 (out of 10 / not an average)