Review: Battlestations: Midway (360)

Gamestyle enjoys wading straight into a game, probably like you. We don’t like mucking around reading the manual or ploughing through tutorials. And so it was with Battlestations: Midway, leaping straight into the single player campaign. After a brief introductory cut-scene the game pitches the player straight into the Japanese assault on Peal Harbour. Gamestyle’s small, modestly armed Patrol Boat is rapidly shot to pieces and the mission is over. Two further attempts result in the same outcome. It’s off to the tutorial we then go.

So why was Gamestyle initially so inept at Battlestations: Midway? We’d like to think that it’s because it’s not like anything else we’ve played on the 360. The game is a hybrid of two very different genres; the RTS and the action game. As mentioned, you start with a solitary patrol boat to command, but as the game progresses and you prove your worth, you’ll find an array of submarines, planes and ships under your command, as you take charge of American Naval muscle in order to win a number of battles in World War II’s Pacific Theatre. You’ll have to plan bombing runs, ensure that your ships have adequate aerial protection, repair damage, watch out for submarines and myriad other tasks if you want to emerge victorious from battle. In addition to this you can leap between units and assume personal command of any vehicle currently under your command.

Back to the tutorial then. Whilst it covers the basics and then some, it can only be described as just about competent at best. Clocking in at over an hour, it’s slow and cumbersome. Split into bite-size chunks there’s no sort of helpful summary, just a yawn-inducing commentator droning through each section. But, it’s worth making the effort as some of the gameplay’s finer points are explained.

The single player campaign is formed of eleven missions, starting on that infamous day at Pearl Harbour, through a series of increasingly complex clashes, to this game’s climax at the Battle of Midway. Sadly though, Gamestyle can’t help but feel that a trick has been missed here as the campaign is entirely told from a US point of view. Even the shortest mission will probably take around half an hour to play through. This begs the question, where is the mid-battle quick-save? Its omission seems like a dreadful oversight and it can be frustrating in the extreme to lose an entire mission’s progress due to one bad decision. That said, just because the missions are long, it doesn’t follow that they’re particularly difficult. On normal difficulty most players with an ounce of tactical sense shouldn’t find too much resistance here and even with the difficulty cranked up to hard, Battlestations: Midway isn’t too much of a handful.

Although things can appear to be frighteningly busy on screen, tapping the back button brings up the user-friendly tactical map from where all the units under your command can be directed and issuing commands is as simple as selecting the unit that you want to use and then clicking where you want it to go. There’s a useful selection of orders beyond move and attack as well, such as protect, follow and patrol. The AI is fairly robust, so once you’ve given units their orders you don’t have to worry about them too much. For example, leave a group of fighter planes circling your Battleship and they will attack any enemy planes that stray too close; once bombers have dropped their payload, they will automatically return to their home aircraft carrier to reload. Effective use of the map screen is vital to winning the battle.

Hot swapping from unit to unit is what really adds life to the tactical element of this title though. Having dispatched your units with their orders, it’s hugely satisfying being able to leap between units and take the helm. Whilst the most excitement is to be had from taking the seat in a plane and engaging in dogfights and dive-bombing, it’s also surprisingly satisfying to take control of a Battleship and pummel the opposition with artillery barrages. That said, the game’s controls sometimes frustrate. For example, switch to binocular view from a ship’s bridge and you’ll find you can still change direction as normal, but can't accelerate and decelerate; when flying the left stick controls speed and direction and it’s easy to accidentally open the throttle too much when turning hard.

But Xbox Live is where Battlestations: Midway comes into its own. With nine different maps supporting up to eight players a multiplayer battle in full swing is a tremendous thing to behold. Each player takes control of a group of pre-assigned units, sometimes with the ability to deploy more, on either the Japanese or US side and then battle it out to the bloody end. There’s huge satisfaction to be had when you know the submarine you just depth-charged and sent to the bottom of the sea is controlled by your best friend. However, as it’s possible for battles to rage for an hour or more, you’re hugely dependant on the other players in the game conducting themselves fairly and as we all know this doesn’t always happen on Live. Hosts will sometimes end the match when they have lost all of their units, even if others are still playing and the usual gamesmanship is all too apparent. This is a title best played with friends you know to be reliable.

Battlestations: Midway certainly isn’t the prettiest game Gamestyle has played. Whilst the ships and planes more than look the part and add an air of authenticity to proceedings, a natural consequence of a naval battle game is that there is a lot of blue water and blue sky and it’s not exactly the most exciting of environs. Buildings are somewhat on the blocky side and some textures can be found wanting. The audio isn’t exactly inspiring either. Whilst the sounds of battle are all present and correct, the music is limited to the standard heroic theme that is required for all WWII themed games.

Ultimately, Battlestations: Midway certainly isn’t a game that can be picked up and played in a few minutes. It requires a large investment of time, and the acceptance of a few rough edges, to see a return. A title greater than the sum of its parts, the tactical element keeps requires a bit of strategical know-how whilst the action element feels far more involved and creates the feeling that a tangible difference is being made to the outcome of the battle. Eidos deserve respect for trying something above and beyond the tired WWII fps and doing something original on the 360.

Rating: 7 / 10

Words by Andy Lucas