Battlestations: Midway

Battlestations: Midway is a real-time tactics video game developed by the Hungary division of Eidos Interactive. Set in the Pacific theatre of the Second World War, Battlestations: Midway (often abbreviated to "Battlestations" or "BSM") is a hybrid of real-time strategy, flight simulation, as well as naval and submarine warfare. Players can activate a real-time map which allows them control over their units like an RTS game would, while giving them the ability to personally command at any time one of any number of warships, aircraft, submarines, or two forms of land installations. Several players have made connections from BSM to the Battlefield series, except without land or infantry combat.

The single player campaign has a rather weak storyline, following two main characters. Henry Walker is a Lieutenant on board the USS Phoenix, arriving just in time to witness and partake in the attack on Pearl Harbour. Players switch from the perspective of Henry to his air force friend and counterpart, Donald Locklear, as they strive through the various missions of the game to push back the Imperial Japanese Navy. The campaign draws to a close at the Battle of Midway.

Unlike other WW2 video games, the Japanese are not portrayed as fanatical or in an overly negative fashion, although the racial slur "Jap" is often used in both the single player campaign and online (since it takes considerably fewer keystrokes to type "Jap" versus "Japanese"). To avoid racial discrimination, it is encouraged to use "JP", but "Jap" remains extremely common.

Various challenge missions involve commanding a particular type of unit – an aircraft, a warship, or a submarine – to accomplish various objectives. Challenge missions can be accomplished before or after the actual campaign, although it is recommended players play the campaign first since Challenge missions are exceedingly difficult even for those who have defeated the Campaign. There is no Japanese campaign and the challenge missions are the only way to play as the Japanese on single-player mode. Japanese characters speak in Japanese, but subtitles must be enabled to determine what they are saying.

While the story is weak, the game compensates with a strong multiplayer aspect. Each game is capable of sustaining eight players – four US and four Japanese – who select unit slots and command the units under each slot (any remaining units are divided randomly). Although sending the right unit against the right enemy can prove effective, teamwork and communication between players is oftentimes more important than a winning strategy.

Patches
Thus far, two patches have been released — Versions 1.1 and Versions 1.1.1.

One downloadable expansion pack was released, the Iowa Mission Pack, updating the game with one new multiplayer map and a new challenge mission. The multiplayer map and challenge mission introduce the player to the new units of the expansion pack. The expansion isn't free for the Xbox 360, however.

It should be noted that the patch download links do not work with downloaded versions. This includes primarily versions downloaded via Steam, Direct2Drive, or other such sites. Direct2Drive has a site through which you can patch your game if you purchased it via download.

Demos
A multiplayer demo was released and made available for download, but unfortunately the demo has several connection issues, particularly when connecting to the internet. This is because the multiplayer demo has not been updated with patches 1.1 and 1.1.1. This makes the demo almost completely useless. Only LAN games work with the demo.

The Xbox 360 demo, however, has full functionality.

Sequel
Eidos has officially announced Battlestations: Pacific, the sequel to Battlestations: Midway. Details on it are sketchy at best, but various elements have been incorporated, including:


 * New units, including the F4U Corsair and the Ohka personnel-guided missile
 * A visible seabed for underwater combat
 * Underwater mines (see above)
 * Underwater fauna, including a hammerhead shark (see above)
 * Ships break apart upon sinking
 * Planes break apart upon destruction