More On: E3 2008

The second game I had a chance to demo at Eidos was Battlestations Pacific for the Xbox 360. This is the sequel to Battlestations Midway, which took players from the attack on Pearl Harbor up until the Battle of Midway Island. Battlestations Pacific finishes up the rest of the Pacific Theater from the point of the Battle of Midway all the way to the Battle of Okinawa, and you won’t just be able to play the United States side of the battle, as you will also be able to play as the Japanese forces.

Battlestations Pacific features 28 missions of gameplay that can equal up to 40 hours. The game itself is a mixture of Real Time Strategy as well as realistic flight simulation. So, to give you a better idea of what to expect, you will deploy your units on an overhead map of the mission area, but you can also go in and take control of each individual unit instead of just watching the attack. You will be able to cycle through all of the units simply by pressing left or right on the D-pad. The transition between units is pretty seamless, although I can see how it might get a little confusing for players, considering that you could be shot down on one plane, then jump into another that is about to make an attack or is being tailed by an enemy fighter.

What’s unique about Battlestations Pacific is that the game features hypothetical “What If?” missions, based on if the Japanese had won certain battles. For example, the Battle of Coral Sea was a vital mission in the war because it was early on in the war and allowed them to push back to Japanese. History shows that the Japanese were going to invade Port Moresby, which was a vital port for the United States. One of these hypothetical missions allows you to attack Port Moresby if you play as the Japanese and win the Battle of Coral Sea.

Historically speaking, the missions are very true to the actual battles that took place. As you fight in each mission, you will have a primary goal as well as several secondary goals that pop up as you fight in each mission. This is a great twist to the gameplay as it will challenge better players by forcing them to reallocate their units properly in order to achieve all of the goals.

I finally had the chance to go hands-on with Battlestations Pacific myself, taking control of the United States forces in a mission. I had a primary goal in taking control of one airfield while trying to eliminate hangars on other islands of the Japanese forces. Keep in mind that flight simulation battles in World War II are completely different from present day fighting, as you don’t have missile that lock on to targets, so you have to be lined up in your reticule in order to properly fire your rockets to blow up your targets. Everything else will be taken out via a machine gun.

Battlestations Pacific is slated for an early 2009 release.