Battlestations: Midway is a game that depicts events of World War II, from the attack on Pearl Harbor to the battle of Midway. The player controls Henry Walker, a young recruit who goes through the ranks starting as a PT boat captain. The game depicts actual battles and features realistically detailed boats, submarines and planes. The story is intriguing and features several historic figures, such as John F. Kennedy, who pilots a PT boat like he did in reality.

Educational strengths of the game include problem solving and classroom facts. Problem solving skill is needed to deal with the strategic aspects of battle, and classroom facts are present mainly in the historic facts presented throughout the game.

Classroom material is limited mostly to historical facts, which are presented consistently throughout the game as an integral part of the story line. The plot of the game is based on the events surrounding Pearl Harbor and the events of the six months following Pearl Harbor, leading to the battle of Midway. The game features period-correct weapons, boats, submarines and planes. Locations used in the game are based on actual locations that were part of World War II, even down to the real-world islands that players will see in the game.

By the Player:

Opportunities for player creativity in Midway are extremely limited. It is an extremely linear game, requiring the player to simply play through a series of missions and complete objectives that are laid out to the player. Occasionally there are secondary objectives that can be completed, but the player will not be made aware of these objectives until they are completed. Deciding whether to engage enemies or not could be considered a creative choice, but for the most part the player simply has to do what the game tells the player to do.

By the Developer:

The game shows quality in many of its aspects, but creativity is not really one of them. The game is not a particularly unique experience, but it has a few things going for it. The story line is changed slightly from the usual World War II story lines, and the ability to switch between strategic and first-person modes is a nice touch. The environment of the game is probably the most creatively impressive feature, accurately recreating historic sites, equipment and vehicles to help draw the player into the game's world.

Battlestations: Midway does not feature business skills.

Multiplayer in Midway allows up to eight players to compete, split up into two teams. Matches are the same as the single-player missions, with players controlling a set number of ships for either the United States or Japan.

The ability of the players to interact and form strategies is readily available, and the fact that players can speak to each other directly earns points as well. Teams that work together well are often rewarded with victories, and in this way the multiplayer Midway experience helps to encourage people skills between players.

In single player, the player's character, Henry, is only in contact with other people in cut-scenes between missions. There isn't really any communication between the player and other in-game characters as the player is in charge of all of the ships and planes involved in each mission.

Problem solving is a very important part of Battlestations: Midway. The game is basically a somewhat simple strategy game. The player must assess the situation and objectives at hand and be able to come up with a successful plan to deal with everything that needs to be dealt with. This will involve deciding what types and numbers of planes to send out, what to attack and how to direct each squadron under the player's command. The player must also try to protect his whole fleet by having certain units protect other ones. In the end, the player could be in any of hundreds of situations, and figuring out what to do in each of them will be a challenge.

While Midway is not necessarily a simulation game, it does share some aspects common to the genre. It features actual historic events as its basis, as well as accurate weapons and vehicles from the period. Deciding how to deal with each encounter attempts to simulate the experience of commanding actual units. Impressive, detailed graphics help add to the realism.

Midway has received mixed reviews since its release.

Henry Walker will occasionally tell jokes, adding some comedic relief to the otherwise serious game.

The game includes standard audio and visual options and features three difficulty levels.

Tips

This rating is based on the Xbox 360 version of the game. It received a T from the ESRB with descriptors for Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and Violence.