Battlestations: Pacific

[papa_smurf]

Just bought the game, and from first impressions not bad. Having not played Midway I thought I'd give this a try, bit of a steep learning curve when your trying to manage several units at once AND trying to get involved in the action yourself - phew!
I'm starting to get the hang of it now, had to re-do some missions so I could get all the objectives, but so far i'm liking it. You can't beat flying a torpedo bomber going in low, dodging flak and taking out a Jap battleship:D.

(If anyone else has this and wants a mp game, my LIVE tag is - DraughtMushroom)

[CaptHawkeye]

Unfortunantly AA in the game is stupid easy. So you're entire force of Torpedo/Dive bombers can be shot down by a single ship without any air cover regardless.

Steep learning curve? I must be playing a different game here. Even Midway wasn't that hard for me to get the hang of.

[papa_smurf]

As I said I've never played Midway, so it wasn't easy to start with, but got the hang of it now.

[CaptHawkeye]

The mission design is hit or miss for me in the most part. It's certainly better than Midway's completely worthless campaign. I actually found the Japanese campaign intruiging for the most part. I had been worried it was going to be simplistic, wanky, "we got teh YAMATO and u dont lolololololololol"

[Raptor1]

The mission design is hit or miss for me in the most part. It's certainly better than Midway's completely worthless campaign.

Remember to get teh gold meadlz to unlock ur YAMATOZZZ.

I liked Midway's campaign better (Didn't play the IJN in Pacific yet though), at least when it came to battles that took place historically they keep the outcome accurate (For example, in the Coral Sea mission in Midaway the Japanese fleet actually retreats. In Pacific's Santa Cruz Islands you go around sinking flattops like there's no tomorrow)

[CaptHawkeye]

You see to me that's the problem with these games. We already know how Coral Sea will end. Why does anyone want a retread of the same exact battles over and over again? The American campaign was weaker than the Japanese Campaign because it was yet another step by step recreation of WW2. Why don't they change it up with alternate "what if" campaigns? What if the Allies decided to attack Japan through Indochina rather than the Central Pacific?

Better yet, they should just stop using WW2 entire and just invent a fictional conflict and world like Ace Combat that just happens to use the same technology.

[Tachyon]

Since I've never played Battlestations Midway before , the interface in Pacific was a bit frightening at first. Just re-adjusted some flight controls, and then it was better. Damn fun game, though the IJN campaign slows down a bit after the Battle of Midway.

Speaking of which, Midway seemed to be too easy... or maybe I'm that good? :P

[Seademon]

While Battlestations midway was a good game in comparison
Battlestations Pacific is a great game. For those that are hard core naval simuation or submarine buffs they will treat this game with arrogance, I can tell you that BSP is a great naval game to play and full of fun, addictive in multiplayer.

As far as training goes, midways in game video training is far superior to pacific and it assumes in some way that you have already done the training in midway and so training in pacific si basic with on screen tips etc. but with a manual as well you pick it up quick.

While the campaigns are scripted to a degree, you dont need to spend 2 weeks learning how to play one station like in Dangerous waters, but you do need to know all the platforms strengths and weaknesses and to win campaigns effectively to unlock the specific advantage platforms for multiplayer use.
No .. no map editor, its designed for you to get in and have fun straight away.

While the japanese campaign is a fantasy, it traces their actual plans of what they would have done had they won at midway. It gives an alternate reality of what could have been and fun as well.

Strategy and tactics is the main driving adrenaline rush of this game, the pretty graphics are just the eye candy and the management of the fleet and air in your growing situational awareness crisis. I can tell you that if I'm in an intense battle, nothing will drag me away.
Battleship duels are fun as the different battleships have their own good and bad points. between the british, american and japanze types.

The Capture the island scenario is the most fun to play for multi player bit it has other adversarial modes as well as well as duel mode. Duel mode is the best for Ranking up, Xbox has its own ranking system from seaman apprentice to Fleet Admiral, not sure on pc. Midway didn't have the ranking system on xbox or pc.

Graphics in Pacific are cinematic and whereas midway was more cartoony and arcadish, there is a more realistic look to Pacific, specially in artillary duels with mussle flashes etc . Lots of graphic effects are modelled on real life movies and aircraft shots, see vid below. Ocean floor is also modelled, shallow and deep as its all islands, water motion is best i've seen in naval game and you can see from the surface through the motion of the water to the shallow or deeper bottom below, if there is enough light . I loved watching the pt boats bouncing over the waves and the way the torps shot out of the tubes to the water as it went from one bow way to the next, awesome ....

It has dynamic weather where as in midway is was always 12 midday and clear skies, now pacific has night and day missions with thunderstorms and lightning and skies with thick 3d clouds and 3 d oceans. It's well done.

Map screen is also 3d and you can see planes in battle like you would see in computer AWACS programs where you see them on the map turning and twisting in flight. (anyone see the RED FLAG show on you tube )

For those of us who fly Falcon 4 and other flight sims its .... ok for battle as a fun thing for fighter planes, but it has a variety of fighters and bombers, torpedo bombers, heavy bombers and paratrooper planes for the island capture map . Island capture maps come in various sizes and shapes from a few island to multiple islands with each island having a special headquarter ability, shipyard,. airbase or both or supply depo and the islands are numbered so you know when you need to select units which island its coming from.

For a complete battle you can control the whole thing from the strategy map screen , if you want, and there is an xbox medal for you if you win at that. For those people above that have canned this game , they don't know what they are talking about..
As a strategy game is more suited to play on the xbox but good on the pc as well.. The best way to describe it is to view the developer diary. It gives all the good oil.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD7FESjJcfA

An awesome game, lots of fun, specially in multiplayer and now a tournament board of clans is being created for it.
If PT Boats: Knights of the Pacific has its own listing then This game needs its own category.. just for the different platform types and the strategy to be used with them.
I wouldn't listen to CaptainHawkeye's somewhat jaded view :) Get in and try it.
So if you like to blow s%*t up then this is the game for you. 8/10

[cj95]

I loved the screenshots of this game, and was about to buy it until I saw a youtube video.

Uhhhhh.....I saw the same KATE drop three different torpedos in one action.:nope:

The hell?

Dont tell me, another infinite ammunition shoot em up huh?

[minsc_tdp]

Seademon is right, this game just absolutely rocks. It's only problem is not a lot of people are playing it! Even so, it's worth it.