2007-01-19 16:49:37 Battlestations Midway Multiplayer Demo on LIVE MP... & Impressions

Didn't see this posted here yet... Its been released to XBL gold members in US... other territories, I don't know.

It has very complex controls at first glance. It will take you a couple of sessions to get the hang of it. Kind of frustrating at first, but it puts you in charge of ships, subs, planes, carriers etc. Kind of a RTS feel, but you can fly or pilot the vehicles individually, & while your not commanding your ship, your planes AI follow your orders and carry out their missions and you can jump around from unit to unit and take command of them and issue orders. There is a lot to do... repair ships, launch planes from carriers, etc. Graphics I'd give a B. Initial gameplay really suprised me. I'll rent it at least for sure, or trade in some games to get this one. I was pleasantly suprised. Nothing quite like its gameplay. It is similar to other games... has an RTS aspect, but also lets you pilot planes or command individual ships. I actually liked controlling the ships more than the planes. Give it a try if you have LIVE in the States.



Here is a PR piece about the demo.

Battlestations: Midway - Multiplayer Demo
Download and play the Battlestations: Midway multiplayer demo and be one of the first to experience a new style of online warfare. Battlestations: Midway will be available in retail stores on January 31st.

Battlestations: Midway is an immense action game that drops you into massive air, sea, and undersea battles from Pearl Harbor to Midway. Command massive fleet attacks and take direct, real-time control of every plane, battleship, and submarine in the battle.

Battlestations: Midway blends intense third-person action with epic, large-scale naval combat and brings to life the great Pacific battles of World War II. From the chaos of Pearl Harbor, through the Philippines, Java, and the Coral Sea all the way to the epic Battle of Midway.

Innovative gameplay lets you take direct control of over 60 different warships, planes and submarines from a third-person perspective. Instantly jump to and control every vehicle in the battle.

The single-player mode features 11 large-scale campaigns with 12 bonus challenge missions. The online multi-player combat offers an entirely new online battle experience and features head-to-head and co-operative fleet battles featuring over 60 Allied and Japanese units.

* Revolutionary gameplay: Experience epic WWII combat from multiple perspectives as you jump between dozens of units, playing as a pilot, a gunner, a submarine captain, or even a carrier fleet commander.
* Massive battlefields: Every battle takes place simultaneously in the air, on, and under the sea. Movement of your fleet and the individual efforts of any one vehicle is critical to success.
* Sixty warships: Each plane, ship, and submarine is authentically designed. The more you know about each carrier’s profile, capabilities, and weaknesses, the better you will fight. Featured in the game are the Wildcat and Zero Fighter planes, the Dauntless Divebombers, the B17 and B24 bombers, the USS Iowa, USS Yorktown, and Japan’s infamous super battleship, the Yamato.
* Authenticity and realism: Cutting-edge graphics bring the Pacific oceans and island chains alive with lush real-world environments, dynamic weather effects and incredibly detailed vehicles and weaponry.
* Deep single player mode: The game features 11 massive campaigns with 12 bonus challenge missions and an immersive storyline.
* Innovative online multiplayer mode: Participate in huge multi-unit online battles with up to eight players controlling over 60 units on Xbox Live® and online.

2007-01-19 17:17:05

In short: NO NO.

Explained: The game is horrible and that's about the only way to explain it. It's not eragon horrible, but it is bad. The graphics a B? I guess it depends on your standards, there's no way I'd give it more than a C-, this is the definition of PLAIN.

The Ubisoft game (don't know the name) looks tons better and that's not a complement.

The controls are bad for everything. It's hard to tell what really is going on. If you are using a ship, prepare to be put to sleep.

I don't know what else to say, the sound is also lacking. Half a gig is being wasted on my HDD right now.

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Where the crap is Shenmue 3 SEGA? Scrap that thing called Shenmue online and finish the Shenmue epic story on 360!

2007-01-19 17:35:35 In reply to LEBATO (2007-01-19 17:17:05)

Actually I found it interesting. The more time you put into it the more fun it becomes. It is not best game ever but it is kind of entertaining in an RTS sort of way.

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"It is such a quiet thing, to fall. But far more terrible is to admit it." ~ Kreia in Kotor2

2007-01-19 17:45:29 In reply to lumzi23 (2007-01-19 17:35:35)

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Where the crap is Shenmue 3 SEGA? Scrap that thing called Shenmue online and finish the Shenmue epic story on 360!

2007-01-19 18:48:03

The best thing to do, is to get into a 1v1 room with someone who has already played the game and knows the controls. Jumping into a game with 5 or 6 right away will result in total and complete frustration. In the menu you can goto controls, and toggle through the top menu between Plane, Ship, Sub, Map that gives you the controller layer as to what does what. I still don't know what each name of the ship is.

Here is a bit of info from the EIDOS forums to help you get up to speed.

In-Game Controls

Left Stick – move ship/plane
Right Stick- look around
Left Trigger- Change Weapons/ Bring up bombing/torpedoe sights on planes
Right Trigger- Fire selected weapons
Left Bumper- Repair Panel
Right Bumper- Access flight hanger/shipyards
D-Pad- Change control of ships/planes, also used to make selections in the sub menus
Y Button- Access your binoculars/periscope (ships/subs) or gun camera (planes)
X Button- Access orders menu
A Button- Changes target
B Button-
Back Button- goes to strategic map
Start- Pause

Strategic Map Controls

Left Stick- move to jump to friendly units
Right Stick- moves cursor around the map; press down on the stick when over a unit to select it
A Button- gives the selected unit a waypoint
Right/Left Trigger- Zoom In/Out

Aircraft
Class Type Class Type
ALLIED JAPANESE
Brewster F2A Buffalo F Ki-43 Oscar F
Curtiss P-40 Warhawk F A6M Zero F
Hawker Hurricane Mk 1/2 F D3A Val D
F4F Wildcat F D4Y Judy D
SDB Dauntless D B5N Kate T
Fairey Swordfish Mk 2 T E13A Jake R
TBD Devastator T H6K Mavis R
TDF Avenger T H8K Emily Flying Boat R
OS2U Kingfisher R F1M Pete R
PBY Catalina R G3M Nell B
B-25 Mitchell B G4M Betty B
B-17 Flying Fortress B
F = Fighter, D = Dive bomber, T = Torpedo bomber, R = Recon Plane, B = Level Bomber, Misc. = Transport Plane

Warships & Subs
Class Type Class Type
ALLIED JAPANESE
King George V. Class - Prince of Wales BB Kongo/Hiei Class BB
Renown Class - Repulse BB Yamato Class BB
New York Class - Texas BB Fuso Class BB
Lexington-Saratoga CV Hiryu CV
Yorktown CV Soryu CV
Hermes Class CVE Akagi CV
Northampton Class CA Kaga CV
York class CA Shokaku - Zuikaku CV
Cleveland Class CL Shoho-Zuiho (light carrier) CVL
Atlanta Class CL Mogami Class CA
De Ruyter class (Royal Netherlands Navy) CL Tone Class CA
Fletcher Class DD Takao/Myoko Class CA
British destroyer DD Kuma CL
Clemson Class DD Fubuki Class DD
Gato/Balao Class SS Minekaze Class DD
Narwhal Class SS Type B SS
LST Mark 2 - big landing craft US L Daihatsu Barge - small landing craft Japan L
Higgins Boat - small landing craft US L SB Boat Second class - big landing craft Japan L
Patrol Boat : '80 Elco PT Japanese Patrol Boat PT
Dutch Patrol Boat (Royal Netherlands Navy) PT Fleet Oiler (T2 Tanker) T
Fleet Oiler (T2 Tanker) T Troop Transport (Hunter Ligget) T
Troop Transport (Hunter Ligget) T Cargo Transport T
Cargo Transport T
BB = Battleship, CV = Fleet Carrier, CVE = Escort Carrier, CVL = Light Carrier, CA = Heavy Cruiser, CL = Light Cruiser, DD = Destroyer




MP Demo Strategy

These are only recomended opening moves, the battle will change so much that after the first few minutes so you have to remain flexible to the changes.

US
The absolute first thing you should do is get those planes in the air ASAP! Start moving your carriers Southeast behind the island; this will buy you the time needed to make a strong defense. This would also be a good time to have your shipyards start producing warships, don’t rely only on those BB’s (Battleships) yes they are most powerful but they are painfully slow, I usually go with a good mix of Destroyers and Cruisers. Start moving your fleet from the shipyard and use them to slow the oncoming Japanese fleet. Just remember to get replacement units in the air/sea as soon as they are available. Don’t forget about the repair panel either!



Japanese
Again start by getting your planes in the air and ships out to sea. Forget about the carriers and go for the shipyards. Send the majority of your fleet to knock out the shipyard and hold 1 or 2 ships in reserve for the coming US counter attack. Subs are great for scouting out enemy positions but don't leave them submerged to long. Also try to fire a nice spread of torpedoes from a good distance to increase hit probability and decrease detection. I tend to use the subs as more of a harrassing force.

2007-01-19 19:06:36

Ok, I played it again and I did get into this time. Played for about 40 minutes. It's the kind of game you know it's going to get old quickly. Not my kind of game at all.

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Where the crap is Shenmue 3 SEGA? Scrap that thing called Shenmue online and finish the Shenmue epic story on 360!

2007-01-19 19:12:14

I loved the demo. Since im a strategy fan, this game is very cool. Only one problem, lack any tutorial in some way... harder to understand...

Once everyone start learn slowly the game it will get more interesting. Now most people leave games :(

Almost sure going to get this game :)

2007-01-19 20:06:29

I liked the demo, don't think it deserved Lebato sized hate but I can't see it being very popular either. I'm not sure I could actually get into it, but I found it somewhat interesting..only played as the carrier, my god are the planes slow but I guess that's what you get in this era.

I'll probably rent it. I've rented worse.

2007-01-19 22:43:01

I'll give it a rent, as well. I like the multi-tasking and strategic element it kind of has.

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Beckham to MLS, and Americans still don't care for MLS :P