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As a pseudo-sequel to 2007’s Battlestations: Midway, Eidos Hungary has managed to deliver a larger game this time around, but still trip itself over annoying landmines that plagued the original and hamper the overall feel of Pacific.

In contrast to Midway, Pacific offers you two choices of campaigns – you can play as either the American or the Japanese forces. While at first this seems like a great option, being able to see the conflict from both sides of the battle, Pacific is less a simulation as it is an arcade-style game mixed with strategic elements. In the end, both sides feel the same, forcing the player to deal with cheesy voice acting and predictable missions at every turn.

In terms of historical accuracy, you will only find it in the representation of the vehicles themselves – PT boats, cruisers, torpedo planes, destroyers, they’re all here, and look great. Control however, is a bit of an issue. Flying your planes is fantastic fun, as it has simple pick up and play control. You’ll probably still end up making accidental landings on the deck of a ship here and there, but overall, the flying mechanics are well handled. The surface ships and submarines, however, don’t fare as well. For destroyers and larger vessels, the drastic change of complete control from the dog-fighting to having to meticulously plan every approach to an enemy target and distancing yourself so that your artillery actually serves a purpose is tedious and downright frustrating. The submersibles fare even worse – control is even more lax than with surface vessels, and for the most part it feels like you have no chance to properly defend yourself before you are mercilessly pummeled by the enemy AI.

Gorgeous sunsets will distract you from your impending doom.

There’s a lot of gameplay to be found within the campaigns of each side; missions can have multiple stages, and multiple primary and secondary goals. You also have the ability to jump out of the single unit gameplay to issue orders to other units and squads elsewhere on the map. This is where the strategy element of the game comes into play, and the developers did a decent job at implementing the use of multiple units while allowing you to focus on single units to take personal control over. However, for those of us who find micro-managing to be a bit of a formidable task, the complex order and command system in place becomes an incredible bane, and you can end up spending more time deciding what units to call in from your bases to completely lose control of your mission, at which point you have no choice but to start all over again.

I found using a gamepad much more agreeable than using the keyboard-mouse setup, especially when using the planes – dog-fighting while using the mouse for a flight stick wears down on your wrist quite quickly, and you will find that resetting the mouse during hectic firefights results in more water landings than is usually acceptable.

Multiplayer is a somewhat entertaining break from the single-player campaign, in that everyone you are facing is at the same advantage and disadvantage you are. You all need to maneuver around the map, which takes some time, allowing you to try to plan out your strategy for taking out your opponents. Running head on into a fight in this game is a quick way to get your crew lost at sea. Be on the lookout for imbalances to the game however – the matchmaking is hit and miss at best. It’s not uncommon to find yourself facing off against an opponent with significant artillery and

T-Pain's got nothing on this one.

technological advances on your simple little fleet.

Need anymore proof that this game focuses mainly on eye candy?

The presentation of the game are extremely well done, with enough dedication to the small details that it feels like you’re actually watching a war movie, and not simply playing a game. The water effects are nice, even though you’re probably going to be checking out the vehicles and backdrops more often. Watching destroyers break in half before slipping beneath the surface is breathtaking, until you’ve seen the same animation played out a hundred times over. The sound effects and banter during gameplay are decent enough, making it feel like you’re actually causing some damage with your bombs and torpedoes, but the dialogue is incredibly cheesy and the voice-acting are barely more than caricatures of both Japanese and Western dialects. This sorely affects the overall presentation of what is otherwise a very well put together product.

While the game itself is engaging and entertaining, don’t be fooled – it’s not for everyone. If you have played Battlestations: Midway and found it too complex, steer clear of Pacific. You will find the exact same level of frustration. However, if you enjoyed Midway, and are getting fed up with World War II shooters, I would definitely recommend giving Battlestations: Pacific a try.

Graphics: 4 / 5

Game play: 3.5 / 5

Sound: 3 / 5

Replay value: 3 / 5

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