14 DAY TRIAL // Today publisher Eidos Interactive announced that their 2007 war simulator Battlestations: Midway is set to get a sequel in the form of Battlestations: Pacific, sometime in 2008. The game is set to continue the realistic and gritty simulation of the War in the Pacific that the original game kicked off.
Both the American and Japanese side will be playable. The two campaigns will each feature 28 single player missions. For the USA's side, it's all pretty standard stuff. Kick some Japanese ass back to the Home Islands, secure the Pacific islands and get ready to see how the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki win the war. This does not mean it will be easy. The player needs to overcome tactical and strategic challenges and, more important, soundly defeat the Japanese Navy while ensuring minimal loss of American life. The Japanese challenge will be somewhat tougher. History has seen the Empire of Japan fail at securing the Pacific and threatening the mainland of the US, but a skilled player, ready to be tactically flexible and determined, can overcome the challenge posed by the US Navy and the Marine Corps and win victory by threatening the East Coast.
The gameplay will be largely similar with that of Battlestations: Midway. A tactical phase will see general plans being drawn for the upcoming battle after which the player can jump in and command war assets like submarines, planes or ships. For the first time, the player will be able to man artillery pieces and watch as battalions get ashore. New units will number about 21, including late game Japanese kamikaze fighters and other new weapons developed after the Midway engagement that was the centerpiece of the earlier game.
Eidos has also revealed the addition of a Skirmish mode that let's you fight one of the battles against the computer and some 5 new multiplayer game types.