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Genre: Action, real-time tactics
Format: DVD
Developer: Eidos Interactive
Mac Port: Robosoft Technologies
Mac Publisher: Feral Interactive
System Requirements: Mac OS X v10.4, 1.83GHz Intel processor, 512 MB RAM, 128 MB VRam, DVD ROM.
Review Computer: 17” iMac, 1.8 GHz Intel Core Duo, 2 GB RAM, 128MB ATI Radeon X1600
Network Feature: Yes
Processor Compatibility: Intel Only
Price: $50.00
ESRB Rating: T
Availability: Out now
Official Website: www.battlestations.net

Whether you’re in a warship, aircraft or submarine, you control the battle and lead it every step of the mission. Battlestations: Midway allows you to choose a different path on which to play the game. U.S. Campaign, Naval Academy, Ship Challenge, Plane Challenge and the Submarine Challenge are the five different battles of which you can take control. So, if you’re playing the Ship Challenge and are really getting annoyed from the submarine shooting missiles at your cruiser, play as a submarine and demolish a ship.

This fast, action-packed game has stunning graphics that make you wonder if they could get any better. Leading and controlling your ship, submarine, aircraft, shipyard or airfield requires more skill than pointing and shooting, such as creating tactics to avoid the emenies and complete your mission. Each unit has its own unique features which change gameplay and keeps it interesting.

The graphics of all of the units are filled with incredible detail, whether it be a “Brewster F2A Buffalo” aircraft from the American fleet or a Japanese “Akagi” warship. Even when zooming in, the textures on all of units have great levels of detail. You don’t need a powerhouse Mac Pro to crank up the graphic settings. Some games require heavy processing power, but my two-year-old iMac (Specs above) handled it quite nicely. While I did see a slight increase in graphics quailty when I ran it on a newer iMac with twice the graphics memory, it isn’t CPU intensive.

Robosoft Technologies did a great job porting the game to the Mac. I’ve played a bunch of games that are ported to the Mac poorly and they hog up your RAM and CPU usage. Some of those games are virtualized for the Mac, which gives you sluggish gameplay and doesn’t take full use of your computer. In addition, Robosoft gave the game some traditional Mac features, such as automatically pausing the current iTunes Song when launching the game.

As for the action, I found it hard to hit opponents when moving fast, but slowing down makes you more vulnerable to being gunned down. But, what’s the fun when it’s too easy? The only thing I struggled with was my Mighty Mouse, which kept throwing me off the screen. It ended up having dirt in the clickwheel. Before playing, I’d suggest cleaning it out, if you’ve got one. On another side of controlling the game, each unit has a different method of controlling it. While they all may be reletaviely easy, it does take some time and would’ve been easier if they had standardized controls for all units.

Let’s get a little deeper into the gameplay. When you initially choose a path to play, you’ll be asked to complete certain missions, such as travel to the US ship or “Bomb the Mini-Sub!” Some tasks take quite a while and require lots of planning and thought, while others can be simple and quick. In addition you’ll be switching to new units almost every task. As previously mentioned, you may feel the need to pause to the menu for a second to review the new controls for the unit. Since you switch units so often, you’ll eventually get used to it, but it does get annoying.

Leading battles alone in a variety of units is plenty of fun, but multiplayer makes it all the better. The game uses GameRanger for online play, which allows up to 8 players to play together anywhere in the world. Online play can get fun with up to 100 different warships, aircrafts and subs all fighting it out. Multiplayer gameplay gets players to work together, where each player would control a different group of units.

Loading screens are quick on just about every Intel Mac, so you can get in to the game fast after every mission. Whether you’re playing a sub, aircraft or one of the other 60 units, or leading massive battlefields you’re sure to have plenty of fun in the war.