The Pacific
Midway: Considered the turning point in the war in the Pacific, the Battle of Midway was fought June 4, 1942. The Japanese lost four aircraft carriers, the Americans one, as they attempted to lure the U.S. into a trap and destroy the rest of its fleet. Some historians believe this would have allowed the Japanese to then invade Hawaii, giving them a base from which to attack the United States’ west coast.
Air and sea superiority are key to winning this map. Get control of the airfield on the island as soon as you can, leaving the second flag for the other team to grab, and use torpedo planes to sink enemy ships as fast as possible, which leaves them unable to shell you from afar once you’re ashore. You should also keep in mind that it’s faster to fly from the aircraft carrier to the island and paratroop in (exit the plane while over the island and press the 9 key) than to take a landing craft.
When the action starts, move your ships because the enemy will immediately head toward their spawn points in an attempt to sink them. It’s also a good idea at that time to take over the two control points out at sea. Just make sure you have some naval support or an enemy sub might end your trip real fast.Iwo Jima: Known as a “mini D-Day,” on February 19, 1945, U.S. forces landed on the island with the goal of taking it back from the Japanese. Casualties were high, but by February 23 they had succeeded in taking over Suribachi Mountain, where the well-known “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima” photo was taken. On March 26, the U.S. declared that it had secured the island and its valuable airfield.
The Axis forces hold the island at the beginning. The Allies’ aircraft carrier is key here, as its planes can both attack the enemy and drop paratroopers on the island, but it’s also important for the Allies to take a control point on the island early so that they can spawn reinforcements there. They need to be cautious about the flag on the beach, however, as the Axis side has bunkers where they can fire down on forces attacking the island that way. To hold the airfield, leave a tank on the platform that repairs any vehicles which sit on it. Plant land mines around it to keep enemy troops from stealing itGuadalcanal: The U.S. invasion of this Pacific island was launched on August 7, 1942 and was a complete success, given that the Japanese only had unarmed construction and support personnel there. Japanese forces returned, however, and defeated the Allies, sparking a series of seven naval battles around the island for the rest of the year. Neither side was able to claim victory in the end.
True to history, this evenly balanced map doesn’t give a large advantage to either side. If you play as a scout, take to the hills and use your sniper rifle, as well as artillery strikes, to take out advancing troops. When your side doesn’t have control of the hills, use aerial bombing runs to eliminate enemy snipers. And if the other side doesn’t bother to use their ships, take control of one of yours and destroy theirs. Then head over to the enemy’s airfield and start taking out their planes. Make sure you’re an engineer, though, so that you can fix your ship when enemy tanks and planes start attacking it. (Yes, if a ship is close enough to shore, a tank can fire on it.)
Berlin: The Soviets reached the outskirts of Berlin on April 1, 1945. They spent two weeks massing their forces and then attacked, linking up with U.S. troops along the way. By April 24, the city was encircled and the Germans couldn’t bring in reinforcements. On April 30, Hitler committed suicide while the Russians flew their flag over the Reichstag, as captured in another famous photo. On May 2, Germany surrendered.
Infantry and tanks rule this map, although players who drive the latter won’t last long given the choked streets that will box them in and the enemies who will spawn as anti-tank units and hit them with bazookas. Engineers can also lay down landmines to hinder tank assaults. Don’t forget to watch your tank’s damage level and jump out when it hits the danger zone. While on foot, you’ll notice that the impact from exploding grenades is absorbed by walls no matter how small they are, so take advantage of that and stick close to the buildings.Stalingrad: During the summer of 1942, the Germans attacked the Soviet Union and reached Moscow by December, when a combination of the intense cold, poor supply lines and fierce resistance drove them back out. They re-established their forces the following spring and decided to go into the southern Soviet Union, where Hitler felt that the capture of Stalingrad would be key. That fall enormous offensives and counter-offensives erupted in and around the city, finally ending on February 2, 1943, when 91,000 demoralized and starving German soldiers surrendered.
Similar to the Battle of Berlin, this map features plenty of street fighting and emphasizes tanks and infantry above all else. Both groups should head for the northern flag first. If the Axis forces can take it first, they gain a key advantage over the Allies and can hold them in their base for a long time, giving them the chance to win through a hard-fought battle of attrition.
Omaha Beach: One of five beaches attacked by the Allies on June 6, 1944, Omaha Beach is the most well known because U.S. forces suffered enormous casualties there. They hit the beach in wave after wave, however, and through sheer numbers finally managed to make it past the Germans’ machine gun-filled bunkers, where they could engage the enemy on more even footing. They secured the beach by the end of the day and moved inland, where they linked up with forces from the other Normandy landings and began to retake French towns occupied by the Germans.
The Allies start this map on a destroyer, so their first goal is to take the flag on the beach and give themselves a spawn point that doesn’t waste time with landing craft. Once there, they should use their tank as cover and advance their troops up the path on the right-hand side, with the goal of taking the bunker flag and forcing the Axis troops to spawn in the town. Or, if they head up the left side of the hill, they can grab the tank at the top. After that, the Allies can circumvent the long street, where fighting often bottlenecks, by going around the fence next to the bunker and ducking into one of the ruined buildings, a prime location for taking out German troops. The game will tell you you’re out of bounds as you go around the fence, but just move as fast as you can and head toward the buildings as soon as you turn the corner.Battle of the Bulge: The Germans launched this last-ditch counter-offensive on December 16, 1944, roaring through the Ardennes Forest in Belgium and surrounding American troops holding the town of Bastogne. The U.S. forces never gave up Bastogne, however, and improved weather later in the month allowed Allied air strikes to resume. The Germans retreated on January 13, 1945 and the battle officially ended two weeks later.
This map lends itself to plenty of tank-based warfare with its wide-open playing field. A lot of players take the anti-tank role, jump in a tank and attack until it’s about to explode. Then they jump out and fire their bazookas at the enemy tanks, going for the backside as much as possible because the turret usually isn’t pointing that way and the armor there is weaker. If you’re anti-tank and you run across infantry, however, switch to your pistol and take them out that way or toss grenades if you see a group of them huddled together. If the Allies can capture and hold the windmill on this map, they’ll make it much tougher for the Axis forces to take any flags.Market Garden: Operation Market Garden was a daytime drop into the German-occupied Netherlands on September 17, 1944. The goal was to take control of the bridges over the Rhine River and establish a route to Berlin, hopefully ending the war before Christmas. Allied forces met with initial success, but the Germans beat them back and they were forced to retreat after just nine days.
Air support plays a large role in this map, especially for the Allies. Players on the Axis side will need to become familiar with anti-aircraft guns and use them effectively to win. The Axis forces have a lot of tanks at their disposal, however, so infantry on the Allied side should be overloaded with anti-tank troops. Players on both sides need to remember that there are two bridges on this map; if you’re an Allied soldier and you notice the Axis forces neglecting one of them, use it to sneak around behind them. Both sides can place landmines on the bridges and make the crossing more hazardous.
Salerno: On September 9, 1943, American and British troops landed near this Italian port city, encountering nothing but Germans because the native defenders had left the day before. They made solid progress until the Germans launched a series of counter-offensives starting on September 12. Allied ground forces bent but didn’t break, and air and naval support helped hold the area.
This map is a haven for players who like to lie in the bushes and snipe others, so unless you’re one of them, keep moving as much as possible. It’s tempting to grab the middle control point as soon as the action starts, but that’s pointless since you can’t respawn there. Better to grab a control point, such as a repair station, that can supply reinforcements closer to the action. After you capture one of the repair stations, move a tank to the repair platform and keep it there to retain possession; it will automatically heal if it gets attacked. Have an engineer lay land mines around it so that enemy infantry can’t jump in the tank and drive off.Monte Cassino: This Italian hill 80 miles south of Rome was the site of four sieges during World War II. The monastery there, which was consecrated in 1071 by Pope Alexander II, was destroyed by heavy air raids on February 15, 1944. The Allies failed to secure the site during their first three attacks, but the fourth, carried out by Polish troops aided by Moroccan hill tribesmen, pushed the Germans out. That success allowed British and American forces to take Rome on June 4, 1944.
If you play as the Allies, it’s vital to head out and grab the first available flag when the action starts. That will stop your ticket loss and establish a spawn point on the hill, cutting down on travel time from the village. If you head up the hill and around to the left, you can make it all the way to the monastery unimpeded, where you’ll likely find Axis soldiers mounting the anti-tank guns. Take them out to stop the assault on your side’s tanks and toss a few grenades into the monastery behind you, where troops usually hide out.
- Mac OS X version 10.2.8
- 867MHz PowerPC G4 processor or faster
- 256MB of RAM (1GB recommended)
- 32MB video card (ATI Radeon 7500/nVidia GeForce 2 or better)
- 1.6GB of hard disk space
- DVD drive required to install and play