The Pacific Theater

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 — President Franklin D. Roosevelt called it “a day which will live in infamy” — was the culmination of U.S.-Japan tensions that had risen during the 1930s. Japan had steadily engaged in aggressive activity in the Pacific Ocean, and the country hoped to neutralize America’s fleet with a surprise strike, allowing them to further their empire-building.

While Japan succeeded in decimating the United States’ battleship fleet, however, it left the aircraft carriers and submarines largely intact. Those became America’s primary weapon as it entered World War II and fought back against the Japanese, with the help of its allies. As Lay points out, his development team took a few liberties with history at this point, allowing the Americans to bring many more battleships into combat than they really owned.

In addition to the combat at Pearl Harbor and Midway, Battlestations: Midway covers other historical events, including the Battle of Balikpapan in January 1942 and the Battles of Tulagi and the Coral Sea, both of which occurred in May 1942. When you head to the Philippines during the game’s second mission, you’ll even encounter a famous World War II participant: John F. Kennedy, who commanded a PT boat in the Pacific theater.

• “During multi-player,” says Lay, “you’re at an advantage if you first learn the strengths and weaknesses of your units by playing through the single-player campaign and challenge missions.”
• He adds: “Don’t forget the basic ‘rock-paper-scissors’ match-ups: dive bomber versus destroyer, sub versus battleship, and so forth. Try to ‘cross the T’ (pass in front of enemy vessels, so that you bring all guns to bear while they can only use their forward weapons) when you engage with ships, and lead the target with artillery.”
• “Try not to use torpedoes one at a time,” Lay concludes. “Instead, fire in spreads to trap ships and overwhelm their pumps.” Fire your torpedoes when you’re within half a nautical mile or less, to increase your odds of a direct hit. That goes for planes dropping them as well as submarines and surface vessels.
• Play through the Naval Academy missions to get a thorough understanding of all components of the game, from hands-on unit controls to overseeing a battle from a top-level perspective.
• Submarine torpedoes need about two seconds to rise to the surface when fired from attack depth. If you don’t give them enough time, they’ll travel under their target.
• Whether you’re dive bombing or dogfighting, keep the sun behind you; your opponent will be too blinded to get a good fix on you.
• Torpedoes dropped from planes at high altitude will explode when they hit the water, so get as low as you can before deploying that deadly payload.
• Land your bombers — as well as any fighters whose torpedoes or bombs you want to use — as often as possible, to let them rearm and return to the action. Just make sure the entire squadron has deployed its payload before issuing the order.
• If you don’t want to wait for the computer to land planes for you, do it yourself by slowing down as you approach the carrier or airstrip. Your landing gear will automatically deploy, so you simply need to touch down. That’s easier said than done, especially on aircraft carriers, however.
• Slow your plane while turning, or if you find yourself stuck in a dive. Correct your flight path and then accelerate out of the situation.
• Once you’ve picked a target, stick with it, whether you’re manning artillery guns or engaging in an aerial dogfight.

• Anti-aircraft guns are also useful for taking out small boats.
• Destroyers can quickly pump out water, making them tougher to sink with torpedoes. You’re often better off using artillery against them.
• Take advantage of the ability to place your ships in formations, which helps you hide your numbers and plan better strategies. StrategyWiki contains some useful tips. That site also features walkthroughs of the campaign and bonus missions, as well as other information.
• Press the Tab key to switch to map view as often as possible, especially during large battles involving many units, primarily the final one at Midway. There, you can issue orders to your units, such as attack, move to a waypoint, patrol an area or escort other units, and so forth. When you’re done, press the Tab key again to leave map view and then switch to control of your preferred unit.
• Don’t forget to use your fighter squadrons as escorts whenever possible. For example, you can order them to accompany bombers on a mission, to ensure they have the best chance to hit their targets. If you tell a squadron to engage in combat air patrol, they’ll automatically attack enemy units that come within two miles of them.
• When you switch to control of a plane in a squadron, your computer-controlled wingmen will follow your lead.
• Watch your submarine’s air supply. You’ll need to surface periodically to replenish it; if you don’t, the sub will do so automatically, potentially leaving you a sitting duck at an inopportune moment.
• You earn a medal at the end of each mission. If you complete only your primary objectives, you’ll earn the bronze; accomplish secondary objectives too if you want a silver. Gold medals, however, go only to players who also figure out — and complete — a mission’s hidden objectives.
• You receive more medals for reaching a variety of benchmarks, such as the Air Medal for shooting down 20 enemy planes and controlling a single aircraft for at least five minutes. The Hardened Veteran of Midway medal goes to players who complete the campaign on the highest difficulty level, veteran.
• Name your profile Henry Walker to automatically unlock all campaign and bonus missions.