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Battlestations: Midway

(2007, Video Games - Simulation, Rated T, Play it on: Windows, Xbox 360)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 13, age appropriate for kids over 17; suggested age 13.
  • Is it any good?

    4.0
  • Common Sense says

    Fun WWII action game with many missions, modes.

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 13–17

The good stuff

  • Educational value:

    Replays historic moments during WWII, including Operation Hailstone, a massive naval air and surface attack against the Japanese at Truk in '44.
  • Messages:

    Not an issue.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    Guns, bombs, and torpedoes are used to take down enemy planes and boats.
  • Sex:

    Some suggestive imagery -- a few images of scantily clad women.
  • Language:

    Soldiers will yell out some phrases that may offend some, including words such as "God Damnit."
  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Some cut scene sequences show soldiers consuming alcohol.
 

What Parents Need to Know

This review of Battlestations: Midway was written by Marc Saltzman

Parents need to know that like all video games that re-create real war battles, there's a learning opportunity -- as well as an opportunity to offend those who think making a game out of real events is insensitive to the people who endured them. You can shoot enemy planes and try to sink enemy boats. Cursing includes "Run that son of a bitch out of here!" "Poor bastards," and "Goddamn it."

Families Can Talk About

Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
  • Families can talk about how game developers sometimes use real-life events to create game playgrounds. Does playing a game set in WWII help you to better understand it? Families may want to discuss how tens of millions of soldiers and innocent civilians lost their lives in the war. Is it fun to do things in this game many of us will never do in real life -- such as fly fighter planes and try to sink enemy ships?
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More on Battlestations: Midway

What’s the Story?

Take command over boats, submarines, and fighter planes in BATTLESTATIONS: MIDWAY, a World War II-themed action/simulation game for the Xbox 360 and Windows PC. It begins with the attack on Pearl Harbor. You play as Henry Walker, a gunner on a PT boat who must stay alive through this Japanese assault, but then must soar over the Pacific as a pilot to take down enemy aircraft and their carriers. An hour later, you're manning a submarine using torpedoes to sink enemy ships.

These intense battles in the skies and in or under the water continue through the Philippines and other parts of Asia Pacific, climaxing at the epic Battle of Midway. While the initial gameplay is arcade-style -- aiming crosshairs, firing upon enemies, and adjusting the speed and direction of your plane or boat -- soon you switch to more strategic gameplay that includes issuing orders while viewing an overhead map, cycling through objectives, and choosing to repair damaged watercraft (except PT boats).

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Is It Any Good?

This polished and highly enjoyable game offers 60 historically accurate warships, planes, and submarines. The main U.S. campaign mode includes 11 lengthy missions and 12 bonus missions. Other modes include Naval Academy (11 tutorial missions); Ship Challenge (increasingly challenging watercraft missions); Plane Challenge (dog-fighting missions); Submarine Challenge (hunt transports and evade destroyers); and online head-to-head or cooperative modes playable over the Xbox Live service ($50 a year).

Despite some minor inconveniences, such as lengthy load times between some missions, Battlestations: Midway is a worthy war game with plenty of gripping gameplay.

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Publisher’s Details

Released on 01/31/2007, price $59.99, not online enabled
ESRB rating: T (for language, mild suggestive themes, use of alcohol, violence)

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Kansas
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 5.0

    i cried

    if people care for as it is good for them and good for us.if people care about you they loves you and they also give you some thing ,any thing special.

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