Battlestations

• Release Date: 1997
• Genre: Simulation
• Style: Naval Combat Sim
• Similar Games: Command & Conquer (Macintosh), Command & Conquer (Sega Saturn), Iron Storm (Sega Saturn), Command & Conquer (PlayStation), Command & Conquer (IBM PC Compatible), P.T.O. II (Sega Saturn), P.T.O. II (IBM PC Compatible), Command & Conquer (Nintendo 64)

Game Description

The naval combat action in Battlestations is divided into two distinct categories: strategic and tactical warfare. Players begin campaign missions on a strategic map, used to scout enemy placements and mobilize forces, then switch to tactical combat when close encounters occur between forces. In Arcade mode, the strategic map isn't used, as players engage in instant tactical combat in multiple ship-to-ship battles against a human or computer opponent. A third option is the War Games mode, featuring three styles of play in 26 coastal regions. Eight types of ships are available: aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers, destroyers, patrol boats, submarines, troop transports, and mine layers.

Tactical combat features land-based structures (missile silos, shore batteries, and power plants), briefings, 3D perspectives from a ship's helm or turret, and utilization of the autopilot feature while mobilizing a large fleet. Ten campaigns (Oil Inferno, Convoy Raid, Enemy Minefield, Mission of Mercy, Invasion Island, Whale Liberation, Atomic Sub, Defensive Dilemma, Tech Contention, and Home Fire Burning) are played at differing levels of difficulty depending on which of five commanders is utilized. Each commander has specific strengths and weaknesses, thus creating a total of 50 campaigns.

Eight special-purpose fleets (Pacific, Jutland, Wolfpack, Capital, Fast, McHale, Midway, and Convoy), made up of specific types of ships, are available in the War Games mode, and players can build custom fleets, choosing up to 16 with a limitation of nine of any one class. War Games objectives include destroying the opponent's fleet (War), sinking the opponent's flagship and returning safely to home port (Capture the Flag), and transporting troops to the enemy's harbor (Capture the Harbor).

Roots & Influences

Battle Stations combines arcade action with strategic campaigns in a game designed for head-to-head battle against a human or computer opponent. Battle Stations was also released for the PlayStation.

Review: Overall

Battlestations possesses both a huge upside and an unfortunate downside, which together brings the game to somewhere firmly in the middle. On one hand, with a glut of "me-too" titles clogging up consoles, it is refreshing to find a title that brings some creativity to the combat arena. On the other hand, it would have been nice if Realtime Associates had followed up on that opportunity by fleshing out the game and giving it more depth than it ultimately delivers.

On the surface, Battlestations plays like few games before it. You can't really call it a combat simulation, as the visceral gameplay has far more in common with arcade action than careful, strategic planning. Players can take control of fleets, but they also man ships individually, choosing a given ship for its strengths and weaknesses to take on the enemy. This setup takes things down from a more massive scale, and personalizes the conflict.

There is some strategy to be found in Battlestations, as players must choose how they want to attack the enemy, the best way to break their line of defense, and what destructive capabilities that they want to employ. Once the game starts, however, most of the strategy degenerates into quick, brutal warfare that soon leaves one of the fleets as nothing but a burning hulk at the bottom of the sea. If there were more plotting elements mixed in with the rough and ready combat, the game would have been an excellent mix of genres and more than likely ranked as one of the better games for the Saturn. As it stands, however, the combat engine ultimately breaks down to who can fire the fastest and most accurately. Once you get the hang of that process, the fun of the title is quickly deflated.

To try and spruce things up, Realtime Associates has adding different modes of play. They should certainly be commended for this, but the Capture-the-Flag type games that fill Battlestations don't differ enough from one another. The results feel much the same as the results of all other conflicts contained within the game. This causes the Campaign mode to grow stale quickly, as there are no diverse tactics, and no real plan seems to be better than the other. That isn't to say that you can't become marginally better and figure out a few way to fool your computer opponents, but true depth is definitely avoided anywhere in this title.

Two-player versus combat is supported, however, and if you want to find the true heart of Battlestations, this is it. As always, taking on a friend is infinitely more entertaining than going against the computer, as it brings the air of unpredictability back into a game that sorely needs it. The computer tends to play the same way no matter what, and your human opponent will more than likely mix things up, bringing different ships and strategies into the fray. As a versus game, Battlestations shows marked improvement, but it never really shines in the way it might have.

The game's visuals certainly add to the sea-worthy experience, with well-rendered, full-3D vessels at your disposal. Combat flashes and crashes with considerable aplomb, and the visuals do manage to capture the rough chaos of sea battles, even if the game doesn't accurately reproduce them. The soundtrack is roaring and melodramatic, and the sound effects help the overall fury, with screaming jets, howling bombs, and the sad gurgle of a ship as it slides under the water's surface.

Battlestations scores points for creativity, and there is certainly some life to be found within the title, especially when two players go head to head. But beyond that, the repetitive gameplay and unfortunate lack of deep tactics will soon condemn this title to the Davey Jones' locker of your game collection.

Review: Enjoyment

The game is based on a unique idea, and it's quite fun the first few times. Unfortunately, the straightforward gameplay starts to wear thin in a depressingly short amount of time. The simplicity of combat erases all hope that armchair Admirals have of a true naval sim for the Saturn.

Review: Graphics

Sharp, vivid, and accurate, the models within the game are a handsome bunch, and the overall look and feel of combat will impress most players.

Review: Sound

While the soundtrack is often insignificant, the sound effects increase the fury of the sea battles impressively, and lend to the overall sense of chaos on the high seas.

Review: Replay Value

The single-player campaign quickly degenerates into a snooze once the novelty of the game wears off, but {*Battlestations} will find some extra life if you have someone to play against.

Review: Documentation

The instruction manual is very good, giving a run down of the ships and their strengths and weaknesses for novices to the field of naval battle.

Production Credits