Battlestations: Pacific Preview - Midway

Battlestations: Pacific, the sequel to Battlestations: Midway, will offer even more explosive, hybrid action-strategy gameplay that will let you take control of a squadron of air and sea units and lead them into battle--or hop into a pilot's or captain's seat and dive into the fray yourself. This time around, we have the details on the infamous Battle of Midway, which will appear as a mission in the game.

The Battle of Midway occurred in June of 1942 and was one of the most crucial World War II conflicts in the Pacific theater. The battle was entered into with different motivations on each side; the Imperial Japanese Navy intended for the conflict to lead a decisive victory over the Allied Forces, whereas American forces lined up a surprise attack that eventually led them to victory. The ferocious four-day battle claimed seven ships, along with more than 300 planes and the lives of more than 3,000 soldiers.

From the Japanese perspective, the goal of the Imperial Navy was simple: eliminate the remaining Allied carrier forces that were occupying island chains in the area so that the Japanese forces could establish a defensive perimeter. Fleet Admiral Yamamoto, commander in chief of what was known as the Combined Fleet, made the ominous prediction that his forces might experience great success for a time but face trouble should the war in the Pacific stretch past two years in length. As it turns out, the admiral was right; for the first six months of the conflict, the Imperial Navy seized island after island until the fateful day of June 4.

As it happened, American forces had cracked the Japanese radio code and were able to determine the Admiral's battle plans going into Midway. Through a series of carefully applied ambushes executed at just the right times and just the right places, American Admiral Chester Nimitz and his seemingly outnumbered forces were able to position themselves around the enemy's flank, first eliminating the Imperial Navy's early reconnaissance troops, then swooping in to begin their attack on Japanese carriers on June 4, days before the Imperial Navy expected any resistance.

As with the game's other missions, Battlestations: Pacific will let you play through this mission with the intent of re-creating history or rewriting it. See the game in action in our exclusive videos above. Battlestations: Pacific will be released in May.