First look: Midway

Mithis Games has announced Midway, a tactical naval game that will let players re-create famous and hypothetical naval battles from World War II. Mithis is a new Hungary-based studio that was formed this spring by the "creators" of Imperium Galactica III, a tactical space game that is still under development at Philos Entertainment and is expected to be released by CDV later this year.

Midway will include forces from all the major WWII naval powers, putting US, British, Japanese, and German ships at the players' disposal. The game spans the entire war to show how the navies changed, losing WWI-style dreadnoughts in favor of the carriers that defined Pacific battles like Midway. The game's campaign will include a career mode in which players can rise from captains of smaller ships to omnipotent admirals. In various scenarios, players may have control of a single ship or many, which should introduce both simulation and tactical elements to the gameplay. The game is expected to include at least 20 naval battles and more than 40 vessels, including airplanes and submarines.

Mithis makes strong claims about the 3D engine (which it calls "Black Sun") that it has designed for Midway. The first two screenshots give a taste of what can be expected of the water effects and overall detail of the game. The engine aims to incorporate realistic sea and dynamic weather effects, as well as ship movement, all of which should have an effect on gameplay.

No publisher has been announced as of yet, but Mithis expects the game to be complete in late 2003 or early 2004. We'll have more details as they become available.