Could've been great if it weren't for crashes and bad AI
I honestly would've rated this game a 9.5 or higher if there weren't so many crashes.
Graphics: 9
These graphics are awesome! I've never seen a surface combat game that rocks this much when it comes to detail. There are a few bugs in the graphics that made me take off the 9.5, such as ships passing through the one that sank in front of them and torpedoes launching without even facing the direction of the enemy ship. You can zoom in and see an amazing amount of detail on the ships, from crew, to gun, to deck, to plane sitting on the catapault waiting to be launched.
The worst thing about the graphics is usually you can't turn it up to highest without your game crashing out on you.
Gameplay - 4.5
Alright, I would've given gameplay a solid 9.5 if it weren't for the problems that persist in this game - even after the patches.
Gameplay is great, as you get to build a not-too-narrow-but-not-too-broad variety of ships and aircraft. You control a strategic map (either as US or Japan) and can take certain zones on the map and set up bases to refuel/reload/build/etc. Once you get into a battle, you command your ships, where you want to place them, what you want your aircraft to do, etc. One of the neatest things about this game is the ability to control individual aircraft or anti-aircraft guns.
"So why prometheus92, if its so good, did you give it a 4.5?"
I'll tell you why:
I have never seen a game in my life that crashes for no apparent reason. The patches fixed some bugs, but it left out the major one: the strategic map crash. To date, I have never had a crash in tactical mode, but in strategic map, I am lucky to go more than 10 minutes without crashing to desktop. I have a pretty decent computer too, built for gaming, and it just keeps crashing. It'll be sudden and out of nowhere. You'll tell a fleet to go to a base and as you watch it go across the ocean to that base, it'll randomly crash to desktop. There are two types of bad games - ones that don't play, and ones that have colors or noises so bright that it damages the senses or to your computer. This game falls under the first category to some extent, because at times it is nearly unplayable.
Sounds: 6
Sounds are mainly repetitive, I think there are 4 types of songs, and whenver you order units around, they say one of about 3 things. The ships make realistic noises when they fire and sink, as do planes when they fire, bomb, crash, and get hit.
Buy or rent? Hmph...this is a tough question. I'd say buy if you can find the game under $20 (as of November, 2007). I got my copy off ebay unopened for only $9.95. Final thoughts: Buka really needs to get it together when it comes to bugs and crashes. They had a really great concept, and it had potential, but it came up short because of the problems. I'm looking forward to Pacific Storm: Allies, and I hope it doesn't have nearly as many issues with crashing and bugs.
Thank you for reading my review ;D.