Battle for Midway (video game)

Last updated

Battle for Midway
The Battle For Midway cover.jpg
ZX Spectrum cover art
Developer(s) Personal Software Services
Publisher(s) Personal Software Services
Designer(s) Alan Steel
SeriesWargamers
Platform(s) Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, MSX, Amstrad CPC
Release
Genre(s) Turn-based strategy
Mode(s) Single-player

Battle for Midway (also called The Battle of Midway) is a turn-based strategy video game developed and published by Personal Software Services. It was first released in the United Kingdom and France for the MSX in 1984, and was re-released for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum in 1985. It is the second instalment of the Wargamers series. The game is set during the Battle of Midway in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II and revolves around the United States Navy attacking a large Imperial Japanese fleet stationed at Midway Atoll, in retaliation for the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Contents

In the game, the player assumes control of American forces and must eliminate all Japanese forces around the atoll by air or naval combat. Battle for Midway received largely negative reviews upon release. It was criticised for its incompatibility with black and white television sets, as the game was only accessible in a limited range of colours. The easy difficulty of the gameplay was also criticised.

Gameplay

A map showing combat around Midway Atoll Battle for Midway gameplay.jpg
A map showing combat around Midway Atoll

The game is a turn-based strategy and focuses on naval battles during the Battle of Midway, which is initiated in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. [1] The player commands three American task forces; two United States Navy forces and one United States Air Force unit, which are stationed on Midway Atoll. The objective of the game is to defeat three attacking Imperial Japanese naval forces. [2] Each American task force has an aircraft carrier, whereas the Japanese have four. The player begins the game with two American search aircraft used to locate and track the attacking Japanese forces. [2] [3]

When the main attacking Japanese force has been located, the player must send all available air units to engage them in combat. [4] Air combat takes place over real time, and may take up to a minute of travel time once launched from an aircraft carrier. Aircraft will run out of fuel over time and will crash if not refuelled at a carrier. [2] The game contains elements of arcade gameplay, which will automatically enable once the player comes into contact with the enemy. [3] The arcade sequences involves the player utilising an anti-air machine gun in order to shoot down Japanese aircraft. [2] The game ends once all four Japanese aircraft carriers have been destroyed. [2] [3]

Release

Upon release, Battle for Midway was packaged with an exclusive ring-binder and a manual detailing the nature of the Battle of Midway. [2] It was later re-released as part of a Wargamers compilation cassette known as Conflicts 2, published by Personal Software Services. [5]

Reception

The game received negative reviews upon release. Angus Ryall of Crash criticised the game's incompatibility with black and white television sets, stating that, despite a growing British economy, Ryall expected the developers to have designed games for "the lowest common denominator". [2] Gwyn Hughes of Your Sinclair criticised the tactical elements of the game as too light, stating that the success of the player depends on dexterity, and not "brainpower". [5] Clare Edgely of Sinclair User praised the game's historical accuracy, however she felt that its late release in comparison to other wargames made Battle for Midway feel "ordinary". [4] A reviewer of Your Computer stated that the game was a "flawed" attempt to recreate the famous Battle of Midway, despite admitting that it contained "some nice touches". [8] A reviewer of Australian Commodore Review praised the game's wide range of features such as the save and load functions. However, they criticised menu designs and "insufficiently integrated" arcade sequences, calling them both "poor". [3]

Two reviewers of Your Spectrum criticised the combat sequences' reliance on the speed of pressing keys instead of the use of strategy. One reviewer considered the game to be sophisticated, however the other reviewer viewed the game's slow pace and graphics negatively. [1] Despite the criticism, Ryall praised the real time element of the game and accessibility, saying that Battle for Midway is up to "current standards". [2] A reviewer of Amstrad Action praised the game's "accurate" reproduction of events and different levels of speed, however criticised the easy predictability of Japanese forces. [6] A reviewer of Amtix stated that the game suffered from "average" graphics and "poor" sound, and also questioned the inclusion of the arcade sequences. [7] A reviewer of Your 64 recommended Battle for Midway for beginners to the genre, despite stating that it was "not a simple game". [9] A reviewer of Commodore Horizons called it an "enthralling" game. [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Alien 8</i> 1985 video game

Alien 8 is an action-adventure video game developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game. It was released for the ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, Amstrad CPC and MSX in 1985. The game is a spiritual successor to the best-selling Knight Lore, which was lauded by critics for its isometric graphics. In the game, the player takes control of a robot, Alien 8, whose job is to ensure that all of the cryogenically frozen passengers on board a starship remain viable during the ship's voyage.

<i>Knight Lore</i> 1984 video game

Knight Lore is a 1984 action-adventure game developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game, and written by company founders Chris and Tim Stamper. The game is known for its use of isometric graphics, which it further popularized in video games. In Knight Lore, the player character Sabreman has forty days to collect objects throughout a castle and brew a cure to his werewolf curse. Each castle room is depicted in monochrome on its own screen and consists of blocks to climb, obstacles to avoid, and puzzles to solve.

<i>Gauntlet</i> (1985 video game) 1985 arcade game by Atari Games

Gauntlet is a 1985 fantasy-themed hack-and-slash arcade game developed and released by Atari Games. It is noted as being one of the first multiplayer dungeon crawl arcade games. The core design of Gauntlet comes from 1983 Atari 8-bit dungeon crawl game Dandy, which resulted in a threat of legal action. It also bears striking similarities to the action-adventure maze game Time Bandit (1983).

<i>Theatre Europe</i> 1986 video game

Theatre Europe is a turn-based strategy video game developed and published by Personal Software Services (PSS). It was first released in the United Kingdom for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Atari 8-bit family home computers in 1985. It was later released in France by ERE Informatique in 1986, and was released in the United States by Datasoft later that year. A port for the Tatung Einstein was released in 1989, in the UK. It is the fifth installment of the Strategic Wargames series.

<i>Trailblazer</i> (video game) 1986 video game

Trailblazer is a racing video game developed by Mr. Chip Software and published by Gremlin Graphics for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit family, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 16/Plus/4 in 1986. It was ported to the Amiga and Atari ST.

<i>Tornado Low Level</i> 1984 video game

Tornado Low Level is a multidirectional flight game developed by Costa Panayi and published in 1984 by the company he co-founded, Vortex Software. The game was released for the ZX Spectrum in 1984, with ports for the Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 in 1985.

<i>Dun Darach</i> 1985 arcade adventure game

Dun Darach is an arcade adventure developed and published in 1985 by Gargoyle Games for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC computers. It is a prequel to the 1984 game Tir Na Nog. The plot has Celtic hero Cuchulainn on a search to find his companion Lóeg in the mysterious city of Dun Darach. Inspiration for the game came from the works of Fritz Leiber and Michael Moorcock.

<i>Deactivators</i> 1986 action-puzzle video game

Deactivators is a 1986 puzzle video game designed by David Bishop and Chris Palmer, developed by Tigress Marketing and System Software, and published by Ariolasoft's action game imprint Reaktor. The player controls bomb disposal robots known as deactivators and must use them to deactivate bombs planted by terrorists in five research complexes. The concept for the game came from a brainstorming session between Bishop and Palmer; its design and development took five to six months to complete. It was released for the Amstrad CPC 464, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum platforms in October 1986.

<i>Zub</i> 1986 video game

Zub is a 1986 platform video game designed by Ste and John Pickford, developed by Binary Design, and published by Mastertronic for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum. The game has the player control Zub, who has to travel to different planets to retrieve the Green Eyeball of Zub. A parody of the game Light Force, called Lightfarce, was added in as an easter egg. The music on all computers was composed by David Whittaker.

<i>Battle of Britain</i> (1985 video game) 1987 video game

Battle of Britain is a turn-based strategy video game developed and published by Personal Software Services for the Commodore 64 in 1985. It was also ported to the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum the next year. It is the seventh instalment to the Strategic Wargames series. The game is set during the Battle of Britain campaign of the Second World War and revolves around Britain's defence and prevention against a Nazi invasion. In the game, the player commands the Royal Air Force as they must defend key cities against the Luftwaffe.

<i>Heartland</i> (video game) 1986 video game

Heartland is a platform game for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, and Commodore 64 released by Odin Computer Graphics in 1986.

<i>Light Force</i> 1986 shooter game

Light Force is a 1986 vertically scrolling shooter designed by Greg Follis and Roy Carter, developed by their company Gargoyle Games, and published under their Faster Than Light imprint. It was released for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum platforms.

<i>Zoids: The Battle Begins</i> 1986 video game

Zoids: The Battle Begins is a 1986 video game designed by Chris Fayers, developed by the Electric Pencil Company, and published by Martech. and released in Europe for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, MSX and Commodore 64 computers. Based on the Zoids toy series, the player controls a human who was fused with one of the robots and has to reclaim parts of a larger mech.

<i>Falklands 82</i> 1986 video game

Falklands '82 is a 1986 turn-based strategy video game developed and published by Personal Software Services for the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64. It is the fifth instalment of the Strategic Wargames series. The game is set during the 1982 Falklands War and revolves around the Argentine occupation and subsequent British re-capture of the Falkland Islands. The player controls the British Task Force as they must either defeat all Argentine forces on the archipelago or re-capture every settlement.

<i>Battlefield Germany</i> 1987 video game

Battlefield Germany is a turn-based strategy video game developed and published by Personal Software Services for the Commodore 64 released in April 1987. It was also ported to the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum later that year. It is the eighth instalment to the Strategic Wargames series. The game is set during a fictional scenario in which the powers of NATO and the Warsaw Pact engage in a conventional war throughout Europe, mostly centring in West and East Germany.

<i>Iwo Jima</i> (video game) 1986 video game

Iwo Jima is a turn-based strategy video game developed and published by Personal Software Services for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum in 1986. It is the second instalment to the Strategic Wargames series. The game is set during the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II and revolves around the United States Marine Corps' objective to secure the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army.

<i>Swords and Sorcery</i> (video game) 1985 video game

Swords and Sorcery is a fantasy role playing video game developed and published by Personal Software Services. It was released exclusively in the United Kingdom for the ZX Spectrum in 1985 and the Amstrad CPC in 1986. The game contains elements of dungeon crawling and revolves around a customisable player-character navigating through catacombs in order to secure a large wealth of treasure, whilst simultaneously collecting seven pieces of sacred armour.

<i>Ace</i> (video game) 1985 video game

Ace is a combat flight simulator video game published for the Commodore 64, VIC-20, and Plus/4 in 1985 by Cascade Games. It was ported to the Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Amiga, and ZX Spectrum.

<i>Pegasus Bridge</i> (video game) 1987 video game

Pegasus Bridge is a turn-based strategy video game developed and published by Personal Software Services. It was released exclusively in the United Kingdom for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 in 1987. It is the ninth installment of the Wargamers series. The game is set during the landings in Normandy on D-Day in the Second World War and revolves around the British 6th Airborne Division's attempts to secure a bridge over the Caen Canal.

<i>Spitfire 40</i> 1985 video game

Spitfire 40 is a combat flight simulation video game developed by Novotrade and published by Mirrorsoft for the Commodore 64 in 1985.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Joystick Fury: Battle of Midway". Your Spectrum (17). August 1985. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Ryall, Angus (July 1985). "The Battle for Midway review (Crash)". Crash (18): 126. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Games Review: Battle For Midway". Australian Commodore Review. 3 (4): 25, 26. April 1986. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Edgely, Clare (September 1985). "Battle of Midway review". Sinclair User (40). Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Hughes, Gwyn (August 1987). "Conflicts 2: Battle for Midway". Your Sinclair (20): 74. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Battle for Midway review". Amstrad Action (1): 87. October 1985. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Battle for Midway review (Amtix)". Amtix (2): 74. December 1985. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Battle for Midway review". Your Computer. 4 (11): 51. November 1984. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  9. ↑ "Battle of Midway review (Y64)". Your 64 (6): 51. February 1985. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  10. ↑ "Soft Hits: Battle for Midway". Commodore Horizons (10): 24. October 1984. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.