As Lay and I watch, Commander Henry Walker begins quickly issuing orders: artillery assaults on the Japanese positions and anti-aircraft (AA) flak directed at the deadly torpedo-carrying plane overhead, as well as at the quickly-approaching PT boats. The enemy counter-attacks inflict some pain, but Walker directs his men to focus on the water flooding into compartments below decks before turning their attention to the fires that have broken out.

Got ‘im! Major Donald Locklear delivers a little payback from the attack on Pearl Harbor.

“We wanted to offer a mix of real-time strategy and hands-on action via air and sea to deliver a unique gameplay experience you can’t find anywhere else,” Lay explains. The USS Kane has negotiated the deadly strait, but a Japanese destroyer waits on the other side. Lay and I steady ourselves on a handrail as torpedoes slam into the side of the ship. Walker instructs his men to unleash a fusillade of torpedoes and artillery shells at the Hatsushimo. The exchange inflicts much damage on both sides, but the Japanese ship begins taking on more water than it can handle and eventually dips below the surface.

“We wanted to offer a mix of real-time strategy and hands-on action via air and sea to deliver a unique gameplay experience you can’t find anywhere else.”

- Adam Lay, producer

“By taking direct control of realistically recreated units — including battleships, aircraft carriers, submarines, and planes of all classes — on maps spanning thousands of miles and covering islands, airfields, and shipyards, action and strategy are completely under your control at a scale and level of realism not before seen,” Lay says.

Portside Torpedoes, Fire! That red indicator means you have damage to repair.

Based on History, More or Less

While the mission we just watched featured one ship under Walker’s control, later missions in the single-player campaign allow you, in Walker’s shoes, to command multiple vessels, culminating in the famous Battle of Midway in June 1942. Some of the 11 total missions are purely air-based or feature a mix of air and sea action; Walker’s friend, Major Donald Locklear, lends a hand from the sky. He’s an experienced pilot who helps exact revenge against departing Japanese forces after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor at the beginning of the game.

Defense Mission. Make sure those bombers hit their targets.

When you’ve completed the single-player campaign, tackle the bonus aircraft, ship, and submarine challenge missions, some of which put you in control of Japanese forces. You can also take the action online by competing against up to seven friends on the Mac-only service GameRanger, which supports up to 100 air and sea units participating in the fray simultaneously. Choose sides and plan your strategy with teammates. Publisher Feral Interactive is organizing and scheduling online sessions, so be sure to watch for those.

All of the game’s single- and multi-player maps feature battles based on historical events, although Lay admits his team took some liberties.

“All units in the game are accurate reproductions of their historical counterparts, right down to the very small details.”

- Adam Lay, producer

“Sometimes, for gameplay purposes, we had to alter history,” he explains. “There’s no fun in losing the first half of the war as the Allied side, and there were few operational battleships in the Pacific area before the Battle of Midway. Battleships are part of the experience we wanted to give players, though, so we added them.”

However, Lay points out: “All units in the game are accurate reproductions of their historical counterparts, right down to the very small details. Our team searched for all available materials, including videos, photos, and even original blueprints provided by the National Maritime Museum.”

They’ll Think Twice About Their Approach. You can cause enough damage to an aircraft carrier’s decks that planes have trouble landing and taking off.

The Engine Drives the Action

To provide that level of realism, the Eidos crew needed to develop their own graphics engine. “It has dozens of significant features specifically tailored for battles at sea,” Lay says. “The requirement was to handle instant jumps from air to water — and even underwater — units, while maintaining a depth of detail. We also have to simultaneously render dozens of planes, ships, and underwater vessels, with each unit made from thousands of polygons covered by high-resolution textures.”

He adds: “On the islands, we needed perspective shadows, skeletal animation for crew members on land bases, and a foliage system. To top it all off, we have a highly-detailed ocean surface with waves, foam, translucency, reflections, and so forth. You need all of that if you’re going to recreate World War II naval warfare.”

”A Date Which Will Live in Infamy.” The radar in the top right tells you the locations of friendly (blue) and enemy (red) units.

The mission “Running the Palawan Passage” complete, Commander Walker heads to Java for some much-needed rest while Major Locklear takes command of a fighter squadron aboard the USS Lexington aircraft carrier. Locklear’s next mission: sink a crippled Japanese battleship harbored in the Philippines. It won’t be easy, because he’ll need to escort a B-17 squadron as it strikes the nearby airfield, and then swoop in for the kill by dropping bombs and torpedoes on the main target.

Lay snaps his fingers and we find ourselves in the cockpit of a PBY Catalina recon plane skimming across the ocean’s surface. From here we’ll be able to watch the attack. It should be quite a show.

If you liked this game, check out:

• Call of Duty 2
• Commander: Europe at War