Surprise! "Battlestations: Midway" Isn't For Old Men

There's a special class of video game that I tend to think of as almost exclusively for grandpas.

Perhaps the most notorious offender is World War II games, what with their Panzer-this and Selbstladepistole-that, that seem to be little more than a history lesson with occasional shooting.

I was terrified this would be the case with "Battlestations: Midway," a naval strategy/action hybrid game set in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. So imagine my delight when it was not only not aimed at oldsters but was actually pretty compelling.

Don't expect to get your boots muddy with this particular WWII title, you'll solely be controlling vehicles in massive air and sea battles. You'll carry out those battles by both directly controlling ships and planes, and by ordering them remotely on a sort of cut-away mini-map. When battles get a little crazy, you'll be thankful to be able to get a bird's eye view.

Controlling the vehicles is a lot of fun, with planes tight and responsive and giant battleships handling ... well, like giant battleships. After an exhaustive tutorial (my wife started referring to this as "Tutorial: The Game") you'll take on a somewhat brief single-player campaign. You'll follow the career of recruit Henry Walker, from Pearl Harbor all the way to the Battle of Midway. The narrative isn't much to speak of, but it's honestly more than I expected.

When the campaign is complete, you'll be able to move on to nigh-impossible challenges testing your plane, boat and submarine skills. These are satisfying when you win and infuriating when you trip up after 30 minutes of battle. Overall, a really nice addition.

For many though, the crown jewel of this package is going to be the multiplayer, where teams playing as American and Japanese forces can face off, often controlling just one vehicle or airfield. It's a nice change of pace for someone who's been playing a lot of shooters lately, with a cohesive strategy much more important than a quick trigger finger.

There are some significant flaws here, with a large portion of the blame leveled at the last-gen graphics, but there's a lot of fun to be had. Best of all ... it's different from almost any other game out there ... and that's something you don't have to be a grandpa to appreciate.