Product Description: Infested Fighter Squadrons Blazing Cannons watch the war developed in real time 3D. Control camera movement and get close to the action; More than 50 Theaters of Operations From Midway to the Mediterranean, every campaigns is one step closer to victory. Position your fleets and storm enemy garrisons; Create supply lines with 15 Regional and 2 Global Campaigns Based on World War II Strike Leyte Gulf.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Pretty good
First off i think the graphics are good, but the down side is it takes a long time to build ships and your alies suck they alway lose only if there british you know but so and so its a good game.
Rating: - Cool game but way too easy
PTO IV has excellent graphics and animation -- it's more like watching a war movie than playing a video game. But the AI is ridiculously bad. This game is about as challenging as clipping your fingernails, and that goes for both the strategic and tactical phases.
The way the game works is, you control the naval forces of one major combatant during WWII (US, UK, Germany, or Japan). PTO IV is turn-based, so you start each round in a strategy phase where you design and build your fleets, gather intelligence, and go fight the enemy. Problem is, the game doesn't give you much to choose from in this phase -- it's completely obvious at all times where to devote your resources, who to spy on, and what enemy sea zone to strike next. Not only is it almost impossible to do anything wrong, but if you do make a mistake, the AI is so non-aggressive you don't have to worry much about paying for it.
When you launch an attack (or on the rare occasion that the enemy actually attacks you), the game shifts into a tactical phase where you direct your forces in battle. The AI is a little better here, but unless you're totally asleep at the wheel through the strategy phase you'll go into every battle with enough of a decided advantage to just steamroll the enemy.
About the only way to make this game remotely challenging is to play as a single country against 3 opposing navies. So much for the idea of historical simulation; more importantly, the only real effect is to prolong the inevitable.
This game is fun to play through a few times but gets boring quickly. Unless you just really have a thing for watching computer-animated ships explode, I'd look for something else.
Rating: - If you LOVE WWII naval combat...
Some reviews remind me of the phrase, "Those of you who think you know what you're talking about are annoying those of us who do" when it comes to PTO IV.
Pacific Theater of Operations IV follows in the line of Koei's underpublised but successful title series of World War Two combat at sea. If I was to be in solitary confinement for six months, and could have just one video game, PTO IV would be it.
Aside from the purely historical context of being able to take control of the navy of either Japan, German, Great Britain or the United States (and see how you and your ally would have performed), the game allows a player to select from a range of scenarios as well as the full campaing series.
But, the sheer depth and beauty of PTO IV that many novices miss is in the ability to design and create your own types of aircraft and warships; modify exisiting warships; and continually upgrade both based upon your research and development expedititures. With a bit of effort (and some note-taking) you can create truley devastating weapons systems.
Another note about PTO IV's value is it's high resale cost, and general difficulty to easily obtain.
The game does have some serious flaws; but recall it was the first venture of it's type on the PS2, and the title does read "Pacific Theater of Operations". Taking out an enemy region as a "target of opportunity" doesn't provide a player with any real advatage in rewards. Leaving warship construction up to the games' AI can be a very frustrating excercise...the United States begins cranking out escort carriers in record numbers. What some other players have experienced in a "dumb" AI having a superior fleet destroyed is reflective of several things programmed into the game design; ever hear of torpedoes being fired at night by other surface warships?
One of the truley nifty things about PTO IV is the ability to take on the world all on your alone; playing as Germany (in example) against Great Britain, Japan and the USA. For a definite challenge, do this while letting the AI delegate all other operations...shipbuilding, aircraft deployments and so forth. It's this function that replicates (in a simplified manner) all of the excessive yak and argument with other military elements experienced in PTO II.
PTO IV also allows for the "what-if" element, in that warships and aircraft that didn't see combat use during WWII can; eventually; be employed here. But I would STRONGLY advise tinkering, you might be surprised with the killing machines you can develop with just a little tweaking of various attributes.
Recall also that the Japanese designers always used metrics, so you may have some trouble initially with gun calibers; but "bigger is better" always works.
There will always be those who will endeavor to find some small item to nit-pick on a "game". PTO IV is a game with great depth, and game-realism (not real-life), and as such is outstanding value for the money. If the game were to carry greater complexity on a video-game console, you'd have to be a)without a significant other, b)without a job, c)without an external life, and d)have an inherent ability to pay your bills without ever leaving the house or using the phone.
Koei skipped out on creating PTO V for the PS2, and has competition with Konami for a similar game on the upcoming PS3. Few details have been released so far, but it looks like many of the gripes will be resolved...not all, but many.
The game has exceptionally high replay value, and is a definite keeper.
Rating: - PTO 4
I liked this game because I got to control the ships. If you are looking for a game that you comand the navy this is it. It's pritty easy, and doesn't have the best graphics, but you get to here poeple yelling, and ships blowing up. I would recommend you rent it before you buy it.
Rating: - this game is the worst game ever
This game is sorry you do not do any thing but sit there and move fleets of ships and sit there and watch your ships get sunk during raids. This game is not even worth a -5 stars I put one because that is the worst i could put. I hope this helps u to make your mind.
- Pretty good
- Cool game but way too easy
- If you LOVE WWII naval combat...
- PTO 4
- this game is the worst game ever
