Release Date: February 3, 2003
The fourth part of the turn-based strategy, once again allows you to take part in the largest naval operations of the Second World War. Choose from four sides of the conflict, 96 vessels and almost 300 planes of different formations.
"P.T.O.". is the abbreviation for Pacific Theater of Operations, a title suggesting major sea operations in the Pacific Ocean. This is only a part of the truth, because the fourth installment of the Koei Turtle Tournament (whose debut on SNES dates back to 1992) allows you to swim not only in the Pacific, but also in other water arenas of fighting during World War II.
In the game you can play one of the four sides of the conflict: the USA, Japan, Germany or the United Kingdom. There are two comprehensive campaigns and 15 short scenarios to play out. Campaigns start in 1939 (British-German conflict) or 1941 (American-Japanese war) and last until the enemy is completely defeated. An interesting fact is that depending on the accuracy of their actions, the player can reverse the historical course of events, leading, for example, to the triumph of Japanese forces over the yanks. It is not possible while playing in one of the scripts. There are strict rules, imposed by historical realities, which does not diminish the pleasure and sense of fun. There are many famous battles to play: the battle for Midway, the fight in the Gulf of Leyte, the Japanese Ceylon Rally, etc.
The P.T.O. IV service takes place on a strategic and tactical level. The strategic level allows you to manage your own fleet, plan military movements and battles, establish supply lines, discover and implement new technologies, send spies. One turn describes the week of duration of the game. The tactical level is available when contact is made with an enemy. The player is transferred to the battlefield to take a close look at the enemy and solve the battle to his advantage with apt orders. Opposite each other can be powerful line ships (USS Iowa, battleship Yamato), aircraft carriers, submarines and a number of smaller ships, a total of 96 units. If you add to this almost 300 planes of different formations, you really need to make every effort to control all of this. Each crypt has its own commander, assigned from among the hundreds available, whose leadership skills have a remarkable impact on the combat efficiency of the equipment and crew.
The game practice goes beyond the typical, token representation of the situation, presenting a full three-dimensional battlefield. Each ship is a 3D textured body, and in addition, it is spectacularly animated. Therefore, despite the fact that the game is a turtle, the tactical screen is alive. Ships tremble with shots, missiles launch geysers of water, planes dive into attack, burning units slowly immerse themselves in the depths of water, releasing clouds of smoke, etc. The battles of the companions are accompanied by suggestive sound effects: the bang of shots, the sounds of explosions and the sound of airplane engines.
"P.T.O. IV" despite interesting campaign modes and scenarios has one big limitation, which is the possibility of having fun only for one player. In the USA and Europe the game is released under the same titles, while the Japanese version is called "Teitoku no Ketsudan IV".
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