Cruel Seas lets you play out smaller-scale battles that took place during WWII. But what if you want huge battleships and aircraft carriers and destroyers and stuff like that? Well, you won't have to wait much longer, as Warlord Games is counting down to the release of Victory at Sea.

From the post:

From skirmishes involving single destroyers hunting down merchantmen to the clashing of massive fleets against implacable enemies, Victory at Sea enables you to fight exciting battles that take place on the oceans of World War II.

Victory at Sea is the game of naval combat during the Second World War. Throughout 1939–45, the nations of the world duelled across the oceans across the globe, only to discover the fundamental nature of naval warfare changing in the face of rapidly developing technologies.

With an initial roster of four fleets, the US Navy, Imperial Japanese Navy, Royal Navy and Kriegsmarine (with two more fleets to follow shortly), you can take the fight to any naval theatre of World War Two. From the convoy raiding of the Battle of the Atlantic to the epic carrier battles of the Pacific with aircraft thick in the smoke-filled air.

The Battle for the Pacific Rules Manual contained within the stater box have everything you need to get your fleets sailing on the battle-roiled waves. The game turn is broken down into four phases:

Initiative

Movement

Gunnery

End

In addition to covering each of these phases in depth, the rules manual dives deep into the Orders system, covers the universal special rules shared by many vessels (known as traits) and guides you through the use of aircraft in the game – including the use of carriers, kamikaze attacks and dogfighting, to name just a few snippets.

The ‘War at Sea’ scenario is included to try out what you have learnt. This scenario allows each player to generate random objectives providing endless variety.

Finally, you’ll find overviews of each of the initially playable fleets in Victory at Sea, detailing the special rules that characterise each nation, from the poor torpedo capabilities of early war US fleets to the lack of co-ordination between navy and air force when using the Italian Regia Marina.

We’ll be taking a closer look at the rules, and the playable navies, in the coming weeks.