Battlefield 1943 Review - XBox Fan Force

Battlefield 1943 is off to an inauspicious start.

With a lack of forethought that is starting to become the norm for EA, BF1943 has launched without enough servers to support the number of gamers trying to load matches.

On the few times I’ve been able to get into a game (and this has only been at off peak hours), BF1943 has been fun to play, though how long the novelty will last is questionable.

Anyone familiar with EA’s last go at a Battlefield game, Battlefield: Bad Company, should be able to jump right in to BF1943’s control and play-style. However, those hoping for the deeper game-play of BF1943’s predecessors (BF2 and 2142) are out of luck here. Gone are the persistent unlocks, customizable load-outs, and squad-based combat. They’ve even removed the ability to go to a prone position.

With these game-play limitations in mind, Battlefield 1943 is much more likely to appeal to fans of Halo’s jump-right-in-and-start-shooting play-style than it is to gamers who like Call of Duty’s rank-up and unlock system.

However, without an unlocks system like that of its predecessors, players new to Battlefield 1943 (even years later) can jump in and play on a level field with those who have been playing since the game’s launch. And with the continued popularity of Halo 3 on XBOX Live (see article here), this is probably a good thing.

The game features three distinct classes, two sides, and three maps (a forth map and a new game mode will be made available once players reach a cumulative 43 million kills).

Continued after the jump.

Once in the game, players get to choose from the three classes: the Rifleman, equipped with a semi-automatic rifle and rifle grenades, is the perfect anti-personnel soldier. The Infantry class is all about force; they come equipped with a sub-machinegun and a recoilless rifle for anti-tank work. The Scout is the game’s sniper, equipped with a scoped rifle and remote-detonating charges; this class is out for the long-range kill.

In another interesting departure from the core Battlefield game style, health regenerates over time and players have essentially unlimited ammo. If you use all your grenades, all you have to do is wait a little while and you’ll be magically resupplied. While this may seem odd to veteran Battlefield players, it does remove the need for medic and support classes and speeds up game-play quite a bit.

Set in the Pacific Theatre of WWII, Battlefield 1943 pits the USMC against the Japanese Navy for domination of some of the Theatre’s key islands and atolls (Iwo Jima, Wake Island).

Game-play revolves around players fighting to control key points on the map to slowly tick away the opposing faction’s points until only one team stands. And with map markers guiding you to control points, as well as to where the heart of the fighting is taking place, BF1943 does a pretty good job of keeping games from spiraling into pointless deathmatches.

Battlefield 1943 uses the new Frostbite game engine that was seen in BF: Bad Company, which means that everything on the map, from trees and fences to bunkers and bridges, can be run down or blown to bits. This is a welcome change from the days of a palm tree being able to stop an M4 Sherman. This engine also means that maps are now dynamic: players will find that a hiding spot that was so useful a few minutes ago, is now a pile of rubble that offers about as much cover as a piece of toast.

On to the techie stuff: BF1943’s controls are easy to learn and use, however, I have found some issues with responsiveness when it comes to tracking a moving target while looking down the sights.

The graphics are very well done; fire looks great, models are sharp, and the water around the islands is beautiful. That being said, I have seen several graphical glitches, though none have been major. One point I have had a major problem with is the game’s sound. Most of the time, the sound effects are great. However, at times, the game seems to switch tracks, and when this happens there is a noticeable break in the audio that can be very jarring.

One final technical point: I don’t know if this is a glitch or a flaw in the game’s design, but every time I’ve tried, I have been unable to run over and kill enemy solders when driving a jeep – I just drive right through them. If this is a game-play choice by EA and DICE, it is a very poor one, as, the last time I checked, being hit by a one ton car tends to do some damage.

All complaints aside, BF1943 is not a full game like BF: BC or 2142, and as such, one shouldn’t expect the same kind of quality and content as a full retail game. However, for 1200 MS Points, Battlefield 1943 is a great game, even though it lacks most of what made its PC counterparts so enjoyable and engaging for such a long time.

I, personally, hope that Battlefield 1943 climes to the top of the XBOX Live charts and knocks Master Chief from the top spot.

While BF1943’s lack of unlocks and customization may hurt its appeal in the long run for some, its fun, fast, and action-packed game-play makes Battlefield 1943 definitely worth picking up.

And check back, once players hit 43 million kills, for an update and a look at the new map and game mode.

Battlefield 1943 is available on XBOX Live Marketplace for 1200 MS Points, requires a HDD, and has no single-player mode.