Format: Playstation 3 (PSN), Xbox 360 (XBLA)
One minute we are storming the airfield. I use my recoilless rifle to blow a lookout post and the Scout in it to kingdom come. Unfortunately, it was too late. The enemy called in an air strike that was baring down on our location. We captured the airfield and then perished in a series of explosions that shook the Earth. Five seconds later, we respawned in the village to find that the airfield has been recaptured. Welcome to Battlefield 1943.
Battlefield 1943 is a multiplayer only game offered though the Playstation Network for $14.99 or on Xbox Live Arcade for 1200 points. And it is worth every penny.
Join as either the U.S. Marines or the Japanese to battle on three islands in the Pacific Ocean. The game feels balanced and fun. Each weapon and vehicle fires and reacts like it should. However, if you are used to playing Halo or Call of Duty, Battlefield 1943 is a different animal.
The maps are huge and open with hills, trees, villages and fortified bunkers providing cover and ambush points. You can run from point A to B, but you will want to hop in a jeep, tank, plane or boat to make travel faster. Your team has to capture five flags on the map while killing the enemy team. The more flags your team controls, the more spawn points and vehicles are available. The flags also dictate how fast you team looses tickets. A match is won by killing an enemy player which removes a ticket from their team. When the tickets reach zero, it game over man!
The three classes are all useful and needed to be successful. Scouts can shoot at long range and have explosives that can be detonated by remote. Rifleman are mid-range shooters and have rifle grenades which are great for dealing with enemies hiding in buildings. Infantry have a sub-machine gun for close range combat and a recoilless rifle to destroy vehicles. You have unlimited also for your main weapon, but you still have to reload when the clip is empty. Special weapons and grenades have a limited amount and have a cool down timer before you can use them again.
Battlefield 1943 has moved into the arena of modern shooter with recharging health instead of a health bar. This seemed weird at first, since prior Battlefield games have some sort of medic. However, the system feels great and works well. Health seems to recharge slower than Halo or Call of Duty 4. This means fire fights still feel intense since you can win a confrontation and then get taken down by someone around the corner.
The game supports up to 24 players and voice chat. You can also form squads. When in a squad, you can spawn next to a squad member instead of next to a flag you control. The squad leader can also assign objectives by looking at a flag and pressing Select on the Playstation 3 or Back on the Xbox 360.
One downside to Battlefield 1943 is two of the maps have an aircraft carrier as your starting position. If other team members run off with the planes and boats, you either have to wait for a vehicle to respawn or swim. Swimming can take a while and leaves you in plain sight for the enemy to snipe you without a way for you to shoot back. Also, if the enemy team controls all of the flags, it can be difficult to take back a position without planning.
Battlefield 1943 looks amazing. It uses the Frost Engine, which powered Battlefield Bad Company. The main feature of the engine is destructible environments. You can destroy trees, fences, sand bags and walls of buildings. D.I.C.E. was also nice enough to place explosive barrels next to buildings and fortifications. The explosions are large, loud and satisfying.
Though it’s more than you average downloadable game, the amount of gameplay and fun you will get from Battlefield 1943 is well worth the price of admission.
Verdict: Buy It
er910 see's robots. Reloading rocket launcher.