Battlefield 1943 Review

For those of you who don’t know, Battlefield 1943 is an online multiplayer World War II first-person shooter video game (wow, that was long—that’s what she said!) developed by EA Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts on July 8, 2009 for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network via digital download only.

According to the game’s development team, accessibility and value were the main reasons the game went digital as opposed to a retail launch. The PC version was planned but was later cancelled. According to DICE, the reasoning behind this decision was to better put resources on Battlefield 3 and the new Frostbite 2 engine. Unlike Battlefield 1942, this game takes place only in the Pacific Theater of Operations of World War II.

And now, without further ado, our review! 😀

Story

There is not much of a storyline. The game takes place in the WWII Pacific theater and features four classic maps from Battlefield 1942: Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Wake Island, and Coral Sea. These maps allow a maximum of 24 people, 12 on each side, to fight online as the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) or the United States Marine Corps (USMC).

Presentation

Battlefield 1943 is a fun first-person shooter (FPS) game just like the other Battlefield games in it that it emphasises squad-based combat, while retaining the vehicular and large scale warfare that the series is known for in multiplayer. Adding DICE’s second version of the Frostbite engine with improve in-game capabilities with Destruction 2.0 and you got a fantastic game to see and play.

Graphics

The graphics in Battlefield 1943 are stunning for a downloadable title. It really looks great with impressive lighting effects and lots of detail on every map thanks to the use of DICE’s Frostbite 2 engine, details like how you can destroy trees with the shots of bullets to seeing the wind blowing the trees is such a marvel to behold. It’s one of those games in where you can just stop what you’re doing and just see the amount of detail DICE put within the game. There are, however, graphical glitches here and there that can be annoy at times like in my case having black censor bars come when I kill an enemy to sometimes falling through the ground when I get killed but overall, it’s rare to have these things come in any giving moment while playing this gorgeous game to ruined the astonishing experience you’ll have playing it.

Sound

Sound design is where Battlefield 1943 really shines in. To the suitably epic orchestral score of the iconic Battlefield theme to satisfying sound effects of gun shots and tank fire, the sound design really make the game feel complete for the experience of feeling in a warzone and that it makes you feel like a solider going in them.

Gameplay

[show_hide title=”Expand to watch some multiplayer gameplay in Guadalcanal”]

[/show_hide] The gameplay in Battlefield 1943 just like any Battlefield game forces on the aspect of teamwork being the key to success. The signature Conquest mode of the series in where two teams must capture outposts labeled as flags until one team’s ticket reaches to zero with the winning team having the most tickets on them remaining.  Another mode new to the Battlefield series called Air Superiority is where two teams duke it out in jet fighters only in the air until the match is over. The game only has three classes to use in the game similar to Battlefield Heroes. Those classes are Infantryman, Rifleman, and Scout all having their positives and negatives to work out with other players within the battlefield resulting in teamwork in order to win the game. The game also has Battlefield’s signature vehicular warfare of tanks, jeeps, landing crafts, and jet fighters all within your disposal to use in the games with it’s very large maps to make air combat with jet fighters possible alongside ground combat with tanks. Each vehicle just like the classes have a purpose and balance to them as well. All having their strengths and weaknesses like tanks being weak to planes, boats and jeeps having little use outside of fast travel can get destroy by Rifleman’s RPG, to planes easily taken out by anti-air stations throughout the map.  The game having DICE’s Frostbite Engine uses it for it’s highly destructible environments like buildings and walls adding a layer of strategy to capture outposts to killing your foes. It does however have it’s shortcomings. While you can destroy walls and houses in the maps, some areas within the maps don’t allow full damage to the environment resulting with guessing which area in the wall or building can be destroy or not fully. Despite this shortcoming, Battlefield 1943 is still a fun game to play with others to work for a common goal in winning fights online.

Lasting Appeal

Overall, Battlefield 1943 is well made balance FPS that is addicting with deep gameplay, pretty to look at, and should be play for those that love to play online with your friends. While it does not have alot of content like maps and classes, it does however balance the game alot for the little content it has for a downloadable game.  Totally worth the money for only $15 dollars to spend on your Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It’s perfect. :love: [show_hide title=”Editor’s Notes”][alert type=”green”]Written by Joseph Guzman.[/alert] [alert type=”blue”]This is an exclusive Stagger’d review. All rights reserved.[/alert][/show_hide]