Battlefield 1943 is a difficult game to define. In some aspects it treads old ground, cramming 7 year old maps into last year’s Frostbite engine. In other aspects however it’s breaking boundaries. It is a showpiece for how far downloadable games have come, from an age of size caps and dual-stick shooters to an era in which they rival retail releases. EA have decided to sell 1943 for a lowly 1200 xbox points or £10, in the same week, Activision declared that Modern Warfare 2 is worth an unheard of £55, this contrast really highlight the value that 1943 offers.
Another area in which 1943 pioneers is DICE’s understanding of the console gamer. They has taken a stab at fitting Battlefield onto consoles before with Bad Company. It was by no means a bad game but it found itself in an awkward middle ground, too expansive to compete with the small but focused Call of Duty but too small to stand with it’s battleship sinking PC brothers. With 1943 DICE have struck a far better balance, focusing more on vehicular combat and objective based gameplay.
There are admittedly fewer options in 1943, with only three classes, four maps and a smaller selection of vehicles than the original. This may sound disheartening at first but it makes the experience feel distilled rather than limited. It is what console Battlefield has needed all along without knowing it. There is a feeling of rock paper scissor balancing that often sets up dramatic conflicts. If a tank rolls up on a sniper it can kill it from long range, but vice versa if a sniper manages to sneak up on a tank, a few c4 charges can deal with it in no time. In another example, one well placed bomb can kill any infantry or jeep, but an AA gun is never too far away to pick off careless pilots on their second sweep.
The same balancing goes for the classes: infantry deals with close range, riflemen are a good all rounder and a sniper can pick off enemies on the other side of the map. Be in the right position with the right class and you will rack up the points. The maps do a great job of stressing the strengths and weaknesses of each tactic, with Iwo-Jima being my personal favourite.
Of course, with this balanced gameplay comes a very familiar Battlefield problem, “spawn,run,die syndrome”. If you aren’t playing to the strengths of your class, you can find yourself dying repeatedly and feeling ill equipped against the enemy. This can be easily countered by being a bit more cautious and thinking about where it would be best to engage the enemy or taking a different tactic altogether. It is still an annoyance when it happens, and although it isn’t a flaw as such, it is worth mentioning that 1943 isn’t at it’s best when played as a run and gun. Another criticism, a real flaw this time is the technical side of the game. Overall it runs fine (after a shaky first weekend) but there is still the odd crash and the more common flickery graphical error. It doesn’t impact upon your enjoyment of the game too much, but is certainly in need of a patch.
Battlefield 1943 is a fantastic multiplayer game. It has some rough edges but at it’s lucrative price-point, it’s very hard to say no.
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