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TeamXbox: Battlefield 1943 Hands-On Preview

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After getting some significant hands-on time with Battlefield 1943 (courtesy of EA at its pre-E3 event last week on the EALA campus), it’s become clear that DICE has recaptured that original, seminal game’s feel, while presenting an intriguing new hallmark of what you can expect from a downloaded console game. It’s similar to how Battlefield 1942 spawned a whole new multiplayer gameplay meme with its inclusion of vehicles, classes and other innovations that rival games would mimic for years. They still do.

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There is only one game mode, but it’s much more satisfying than Team Deathmatch types of to-do’s. Conquest has you capturing different points on an island, which then become spawn points for fallen players as well as vehicles and gun mounts. It’s a familiar type of gameplay, thanks in no small part to the original game. Since there isn’t much good reason to mess with that proven formula, the gamemakers have kept the game pretty much entirely intact when it comes to features of the gameplay. You’ve still got planes and tanks and jeeps, and you still play the game mostly the same way. The cutbacks come more sharply in the map list. There are only three this time around, concentrating on South Pacific islands that were the backdrop of the conflict between the United States and Japan: Wake Island, Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima.They are quite large, though, and you’ll have plenty of different experiences fighting across different parts of them. I’m not saying it won’t get old at some point; three maps can only stretch so far. But we understand there are restraints that must be made when releasing something over Xbox Live.

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And that illustrates one of the problems inherent in the original that carries over here. Battlefield 1942 games could often devolve into chaos, because of the size of the map or from a player list overladen with newbs that don’t know how to play with each other. As in the original, Battlefield 1943 will be a lot more fun with some experienced gamers on your team. Otherwise, it’s just a parade of spawning soldiers grabbing vehicles to drive themselves to the front lines, ditching said vehicles, fighting, dying, rinse, repeat. Hopefully, gamers have become much more sophisticated, and finding a good match online won’t be too much trouble. [Cue laugh track here.] But seriously, when Battlefield is fun, it’s fun. It’s challenging, too. Flying planes is definitely not easier; in fact, it’s harder to fly an F4U Corsair in this game than it is in the recently released Battlestations: Pacific, and that game is intended to be more realistic. It’s not the only similarity between the two games, but they couldn’t be farther from each other in the way they play. Even though it’s sort of an abridged remake, the new graphics powered by the Frostbite engine, along with a few new tweaks and additions to the gameplay (the Bomber Shack attack is particularly cool), should give old fans a reason to check this game. Being a ton of fun should be enough for neophytes.

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