Battlefield 1943 Review:

Are you sick of World War II games yet? EA sure isn't, and neither are a whole ton of gamers, as is evidenced by the early success of DICE's latest Xbox Live Arcade outing, Battlefield 1943. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of the Second Great War, Battlefield 1943 pits the United States Marine Corps against the Imperial Japanese Navy in an online battle across three historically war-torn maps: Guadalcanal, Wake Island, and Iwo Jima. If you're looking for a robust, story-driven singleplayer experience, I can tell you right now that you need to look elsewhere. If you're interested in frantic, intense multiplayer action, however, then this just might be your next 1200 Microsoft Point ($14.99 / £10.20) purchase.

Gameplay:

Battlefield isn't your typical Deathmatch-oriented game. Simply killing every member of the opposing army won't get you a win (though it certainly won't hurt your chances). Regardless of whether you're attacking or defending, your team must capture enemy bases to secure a victory. Each map has five bases, and each captured base acts as a spawn point for reinforcements. When one team holds three out of the five bases, the opposing team's "health" begins to dwindle until it runs out. While it seems fairly simple to capture a base (all you have to do is raise your army's flag), in practice it's much more difficult than you may think. The reason why, of course, is because of the constant bombardment you're usually under.

While video games will never be an accurate simulation of real war or violence, I couldn't help but feel a bit like a new recruit dropped onto the battlefield with nothing more than my dog tags and a slap on the back from a commanding officer whose well-wishing included a "Try not to die, kid." Try indeed. As soon as the game starts, each team launches their attack from their nearby aircraft carrier or encampment, reaching the nearest control point by any means necessary. Once you hit the ground, it's a mad scramble to reach the first base you can while avoiding the onslaught of tanks, gunfire, and, later on, air strikes, because in Battlefield 1943, you either die fast or kill faster.

There are three classes to choose from: Infantry, Scout, and Rifleman. Each is something of a combination of classes from other similar games (if you played Return to Castle Wolfenstein or Battlefield 2, for example). Infantry have the up-close-and-personal Submachine Gun, hand grenades, and a bazooka. They can destroy enemy vehicles with their explosives as well as repair their own using their unique melee weapon, the wrench (wonk). Riflemen use the M1 Garand (which to gamers is like the grandfather of Halo's Battle Rifle), hand grenades, and an attached grenade launcher for their Garand. Finally, the Scout uses a sniper rifle, a Colt M1911 handgun, and remote detonated dynamite instead of grenades. Everyone has infinite ammo for all of their weapons, though you still need to reload and wait for grenades to respawn in your inventory. This means that instead of picking up supplies from slain enemies and allies, you can change classes on the fly if you come across the kit of a fallen Rifleman, Infantry, or Scout.

Each class has unique strengths and weaknesses. The Scout, for example, can make an excellent defender in a pinch by setting up dynamite on a base's flag and moving out of the way to cover it with explosives and his sniper rifle. Infantry can assault a base with a tank and (if they survive the attack) repair the vehicle to keep on going. Those are just a few examples, too. Anyone can use a jeep, plane, tank, or turret to providing heavier support for their allies. If you're quick enough, you can even get to an airstrike building to call in a bombing run.

While everyone has regenerating health, you can expect to spend a good deal of time dead and waiting to respawn. All of the explosives and gunfire being traded between two teams of 12 creates a fast-paced battle that is definitely fun, but difficult to survive for very long (a lot like the real World War II). This is mostly because teams are rarely, if ever, on the same page. In games this large (and most games on Xbox Live), it's unfortunately common to have only two or three people out of 12 that are actually communicating and using their mic for more than spewing racial and/or homophobic slurs. From what I saw personally, teams were usually split into three-man teams that attacked one particular area while stragglers or two people attacked other spots. Sometimes one particular base became an insanely contested hot zone with troops pouring into from both sides nonstop while everyone ignored the other bases. It would help if the teams could coordinate better, but unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case.

An easy remedy for this would be playing with your friends, and Battlefield allows that fairly well...to an extent. You can enter a game with a four-man squad composed of your friends (and constantly connected through a private chat channel), but four out of 12 players sometimes just isn't enough. Even so, it's nice to take backup with you to a fight, so the squad feature is certainly a nice addition.

A quick and unfortunate note, however, is that Battlefield doesn't allow you to customize your controls. Halo players will have to make a huge adjustment. This is less of an issue when you're running around as a soldier, since many gamers can adjust easily in a few moments, but can be a bizarre problem while driving vehicles since the left trigger and bumper are used for accelerating and braking/reversing. It just feels odd, and even though I adjusted to it, I would've preferred to alter the controls to my liking for gameplay both in vehicles and on foot.

Graphics:

The graphics in Battlefield 1943 are solid for most Xbox 360 games, and fantastic for an Arcade download. I spent a great deal of time for my first few games playing as a Scout, and as much as I enjoyed playing the game, I think I enjoyed watching it unfold before me even more. Admittedly at the cost of efficiency, I found myself somewhat distracted by the chaos taking place on the other side of my scope. As bullets, shrapnel, and debris rained down around me, trees fell uprooted and buildings collapsed from bombing runs and tank shells. The game strikes a very intricate balance between realism, grittiness, and beauty. The ocean and islands look vibrant while still feeling scarred and abused by war. Even if Battlefield isn't the most visually impressive outing from a purely technical standpoint, the sheer intensity and atmosphere of the game, with no visual slowdown, is awesome.

Audio:

You almost can't mention the graphics, though, without mentioning the accompanying sound. While things may be quiet and tranquil at first, once the battle starts really going, the sound joins the visuals in kicking it into high gear. In every way, the ambient noise matches the chaotic scene you see in the midst of combat. Explosions, gunfire, soldiers, planes, tanks...everything blends into a perfect cacophony of war. While the menu and load screen music is quite dynamic and exciting, there aren't any tunes distracting from the fire-fighting in game, which makes the gameplay much more immersive. Having the IJN actually speak Japanese is also a nice touch that adds to the realism.

Longevity:

Battlefield 1943 is strictly a multiplayer game. There is absolutely nothing to do offline, save the botless tutorial. If you don't want to play online or you're looking for a singleplayer experience, this is the most worthless game in the world to you. If you're an online gamer, however, you'll find countless hours of enjoyment, more so if you're a completionist. Along with the standard Arcade achievements, Battlefield has an extensive leveling-up system that keeps track of your in-game accomplishments and increases your rank accordingly. There is no penalty or reward for your rank aside from the personal pride you can take for your success in battle, but for enthusiasts who love the game that's motivation enough.

Unfortunately, Battlefield has only three maps and one gametype...at the moment. The lack of an extensive map library will likely be remedied in the future with DLC. This may also lead to the provision of additional gametypes like Capture the Flag or maybe even a spin on the old Objective or Stopwatch gametypes from Return to Castle Wolfenstein on the Xbox. While the game may start to seem repetitive over time, this will probably change right around when the feeling sets in.

Overall:

Although I had difficulty connecting to a few servers, in all of the games I played, only one game had lag, which is very impressive (and necessary) for a game played strictly online. All in all, Battlefield 1943 is one of the highest quality multiplayer games you'll find on Xbox Live Arcade, and for the asking price, it's one of the best deals, as well.