The usual internet uproar surrounding another World War 2 first person shooter being released was suspiciously absent upon Battlefield 1943’s announcement, such is the high regard the series is held in within the gaming community. The series has consistently pushed the boundaries of first person team based gameplay and vehicular combat whilst keeping accessibility as far away from the style of intimidating tactical shooters as possible. If Halo revolutionised the genre on consoles then you can argue that Battlefield did just as much work on the PC, showing that shooters needn’t lack fun for all skill levels or eighty hours practice to survive. With such illustrious pedigree Battlefield 1943 now stands as the first true sequel to the iconic Battlefield 1942 and as a pioneer in it’s own right, being completely digitally distributed. A daunting place for any game to be, does it stand up to such hype?
The first thing fans of the series will notice is that it feels like Battlefield 1942, which is no bad thing. The three maps included are all lifted from 1942 and adapted to suit the 24 player matches of 1943. The lone gameplay mode available is similarly a series staple. Conquest mode has five capture points dotted around the map, you capture the points to win. It’s deceptively simple but the maps are designed so you never get too bored with playing the same game type. Flak guns, sniper towers, bunkers and all buildings destructible thanks to the Frostbite engine lifted from Battlefield: Bad Company and you have an ever evolving battlefield. The destructible environments in particular make for fun gameplay. Being chased by a tank is frightening enough but when shells fly past you and destroy the building you intended to hide in…well it’s a brown trouser moment. It opens up so many gameplay questions as well, do you charge in and destroy every building in a base making it easy to capture or do you preserve so it’s a good defence point for when it’s your base? That depth is not just theoretical, it’s there and if you want to win has to be constantly considered.
The vehicles in 1943 epitomise everything that’s right about the game and the series as a whole. Nothing is overpowered and everything has it’s learning curve. The Jeep is the easiest vehicle to use and is essentially you and a machine-gunner bombing around the map, great fun but you are pretty easy to destroy. The tank is a little trickier and heavier but does immense damage, still easily destroyed unless it has back up however. The planes are lethal and can really turn a game but has a pretty steep learning curve. Similarly a skilled soldier can take the pilots head off with practice. The three class types are similarly well balanced and offering something for all levels of players. Infantry are close range fighters but can take out tanks, rifleman long range and can take out infantry whilst snipers are long range (of course) and can also act as a demolitions expert. Nothing feels too overpowered and you never just feel beaten in a game, there’s always something you can do to reverse fortunes. There’s no better feeling than after having your head blown apart for the eighth time by a sniper to get into the plane and attack from above, yet in the same breath you are not a god in that plane and always able to be taken out. That balance is what keeps the game frustration free and simply speaking what keeps it fun.
From the outside looking in Battlefield 1943 is an austere package but it’s only when you start playing that you feel the beauty of it’s simplicity. You only have three maps (a fourth coming after the community scores 43 million kills) and your choice of class is limited but you never feel like you are losing out on some grander experience. The graphics are gorgeous and whilst the gameplay isn’t ground breaking the limited class and vehicle choice ensures that it is perfectly balanced and enormous fun. This review discusses the meat of gameplay very little because it’s standard First Person Shooter fare yet it does it just perfectly. Granted there are no myriad of classes, weaponry, maps and customisation options but what you have in it’s place is a perfectly balanced and highly refined game that delights but never frustrates. The austerity of the package allows the gameplay to be refined to this degree and when the gameplay is there and correct the package surrounding it doesn’t come into the equation. If you want a flashy AAA big budget shooter then this isn’t the kind of game for you, what we have here is a game that holds all the staples of the Battlefield series in a great value package. Deep, engaging, accessible and fun…there’s nothing more you can ask from a game.
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