Battlefield 1943

Everyone played the groundbreaking and mind blowing Battlefield 1942, full of action, variety and pure fun. Now we have Battlefield 1943, a game that takes the same core game play elements, and brings them into the next generation.

Gameplay: Fun and varied
The gameplay in Battlefield 1943 is really the big piece of the puzzle for the game, and it fits in nicely. The controls are great like any battlefield game, where they seamlessly move from FPS, to Airplane, to Jeep, to Tank, to Transport Boat...etc. The interface has a very low learning curve, and if you're new to the series, then you can just spend some time with the very detailed tutorial, so you pick up the basics. There are three classes, rifleman, which carries a semi-auto rifle; infantry, which carries a Submachine gun; and Scout, which is the sniper. You're constantly doing a wide variety of tasks, to help your team capture control points, and each class is more than capable of doing them. The more control points your team controls, the faster your enemies reinforcement bar goes down, which is how you ultimately achieve victory. The best part about the gameplay is there is so much to in one single game. You can spend the whole game firing at planes from your aircraft carrier, with an AA gun. You could fly in a plane the whole game, the possibilities are endless, so if shooting it up isn't your forte, then there are other options within the game.

Visuals: New and improved
Dice updated the game with the Frostbite engine, which was used for Battlefield Bad Company, and it looks really good. There are very few texture pop ins, and the explosions look awesome. The engine allows for any building, tree, fence or bush to get blown to pieces, so camping out in a building doesn't always work. The weapons look great, and everything looks very fresh and new.

Sound: Excellent
The sound effects are top notch in this game. Bullets whizzing by your head, really make you feel like you're in World War II. When you land a transport boat on an enemy beach, it makes for some moments that are on par with Saving Private Ryan, with the same jaw dropping sound effects and realism.

Multiplayer: Poor servers, but good maps
There is only one multi-player mode,  and be warned it has connection problems. The servers are mostly just overcrowded with people wanting in on the action, so once you're in a game it will fill up really fast. The maps are excellent, because each is very different, and will require different strategies to winning. There are three maps: Iwo Jima, Wake Island, and Guadalcanal, plus the Coral Sea bonus map, which is strictly naval and air battles. The maps are perfectly sized, and allow for some great action, because you're not running around the map the entire time. Your character progresses with rank, but there are no customization options that come with increased rank, so ranking up is really only for fun and bragging rights.

For only fifteen dollars (1200 Microsoft Points) you can have yourselves are very addicting and enjoyable FPS, that delivers every penny worth of fun.