A Praiseworthy Battlefield Game, Neglected By It's Creators
Allow me to start off by saying. $15 for a downloadable game that has fully destructible environments, absolutely massive maps, quality graphics, and timeless replayablility is almost a steal. Battlefield 1943 is, in my opinion, the best Battlefield game aside from the Bad Company series. Both use the same game engine by the way. But what 1943 has done splendidly is once again invigorate the WWII Battlefield 19XX series to it's proud stand-point.
GRAPHICS: The graphics in 1943 completely surpass any downloadable game on the PSN to date. Lighting is perfect, as you walk through a jungle on any of the maps you will no doubt notice the sun beams peering through the canopy. All the vehicles perform and look exactly as they should, even from across the maps you can still see a jeep parked, or a tank chasing hapless infantry, or a dreaded airplane making bombing runs on said tank. The ambiance of the game around you will immediately immerse you in a fight for control of a small seemingly insignificant. Exactly the way our Marines saw it in WWII.
AUDIO: 1943 sounds fantastic. The Garand sounds just as menacing as it should, the sound of a sniper's bullet hitting your teammate or ricochetting off a nearby structure are as clear as if it was real. All the vehicles in the game have their own distinct sound, which even an untrained ear could discern. But it's the planes that truly make the audio worth while. When they come in close, the sound of .50 cal machine guns and a 2,000hp engine are enough to make any infantrymen poo a little. Explosions are crisp, weapons sound accurate, and the ambiance is perfect
STORY: This Battlefield installment has no story, only online playability. Whether this is a good idea or bad, is totally up to the reader, I personally find the lack of a story better. By playing online, on one of four maps: Iwo Jima, Wake Island, Guadalcanal, or the Coral Sea; you the player and your army are making the story. Even though the battles were decided in real-life, you can alter history by achieving a victory on Iwo Jima, or an American victory on Wake Island (Wake was one of the only islands the Americans couldn't capture). And to this effect, I appreciate that fact.
CLOSING STATEMENT: With the ability to play as the Japanese or Americans, using their asinged weapons/vehicles, or stealing your enemies resources, this game is historically accurate and involving. Though with the ability to only play as one of three classes (Rifleman, Infantry, or Sniper) I feel this somewhat puts a damper on the experience. A medic or having the ability to switch weapons between classes (i.e. giving a sniper an SMG, or a Rifleman a sniper rifle, or allowing all classes to carry a sidearm would've made a large difference. All in all this game will give you many, many hours of enjoyment. The leveling system takes forever to complete, for those who enjoy a challenge, but all weapons are immediately given to you, there are no unlockables. The only real complaint I have with this game is the fact that DICE and/or EA have completely disowned it. After, and even before, the release of Bad Co. 2 DICE/EA took to almost completely forgetting this game. And that I feel is a terrible mistake, with this game being nearly as popular as the Bad Co. series, the developers should focus at least a small group of employees to maintain the game and release some long awaited DLC. But, for $15 every PS3 owner should purchase this game, or at least try the demo. The demo's free, give it a try!
