"Intersting game indeed..."

Introduction
Battlefield 1942 is an action packed FPS, which takes place in assorted locations during WWII. You get to play as both the Axis and Allied sides, each with their own set of country's and armaments. This game is pretty tight, but it still lacks some patching. I've had it for a month now,and I'd say there's a few things people should know before they buy this game.

Graphics
The graphics in this game can be adjusted to fit your computer. If you have one of those top-of-the-line graphics cards, set them to the max and make the most out of your computers power. There are multiple resolutions as well, which should be able to suit the needs of all gamers and computers. I must say, the graphics are pretty nice, although i think a little polishing here and there would do wonders for the game. But certain aspects are very impressive. An example: Put the graphics and texture quality on highest possible level, and look at another soldier's face. Quite detailed, and extremely ugly too (the soldiers face that is) Pretty well done overall here.
My rating for this section: 8/10

Sound effects/Music
Well, this is especially nice for the sound effects. Depending on the quality of your speakers and your system, you can adjust this so that you can practically feel as though you are in the war. It's truly magnificent: hearing the battle and shots echo over the horizon is just amazing. Also, the voiceovers are clear, and the ones spoken in different languages add a sensation towards realism in the game. An unfortunate downside is the music to the game. Upon hearing the one tune, that would be the introduction theme, there is no other music in the game. Also, this 1 tune does not play while you are actually in a game, so best whip out kazaa, grokster or whatever you use and make a playlist that goes with the game.
My rating for this section: 5/10 (music gained no points, sfx got all 5)

Gameplay
Ah, the most important part of a game. However, being that this game has both single player and multiplayer options, I decided to make 3 different sections for this area.
***Single Player - The single player has some nice challenge levels for the new player. You can have a large number of bots to help you improve your skills at the game. They come with a wide range of difficulty too, so when you start, go with easy mode; when you feel like a man, try the impossible mode. There's also a campaign mode, which has a semi-decent storyline, but sways from historical accuracy. The bots combat skill is quite an impressive spectacle to behold, however, they have the tactical ability of a dead snail. Regardless, this is a good single player game, and should keep you entertained at least a month.
My rating for this section: 8/10
***Multi player - Multiplay is a whole new ball game folks. This will take your single player skills and teach you to throw them out the window. Multiplay is far more challenging than single player, as you will be playing other humans who have practiced and perfected combat. It also allows you to see where you stand in relationship to people around the world. But there are far more downsides to multiplayer than there are good things. To begin, lag is very common, even for the nicest computers. Using a 2.9 ghz Pentium 4, Geforce4 64, 1024 ddr ram computer with a DSL connection, I am still unable to play in a 64 player server without heavy lag. This is rather frustrating, as aiming becomes much more difficult, and sudden lag spikes occur frequently. This can be avoided by turning down the graphics and texture quality, and staying on smaller servers. A severely annoying feature is the hated team-killers. There are few servers that actually monitor and ban team killers, and they severely ruin gameplay. The biggest problem with multiplay seems to be getting connected and playing. See the phrase ''Warning! Connection problems Detected!'' will grow very tedious, VERY quickly. I blame this on Gamepy's instability, and there's really nothing you can do to prevent this problem. Finally, there's the stingy players. You may be threatened, kicked, or banned from a server merely because you are doing better than the server's host or admin. I think this level of immaturity brings down gameplay significantly.
My rating for this section: 4/10
*General gameplay - This game seems to have numerous glitches that you will pick up on over time. A particularly annoying little glitch is the damage bug. It seems that there are times when you will die from being shot 2-3 times with a machinegun, and yet there are other times where you may be hit 12-15 times with a machinegun and survive. This is not only annoying, but aggravating, as it creates an atmosphere of ''I hope I'm lucky'' rather than sheer skill. It is an issue which urgently needs to be addressed either with a patch or in the expansion. Teamwork is seemingly absent in this game, and this will be a letdown for many players. I believe with time that this will change, but it's still quite pathetic at this time. On the + side though, there are so many different things to master, this game should have you entertained for a very long time. Whether you choose to be a Baron of the Skies, or an Admiral of the Sea, BF1942 has what your looking for in the game.
My rating for this section: 6/10 (lost points for glitches and the noticeable lack of teamwork)

Is it worth buying the game?
I would say it determines what you are looking for in a game. If you desire an action packed FPS with tons of weapons and skills to master, be it single or multiplayer, then yes, I would recommend this game to you. However, if you are looking for a game with solid teamwork and all the bugs ironed out for glitchfree gameplay, I would say no; wait for the patch or the expansion pack. Another thing to consider before buying is the specs of your computer. If your comp is not at least 1.2 ghz with a good graphics card, a broadband connection, and 256 ram, then you may want to consider buying it for single player only. For multiplay, I would recommend your computer be at least 1.6ghz, 512 ram, a modern graphics card, and a Cable connection or better.

Conclusion
All in all, it's a pretty interesting game. Definitely not for everyone, but it certainly should catch many gamers' eyes. I believe it will get better with time, as people will get better and play more intelligently, and any bugs/glitches will be hammered out. if you are looking for a game similar to this, consider ''Medal of Honor: Allied Assault'' Both titles are excellent, and really make WWII an awesome event to experience.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 01/30/03, Updated 01/30/03