"Battlefield 1942-EA's Newest Masterpiece"

I am definitely a PC gamer, and I am always on the lookout for good games. When I first saw the screenshots for Battlefield 1942, I was not overly impressed. It looked like another gaudy 1st person shooter to add to the masses. But when the game was released on September 12, 2002 I decided to go play the demo. The screenshots had not given a good perspective of the game, and just from the demo I knew EA had another classic masterpiece to add to their growing collection of PC games. With a hybrid of many genres of games, from FPS to Flight Simulator, EA was pushing the limit of PC gaming, but did it right. Let’s take a closer look.

Game play 8/10
I like to get the bad over with first. This is not a game that you are going to want to run of a Pentium III with less than 256 RAM and a video card with less than 64 Megs of memory. The game will be unplayable if you do not meet those requirements! But this is not because of poor coding on EA's part, but just the massive nature of the game. When you are on an aircraft carrier with 4 enemy planes bombarding the deck and 2 planes trying to take off from your deck at the same time, and the aircraft carrier is moving, there is going to be at least a little lag. Also, loading times are probably the worst of any FPS you will buy. On my computer, average loading times are about 3-4 minutes, depending on the map.
Just the expansiveness of the game is a good enough reason to buy it. From the Coral Sea of Australia, to the steppes of Russia, to the deserts of Africa, BF1942 has it all. All the maps are huge and detailed, and each map type has its own skins for the vehicles. Also, there are many, many vehicles. You can drive Sherman, Panzer, Tiger, and other tanks. Dogfight in the air with Spitfires, Mustangs, Zeros, and Fokkers. Bombard the enemy base with the B-17 and let your 2 tail gunners protect you from attack. Launch of the carrier deck with SBDs, Corsairs, and again, Zeros while your buddy drives your carrier away from the oncoming battleship, destroyer, and submarine. Friendly costal emplacements cover your rear as you try to make time for your troops to get in the landing craft slung over the carrier's side. Rush into the enemy base with the American Willie's Jeep and German Kubelwagon. And safely transport troops across the desert in an APC with your gunner searching for foes. There are also 8 classes of infantry that you can play as: Scout (sniper, also directs artillery), Assault (basic unit with assault rifle), Medic (has a sub-machine gun and healing powers), Anti-Tank (has a bazooka, good against tanks) and last, Engineer (lays mines, explosive charges. Has rifle.)

Graphics 9/10
Although your computer must be pretty high quality to enjoy the graphics at its best, they are truly amazing. Flak cannons explode in the air, damaging planes that smoke more as they increase damage until they catch on fire, plummeting to the ground. When they hit the ground, they explode sending fragments everywhere that can maim or kill people nearby, and the smoking frame of the plane remain where it is for about 30 seconds (becomes a pain on carriers, blocks takeoff). Tanks, APCs, and Jeeps also do the same. Although soldiers’ faces for each team are different, each team uses its face on all its soldiers. But the faces are highly realistic, constantly flexing, and if you are shot your soldiers face grimaces and poorly tries to lip-synch a curse. Also, tank, battleship, and destroyer shells have an arch, along with the anti-tank gun, so aiming isn't just point-and-shoot for some things in the game. Plane's bombs do not fall straight down, so that is also skill you must learn. Aside from clipping issues, Battlefield 1942’s graphics are revolutionary in PC gaming.

Controls10/10
For ground and sea, controls are default FPS controls. But with planes they are different. Some people swear by their joystick, saying it is the only way to go. Others say that the keyboard is more accurate and customizable. I am proficient in both methods, but I personally lean towards joystick. Controls are highly customizable, every command able to be changed. I also have not heard of any joystick not working with Battlefield, and joystick configuration is simple and easy.

Sound 10/10
This is also a high point of BF1942. Although there is no in-game music, the menus and loading screens have very good music that gets stuck in your head very fast. But in game there is no need to have music, for there are constantly some sound effects playing. Everything has its own sound, and vehicles change sound different according to RPMs. When you are fighting with 5 guys next to you, 2 tanks on either side, a dogfight overhead, battleships pounding the shore, and machine guns rattling, it really sounds like a battle!. Sounds are extremely realistic, and they sound good on every sound system that I know of.

Single Player 5/10
This is the only weak point in the game. AI skills, even at the highest setting, are horrendously stupid. When bots get in planes, 50% of the time fly so high that they hit the map ceiling (yes there is one, but it is really high) and explode. Often you can kill up to 5 at once because they are extremely slow to react. The campaigns are easy and boring. Also, the bots skills in APCs and Jeeps are terrible, but they are strangely excelling in tank-driving ability. Very strange! I would not recommend buying this game for single player.

Multiplayer 10/10
If you are to purchase this game, this would be the main reason why. Multiplayer is a blast, and there is no performance difference between single and multiplayer. And unlike most games, people in general are pretty nice and helpful. If you ask for a pickup, within a few minutes people will come to pick you up. Ask for artillery and you will have shells coming down posthaste. Although there are a few quirks in the gaming community, like the mad rush for the planes after the start of the map (It sometimes ends up in a team-killing frenzy as people rush towards the planes to be mowed over by the teammate behind him.) But thankfully there are no cheat programs made for BF1942 like aim bots or wall hacks yet. But be aware since multiplayer is 64 player, I am afraid a 56k probably wont cut it because of bandwidth requirements.

Customization and Mods10/10
BF1942 has enough mods to rival games like Half-Life. If you want blood you can get a blood patch. If you want to have the Germans look like Richard Simmons, get a skin. Or you can even get a total conversion like the smash hit Desert Combat that has fans equal to Counter-Strike. It turns the game into modern-day weapons, and adds a few too. It isn't a skin pack, but the weapons are genuinely different. There are also mods in the works for WWII, Star Wars, Vietnam, Indochina, and more. Also there is a thing unique to BF1942, things called mini-mods. They usually just add a few things to the game, like rocket engines to the Jeeps or Chinook Helicopters. In the immediate future there is going to be so many mods that if you don’t like WWII, you can choose another war, in the past, present, or future.

Overall 8/10
Like WWII? Get this. Like Mods? Buy this. Like planes? Buy this. BF1942 has much to offer, and is expanding rapidly with 2 expansion packs out already. Also, the mod community continues to grow in numbers and quality. I highly recommend this game. Have fun!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/04/03, Updated 06/04/03