Battlefield Vietnam

"Did BFV live up to the hype?"

In many ways, yes Battlefield:Vietnam lived up to the hype it was given. In many ways, it didn't. As a player of it's predecessor, Battlefield:1942, I expected this game to be almost exactly like BF42, with some minor tweaks. I was wrong! The game really does feel different than BF42. I really didn't expect that. Even though the graphics aren't the best, they are of higher quality than the original game. They fit right in most of the maps. I feel like its raining(even though it isn't) in Hue. I am dissapointed with the water. It really looks bad when you're in it.

The mobile spawn points are a very cool addition. The NVA and Viet-Cong's tunnel system is some what hard for people to understand. EA had us under the impression that there were actually underground tunnels. We all know that is not the case. If you're an engineer, you can pick the spawn up and place it anywhere. Not exactly tunnels, but I really like the fact that it can be moved. Same with the US Air Calvary's mobile spawn point. I really like this because the only way to move it is to pick it up with a helicopter and then drop it where you want the spawn to be. Also, it can be destroyed by the opposition, thus removing the spawn for the US.

The artillery is still the same as it was in BF42. If you're manning the artilery when somebody spots a target, you don't get a little missle flashing anymore. I really don't like that at all. You really have to listen and look to see if someone called for artilery. I also recall EA saying that if a scout took a pic with the binoculars, that everyone would see all enemys in the radius of the scout's view in the mini-map. I haven't seen this yet, it may or not be in the game. Yeah, what happened to the flare gun?

The helicopters are so easy to fly, that anyone can just get in now and actually land the machine. This kinda sucks for us guys that were good at flying in DC or EoD. Now everyone can be a pro. There's really not enough AA guns. I know this is susposed to be Vietnam, but I'm sure they had a couple stations. The SA7 heat-seeking rocket launcher for the NVA and Viet-Cong is probably the coolest gun I've ever seen. Just watching it go straight and then making a sharp 90 degree turn at a helicopter is something to behold.

The spiked logs booby trap on some of the maps is really cool. Shoot out it's support leg and down the hill they roll towards unsuspecting players.

Now I have to get to the somewhat bad parts of this game. The m60/LAW combination is like having Rambo in the game. I'm all for the challenge of being underpowered, but to me it seems a little much. I think the solution would be to not take it out of the game or be able only to use it when prone, but to put a overheat on it. Maybe you could only get out 10 rounds before it overheats.

A lot of people have lag, a lot don't. I'm in the middle for the most part. I haven't gotten lag too bad, but I haven't gotten lag too good, either.

I'm unhappy the didn't include all the things we got with the BF42 1.6 patch. What were they thinking. EA finally gets it right, a year and a half later, and then starts all over, like they learned nothing from the past.

In conclusion, I really like this game for what it is now, and I can't wait until they sytart patching it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/25/04