Battlefield Vietnam

"Ready for War?"

Yet another great game from EA. Battlefield 1942 is the first installment in the series and it brought you the whole World War II
feeling in a different level. The game supported 64 players and vehicles to boot. The maps were definitely made for war, the guns and the vehicles are as accurate as any of our grandparents would tell us. Battlefield 1942 really gave us a great experience. And now EA has brought yet another Battlefield game to the table in the form of Battlefield Vietnam and it's features exceed most of what Battlefield 1942 has to offer. This game is set in the lush environments and ruins of Vietnam, the visuals are just as stunning as ever. It really gives you the feeling of being in the jungles of Vietnam. I spent a good amount of time with this game (but not enough to fully experience and see everything) to say that they have improved a lot of things, like more selection of weapons and vehicles, and the AI is quite smarter even on the easiest settings. The AI soldiers are more aggressive compared to the AI in Battlefield 1942, they will come at you as if they were really fighting for their lives. There are times though when they just stay on their vehicles and wont even attack you, it rarely happens, but you will notice it once you see it. The main menu somewhat reminds me of a DVD menu, they did a great job on the art work and the design of the menus interfaces and loading screens.

This game also controls like a dream come true, 1st person shooter buff's wont have any problems playing this game at all, but where the control shines is the vehicle's maneuverability. The land transportation's are no problem to control at all, the water based crafts are a little more responsive compared to Battlefield 1942, but pilot heads out there will definitely love how the Jet Fighters and Choppers handle. Some of you might've heard of Desert Combat (or even play it), which is a Mod created for Battlefield 1942, which simulates the war in the middle east and it featured vehicles of our time. In Desert Combat, it takes a lot of practice to learn how to fly the chopper, but EA made a thing of beauty with their own version of the bird. The Choppers have a slight learning curve compared to Desert Combat's frustrating controls that took a while for some people to get used to. In Battlefield Vietnam, I was flying the chopper in no time, as if I was playing a racing game. It's really fun to fly around dropping bombs on enemies, as a passenger you can also shoot while on the chopper. On the ground, you wont feel left out as well, because you have two types of weapon's ready for you to use what ever kind of role you want to play either a Mechanic, Anti Tank or Sniper. It's also nice that the Anti Tank personnel has more than just a rocket launcher at their disposal, they also have a machine gun for them to use, everything is set for fair play. Also the tanks are a little bit harder to destroy this time around. Another addition is now you will be able to choose how you want to look like, you have 2 sets of body and head to choose from.

The details in this game is just amazing! The soundtrack came straight from the mid 60's to 70's, it's something that the soldiers listen to in some of the movies I saw (like casualties of war back in 1989) while in the back of a truck riding towards the hot spots. The sounds in the environment is quite impressive as well. You can hear the frogs croaking and the birds chirping, also the sound of the grass around you as you walk on and by them sounds very real. Little things like having a radio station playing through the radio towers in the base adds up to the games impressive sound and detail. The sound of the vehicles are movie quality, from the tanks to the choppers, it all sounds real. Also on single player mode the computer AI will take time to reply to you and wait for you if you request for pick up. They will also decline sometimes. The maps are great too, although I have only tried 3 of all 14 maps, one of the maps I played on has this dark and gritty feeling, there's smoke everywhere and you cant see where the enemy is coming from. The jungle map I played on is a sniper's heaven, there are a lot of bushes you can use for cover.

Overall Battlefield Vietnam is a very great game and a must buy for the people who have played Battlefield 1942 although it may feel like its just an upgrade to 1942 it still has its few tweaks, added features and the experience of playing in a different time era. And for those people who are looking for something good to play on their spring break this is one of the games to have (yea!!!). It may sound biased but I didn't see anything that I didn't like about this game. Although I still prefer Battlefield 1942, this game is definitely one of the best games I have played in the past 6 months. I can go on with the details but I'll just be wasting your time making you read my review, go out there and get this game. It's definitely worth it! But be warned you need to have a very good computer and graphics card to run this game, to understand what I am talking about. This game has a lot of potential (to me it already is a classic) and don't forget I still haven't discussed the multi-player components of this game, which is what this game is really made for, so the replay value of this game is definitely high. As of this time I'm still spending alot of time playing Battlefield 1942 and I know I will be playing this game even more. So go out, stop reading this and buy the game! See You All Online! 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/31/04