Publisher: EA
Developer: Dice Stockholm
Player (s): Infinity
Genre: FPS
Release Date: July 9th 2009
Score: 8.7
So you’ve been going back and fourth, pacing the paving, scratching the hair on your head, all in an effort to make a decision whether to purchase this download only game from PSN or XBLA. I have the solution to your dilemma, GO BUY THIS GAME NOW! And hurry, you’re missing out on arguably one of the best download only experiences to date; and it’s only $15.00. You’ll find that not only is it an enjoyable and solid experience, but also an addictive one, and although there are glitches that need to be fixed and a few areas of frustration, Battlefield 1943 will keep you on the field obliterating your foes for a very long time. Here’s why.
What Quenched my Thirst
Most likely you haven’t seen such awesome graphics on any title you’ve downloaded from the PSN or XBLA. The game comes with three maps, Iwo Jima, Guadal Canal, and Wake Island (expect more maps in the near future). The maps look beautiful, a real feast for your eyes. But what surprised me was how destructible, and nicely detailed the environments are. Rockets and missiles will crash into the earth leaving behind massive craters as damage. Trees will fall, structures will explode, almost nothing or nowhere is safe to hide. The character modeling is also solid, making for a fairly straight forward persistent experience. The graphical glitches are rare, and more prone to take place on the Xbox 360, but on the PS3 & Xbox 360 version, chatting with team mates can be extremely frustrating. I’ll get into that situation later. The number of classes are limited, unlike previous games in which five were available, there are only three in this entry. The game to me feels more focused compared to it’s predecessors, making it possible to focus on teamwork, map navigation etc.
Driving is extremely fun and satisfying. Your adrenaline will no doubt start rushing as you blast enemies to dust, all while zipping through the Island on your favorite four wheeled machine.
What left a Bitter Taste
The voice chat is terrible, there’s really no other way to twist it. Sometimes you can hear everyone on your team and sometimes you can’t here none. This makes for a very frustrating chatting experience especially when you’re trying to coordinate an attack. And because of this discrepancy you’ll often find yourself battling it out alone. I’m assuming EA Dice will send a fix soon and end my communication woes. Also, controlling the plane is too complicated and goes beyond common sense; I see no reason to make maneuvering so painstaking, and because of such technicality and the lack of organization in random matches, you scarcely get to implement any of the game’s many tactical gameplay. Apart from the aforementioned bugs, which will inevitably be patched, Battlefield 1943 is great in 2009.
As mentioned in my introduction, there should be no hesitation on your part to pick up this great FPS game. And for just $15.00 you’ll be hard pressed to find a better experience out there this summer. EA Dice did an excellent job with this one.
08/02/09 Ernice Gilbert
