Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII Hands-On Impressions

We were fortunate enough to get some time to play Secret Weapons of WWII, the next expansion pack for Battlefield 1942, at this year's E3. Though we were able to play on only one map, the one we played on consisted of a sizeable outdoor area that featured many of the expansion pack's new vehicles and weapons.

We were regretfully unable to try out the new stealth bomber, an enormous aircraft capable of quietly flying in behind enemy lines and bombing the living daylights out of enemy installations. However, we were able to try some of the expansion's other vehicles, such as the new motorcycle, which features a sidecar with a mounted machine gun. The motorcycle seemed like the fastest ground transport around, and because of its mounted weapon, it may very well make the jeep obsolete.

We were also able to hitch a ride on the expansion's new C-47 cargo plane, which will serve as a moving spawn point. Though the cargo plane seemed useful, it handled rather slowly, and since we played only pickup games that didn't involve much player cooperation, the C-47 ended up being a sitting duck when faced with a skilled enemy pilot or two and a manned antiair gun on the ground. As you might have expected, this new vehicle may definitely come in handy, but it will likely require good team coordination in order to keep it in the air.

We were also able to hitch a ride on the Horton HO 229 Flying Wing, a small, incredibly fast one-man aircraft with machine guns on both wings. The Horton wasn't much for air-to-ground assaults, and though it handled decently in the air with respect to turning and steering, its main strength was its incredible forward speed, which will likely make the vehicle a decent choice for outpacing and harrying slower aircraft, as well as for simply getting from one end of the map to the other in a hurry.

Finally, though we weren't able to grab one ourselves, we did come face-to-face with enemy soldiers equipped with the new jetpack item, which will have the ability to quickly whisk its user up into the sky--a little too quickly, perhaps. The speed of the jetpack can make its user a very difficult target, especially in areas with cover (around buildings and such), and since the jetpack will also let its users leap onto rooftops to take potshots at passing enemies, the jetpack seemed like something of a must-have item. You may find yourself sitting at the jetpacks' spawn areas (just like you sat at the plane spawn areas in the original game) to pick up this powerful and useful tool.

Secret Weapons of WWII's new items and vehicles seem like they may change the game radically. The expansion will be released later this year, but we'll bring you more on it before then.