Battlefield 1943 Updated Hands-On
By
Giancarlo Varanini, Senior Editor
We jump into a multiplayer match featuring the Guadalcanal map.
For most historians, Guadalcanal was a key battle for the Allied forces fighting against the Empire of Japan, not just because of its strategic significance, but also because of its designation as a major turning point in the Pacific Theater of World War II. For those who may not be familiar with the franchise, our brief hands-on time with the Guadalcanal map (one of three different maps) in the upcoming download-only release of Battlefield 1943 is like a Michael Bay or Jerry Bruckheimer portrayal of what happened during the pivotal battle. Countless bullets whizz by, massive explosions erupt, and debris constantly flies in your face. You might just say that it's all-around sustained chaos with 23 other players.
The development team wants the action to be filled with constant intensity and very few lulls, and it appears that they've taken the lessons learned from previous Battlefield games and combined them with a desire to make the Battlefield series even more accessible than before. In fact, during the first online session, our base was immediately overwhelmed with Japanese troops taking up positions on ridges located just outside of the spawn point. Naturally, this made for a pretty good sniper alley, so our teammates were getting picked off left and right, until one of them managed to jump into a nearby tank and started blasting their position. Unfortunately, that bought us only a few minutes of time to organize and move forward to an enemy camp. We were able to pick off some additional snipers using the rifleman class (there are also scout and infantry classes) just before an enemy tank came strolling down the main road. Whoever was in control of our tank either didn't see the enemy tank in time or was focused on gunning down enemy troops nearby, because the enemy tank blew it to pieces within a few moments.
As previously mentioned, Battlefield 1943 is designed to keep you fighting at all times, so right after we died, we jumped back into the thick of it by choosing the control point closest to an enemy base. We also decided to stick with the rifleman, who is especially useful on this map because you can scale any of the nearby ridges and take up a pretty good sniping position--that is, if you can gain control of it. Shortly after respawning, a faint hum could be heard from up above; a few members of our team had managed to get control of some bombers, which let them fly in formation and drop some heavy-duty bombs right onto the main path. This opened up a nice bit of road for our tank, so we jumped in and took to the machine gun on the back. After mowing down some enemy infantry, we finally made our way to the enemy base, where, to our surprise, the opposing team seemed to be waiting for us. Needless to say, this scenario did not end well at all for us.
The straightforward jump-in approach of Battlefield 1943 should be immediately appealing to those looking for some quick bouts of action, but it also seems like a good jumping-off point if you're not entirely familiar with the concept of a first-person shooter that integrates different types of vehicles, ranging from planes to tanks. Although the support for up to 24 players is great, it seems as if the maps have been designed in such a way that you might not necessarily notice if the maximum amount of players isn't flooding a map, given that the battles seem to be confined to very specific points. And the fact that it's using the same engine that powered Battlefield: Bad Company certainly doesn't hurt. Battlefield 1943 will be available for download for $15 in June.
By
Giancarlo Varanini, Senior Editor
I am error.
160 comments
They said the release date should be coming out very soon on their website. Yes it will be June maybe early July.
hey its june ! release the game now ! or i will spend my points in the lost & damned ! and why said gamespot that bf 1943 for xbox360 comes in september ?? TELL US ! JUNE or SEPTEMBER
This looks similar to BFBC. The only thing that i really want to know atm is whether they have different game modes
sereously give a date they keep saying june but when?????i thought it was the first give more spific dates its like torture for battlefield fanatics like me
If they use a similar system as they did in Bad Company, the low number of players won't be a problem. Bad Company played beautifully.. If you really need more players and you have a PS3 then get MAG when it arrives.
24 is not enough for 1943.. 32 vs 32 on BF:1942 is what made it feel like true war. tho i will still get this game
This game seems pretty promising but I gotta say I wish the 360 could support more online players then what it does... I wish somebody could tell me why it can't but ohh well... By the way, whats the file size for the dl?
" lobsterbushcrab Posted May 22, 2009 1:31 pm PT While i will get this game, why are they so few players??? Pc battlefield games usually support 64+" but consoles don't and this game is made for consoles as a primary platform.I personally think that this game has no chance to be anything big on PC with COD MW2 coming out
i enjoyed the larger maps (with more running/moving around) which they suggest here they're trying to avoid here. It was one aspect that made this game DIFFERENT from some of the other like bad company etc. and as a side note, wtf is with making games come out later on PC...come on, that just gives me the sh#$%. The ONLY reason i would play this over something like COD (and with another coming, is it worth getting BF?) is because of the planes.
While i will get this game, why are they so few players??? Pc battlefield games usually support 64+
I really can?t wait for this game . I hope that it will be as popular as 1942 was , but 3 maps only why? This game should have more to offer.
I wonder how this game is going to beat Call Of Duty: World At War because that game looks way more solid than this one. But still Battlefield has the vehicles, ships and airplanes etc.
I don't dislike the wii... I've Always consider buy a wii (here, in my country a Wii costs about U$400 and a PS3 U$ 800). But to me they are making to many casual games. Nintendo have always great games (I've owned a SNES, A N64 and a Cube). Eternal Darknes 2 PLZ! BTW Wii got RE4 not RE5.
Madworld, Resident Evil 5, The Godfather, Medel of Honor.... I could go on with the Wii games that are not family friendly and contain tons of gore/violence. Sorry "everson rm" but this game should be on the Wii. Hell, any game that can register the Wii as a solid console is welcome. Have a Wii and love it, but compared to my other systems it is lacking at best.
@Opalance This is the type of game that the Wii will never get... it's not family friendly and it's too much violence for a Wii game!
This is the type of thing the Wii needs, solid gameplay remake of a tried and true game along this graphical level. Not some gimmicky crap, and yet, it's the only platform not getting it.
battleships get pwned by aircraft carriers. =P Carriers pretty much ended the reign of the huge dreadnought class ships.
@ s3th1982 - oh deary me. You must be some innocent minded person who thinks EA aren't just in it for the money and that they might give a f**k about the less profitable markets.
I'm getting bored of people getting bored and writing about being bored of WW2 games. I'm still a fan, and still love them. As long as the game is fun, that's what counts! PEACE
@TheHam Yeah that would be sick. Before COD4 came out everyone was angry about not making a ww2 game! Now it's been switched around. Does it really matter if it's set In a different time with different weapons? It's still going to be a great game?!
there is MAG is coming to ps3 and some thing i have always wanted is a rpg of WW1 it would be sick
"We need something like BF2 on consoles. It would be unreal." Fixed that for you, although I don't care I just want a new BF game on the pc as I loved BF2 to bits.
Its weird. Everyones has seen the success of Modern Warfare and how much everyone loved it. But developers still retreat to WW2. It sickens me. Especially with Six Days in Fallujah gone down the drain. We need something likw BF2 on PS3. It would be unreal.
Bad Company game engine with BF1943 maps and only $15? Day 1 purchase for me. I love the Battlefield series they are the best FPS out there. I'll be grabbing this on PSN.
Wow, what a boring interviewer, not enthusiastic at all! This site just continues to go down hill, back to GiantBomb!
@punkdsk8erdude You kidding me? While I love CoD4, that doesn't mean it's better. CoD4 went for realism, when DICE was asked what was important for them they said "Fun comes first, Realism second" Which I think is great. I'd rather a fun game than a realistic one.
Im getting bored of WW2 games! But this game does look intresting... The pure destructiveness intrigues me
Am I the only one that the video is glitched for? Anways I think some of you are getting a little dramatic over the PC release being in September. As far as I'm concerned that means any bugs the console versions have will be even less likely to appear here. And for those of you complaining that 12 on 12 isn't enough well for gods sake its 15 dollars! I personally would love to own this and patiently await it's arival.
@ DEFORMEDCRANIUM If you haven't played Bad Company you may not understand how good that game is and how much potential this DLC has. 12 on 12 is small for PC, but for console it's a good balance. I'm primarily a PC gamer as well and love the BF games so I never thought I would enjoy the 360 BF game, but I've been playing it nearly a year now and still love it. Yes, it's different than the PC BF games, but that doesn't mean it sucks. If DICE releases a PC version of this game and keeps it 12 on 12 then I agree they weren't trying hard enough, but if you get a chance try playing some 12 on 12 Bad Company maps and let me know what you think.
September For PC!? Wow F*** YOU DICE!!!! Keep your lame, stupid, and Consolized Rehash of a "once" good game. 12-on-12? ... Way to turn up the pacing over 1942....NOT! What an insult to PC Gamers. Do us a favor, don't even bother developing a PC Version. We've had enough half-@$$ed ports to make us Puke!
This game is going to be awesome. And no, this isn't a game add-on expansion for bad company. It's a 15 dollar downloadable game.
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Game Info
- Release Date: Jul 8, 2009 (US)
- ESRB: TTitles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older.
- Release Date: Canceled (US)
- ESRB: TTitles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older.
- Release Date: Jul 9, 2009 (US)
- ESRB: TTitles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older.
Battlefield 1943
- Publisher(s): Electronic Arts
- Developer(s): DICE Stockholm
- Genre: Action
- Release:
- ESRB: T
Battlefield 1943 Navigation
