Battlefield 1943 is an online multiplayer first person shooter which takes place in the Pacific during the events of World War II.
Players have the opportunity to play as either the United States Marine Corps (USMC) or the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). The objective of the game is to help your team win each battle by capturing certain points scattered through out the map or by simply killing more enemies than the other team- to put it bluntly..
The game graces you with unlimited ammunition and gives players the option to play as 3 different types of soldier. The first is the Rifleman, who comes equipped with a rifle (obviously), a grenade launcher, a set of hand grenades and bayonet. The second option is the Infantryman who carries a sub-machinegun, a recoilless anti-tank rifle, grenades and a wrench (ideal for fixing tanks, or hitting the enemy over the head with. The final option is a Scout, who comes armed with a sniper rifle, pistol, sword and remote explosives.
Like Halo or Call of Duty your health regenerates if you find cover - however, should someone get a good shot at you (and they will), you will find yourself getting killed and re-spawned quite a bit.
Built around the Frostbite engine, the game enables players to cause all sorts of damage to the surrounding environments. Buildings can be blown up, trees can be mowed down with a co-axial machine gun and enemies hiding behind a wall can often find the wall disintergrating as a tank drives straight through it. Players also have the opportunity to call in an air raid, effectively destroying a whole area of the map with a hailstorm of bombs.
Overall the game is an enjoyable experience, but it does suffer from some minor flaws. At times the lag can be infuriating - you can empty several clips trying to shoot your opponent only for them to fire one bullet at you and take you out in an embarrassing death. Another irritation is the controls – whilst the inclusion of airplanes, tanks and jeeps is a welcome one, the controls do take quite a while to get used to.
So far there are 4 maps (including the air superiority mode), and whether EA are planning to release any more at this stage it is unknown.
All in all, despite its faults, Battlefield 1943 is well worth the asking price (1200 Microsoft Points/£9.99 PSN), and if you have enjoyed previous battlfield games it is well worth a purchase.
Score: 8 out of 10
The Good:
Impressive graphics
Good fun with friends
Good selection of weapons
The Bad:
Suffers from lag occasionally
Weird graphic bugs
Re-spawns you in stupid places (like next to an enemy tank)
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