Battlefiled 1943

Reality is Real continues to go in on downloadable games.

               So, Demon got at me about an old piece on “‘Splosion Man” he wanted to throw up that he had already throw up somewhere else. The problem, to me at least…is “‘Splosion Man” dropped awhile ago. So I figured  fuck it, with Microsoft’s “Summer of Arcade” coming to an end with Shadow Complex (more on that bullshit later) I figured we might as well cover all the big downloads that dropped this summer in over the week. This, in turn, gives me a change to look back at one of my favorite downloadable titles, “Battlefield1943″

               Now, I’ve always been aware of the Battlefield series on PC, but to keep it all the way real, my mouse and keyboard gaming skills aren’t up to par. I’ve had my ass handed to me on several occasions in Counter Strike, so Battle field on PC struck fear into my heart. I figured with the surge of FPS’ on consoles (the Xbox specifically), eventually I’d get my own slice of Battlefield.  Eventually I did…it just wasn’t that good. Original ports of Battlefield and console outings weren’t that good. Horrible graphics, odd movement, you name it, it had your average PC to console port issues. Battlefield Bad Company was decent, however it also had online issues. When the news of the download only/online only Battlefield hit, I figured fuck it, give it a shot. I have no regrets.

               I have “Battlefield 1943″ on both Xbox 360, and PS3. Originally I got it for PS3. The rumored connection issues were non-existent for me, however, the all too familiar “sound glitch” (You know, the one where you play with your friend, you hear them, you hear them, then next game, they go silent?”) hit. With PS3 lacking private chat and or party chat, I migrated over to the Xbox 360 version. Both version seem equal, with the only difference being the difference in the console’s online services (private chat/party chat)

               While Battlefield 1943 is short on maps, it’s extremely huge in the ”fun factor” department. The key to ”Battlefield 1943″ is it’s simplicity. 3 classes (sniper, rifleman, and machine gun guy), basic vehicles, (tanks, jeeps, boats, and planes), and one objective, capture the flag points. If you go into the game looking to play “deathmatch”, you’ll be easily outscored by flag catchers, as kills are worth 10 points (when not defending a flag) and flag captures are worth 30 points. Shit, you get 10 points if you walk up to the flag towards the end of someone else capturing it. The fact that the game doesn’t have 30 different weapons with different attributes keeps the games pretty balanced, allowing anyone to hop in and have a good time. The maps are huge, yet easy to understand, (no long hallways with multiple splitting paths) since the game is mainly outdoors. The vehicles are easy to control, and not extremely dominating (unlike the tanks on COD World at War). This all leads to a nice easy play.

               If you’re looking for an overly deep first person shooter in which you can spend days upon days mastering, to obtain the ability to completely dominate new people to make yourself feel better, Battlefield 1943 isn’t for you. If you’re looking to get a game to hop on and have a good time, this is your game. Add in the $15 dollar price tag, and it’s a hell of a value.