Network now...MAGAZINE
Review: Battlefield 1943 - Pacific
By Edge Staff
July 8, 2009
See also:
Related Articles:
DAMBUSTERS
Given the absence of ammo pick-ups, there are only a few occasions when knowledge of the level will bring you advantageous powers: dotted around the islands are bunkers from which you can call in a devastating air-strike. The player is then given limited control of a squadron of three bombers, which slowly pan above the island, unleashing their payload at the player’s request. Since such an attack can completely level a capture point, it’s also useful for those defending it to know where the nearest AA gun is. The regular fighter planes can also take down bombers before they do too much damage.
Format: 360 (tested), PC, PS3
Release: Out now (360, PS3), September (PC)
Publisher: EA
Developer: DICE
Only in videogames could World War II become synonymous with madcap levity. DICE’s Battlefield series has toughed its way through many eras of combat – historical, fictional and futuristic – but it was always its origins in an erratic, barmy depiction of WWII that offered the kind of joyful chaos that EA now wishes to recapture in Pacific’s downloadable, multiplayer shooter. And it has – to a tee.
Pacific is a masterfully pared-down version of Battlefield’s class-based teamplay – each side trying to wrest control of spawn points from the other while the ability to reinforce those positions ticks down with every casualty. This time, however, there are just three roles available to the player – loosely defined as close-range, mid-range and long-range – and, as with Bad Company, swapping between them is as easy as looting a kit-bag from a corpse.
What the game’s loadout has lost in depth of customisation it has gained in balance and immediacy – secondary weapons ensure that no class is helpless, even when forced out of its comfort zone. Self-replenishing ammo also turns out to be a great idea, ensuring a breakneck pace and ironing out the intimidating knowledge differential between beginners and veterans. The need to locate supplies or quickly come to terms with a complex class system are tossed away, promoting happy, impulsive experimentation. No one will sit grimly contemplating the benefits of tank combat over an aerial assault – they will simply choose: ploughing through fences and sandbag defences, smashing the corners off buildings as enemies scrabble to land a grenade beneath the tracks. The alternative is never less appealing: soaring way into the crisp Sega-blue sky before angling the nose directly down, ejecting and rocking gently to the ground beneath your parachute while watching your craft spiral, screaming, into an enemy bunker.
The settings are returning favourites from the original 1942, and it’s not hard to see why their previous versions propelled Pacific’s forebear to such success: DICE has used the natural restrictions of these islands to dispel any confusion over where to go, funnelling the player between dazzling blue seas and sandy shorelines. And yet neither do they feel cramped – the level designers exerting expert control over the flow of play.
Three levels provide for the conquest gametype familiar to the series, while another, Coral Sea, is pure air combat. Variety has always been Battlefield’s defining feature, and drawing out a single facet of play will not be to everyone’s taste – but its place on the matchmaking rota is optional. Even with only four levels, the game is a more than generous serving: for less than a quarter of Bad Company’s release price, this is the choice cut of its better half – multiplayer. And this is a yet more pacy, extravagant affair, tapping directly into the whims of the player who just wants to cover a plane in det-packs and plough it into an aircraft carrier. Strategy is subordinate to a sense of fun – and you wonder if that’s what the series needed all along. A perfectly sized, expertly crafted romp, Pacific gives other download games their marching orders. [9]
Contact Us / About Us / Advertise With Us / BeltwayBlips / TechBlips / MassiveBlips / GamerBlips / FAQ
Subscribe To Edge Magazine / Corrections / Terms & Conditions / Privacy Policy
Copyright 2006 - 2009 Future Publishing Limited, Beauford Court 30 Monmouth Street Bath, UK BA1 2BW
England and Wales company registration number 2008885
Subscribe To Edge Magazine / Corrections / Terms & Conditions / Privacy Policy
Copyright 2006 - 2009 Future Publishing Limited, Beauford Court 30 Monmouth Street Bath, UK BA1 2BW
England and Wales company registration number 2008885
Having lost my job recently and enjoying a welcome break before getting another & being a Battlefield nut I've put in around 30 hours so far :D It is a brilliant remake of bf1942, the destructable buildings add a whole new dimension to the BF series & the Air-raid Bombing Run which is like a stripped down version of the commander mode in BF2 is great fun.
The maps have all been redesigned for 24 players & with the unlimited sprint ability you're never far from some action & with unlimitted ammo & regenerating health you never have to worry about whether to use your last ex-pack or rocket or taking on someone with 1% health left which all helps to keeps up the momentum & intensity.
.
Quite incredible that this game only costs £10, roll on the DLC!!
This game has a really stretched trend of crests and troughs -- in every match, I'll spawn, run around with my team for a bit until I find a point, die, spawn again three more times and die with no kills, then go on an 8-man killing spree and cap two areas on my next life.
I've been battling since release and it's it the best fun I've had in ages. I always found Bad Company's online games a bit frustrating as the array of weapons is overwhelming. I certainly appreciated BF1943 making things more simple and thus it feels a lot more balanced.
On comparison, there isn't much in between the consoles. GFX are the same (although not landmark on either versions), Sounds and atmospherics are the same and to an extremely high standard (Although I would say the Home Cinema mix is much warmer on the PS3 as opposed to a very crisp and clear sounding 360). Particularly impressive was the Doppler effect as aircrafts come screaming past on 5.1 systems.
I still get the odd random disconnects and the squad join system (ps3) can often send one member in to a server without the other, however this is still better than that Squad Join system on BFBC as I have never managed to get anyone connected at all. Battlefield games have always been in need of attention after release and this version is certainly no exception. Though It's good to see that Dice are being very proactive in making sure that everyone get a good experience from 43. Which is more than I can say for some.
It was very impressive how the Xbox gamers brought their kills up to 43million so quickly. If proof was every need to the perceived size of the Xbox marketplace, this is it? What was it, four days from the competition start. PS3 only cracked the 43million in the early hours of this morning.
My only critism..
Why only the Pacific maps? And where's Midway ? Surely there is huge scope for a remake of 42 :D The Islands are great, but I have happier memories of Omaha, Bocage and Tobruk.
It's also a shame that they've not added battleships into the mix. Although these are very minor points that doesn't eliminate the fact that it's still a very fun game to play, more so if you can get a good squad together, that's where the points really can be whored. If you're organised you are pretty much unstoppable.
amazing and hugely fun online shooter.some off the action going on seems scripted! makes me feel like Rambo whenever i´m at the jeep´s machine gun.,
Is your XBL gamer tag Professor Denim by any chance ?
yes it is...why? do you like Rambo too?
Thought it was ! i came up against you in a game and your GT stood out thats all , as for Rambo i'm in my late thirties need i say more ???
then we should meet again and steal a Jeep together, maybe.
Bought it a few days ago because I enjoyed the demo. It's good, probably the second best online FPS on the PS3, but it's got some glaring flaws.
- Awards being shoved in your face when you're trying to run around and kill people. They appear right above your reticule, are huge, and really distracting.
- Tanks are just the tiiiiiiniest bit overpowered. You probably saw that coming.
- Much of the terrain is tedious to traverse; even places you're supposed to go, you've got to jump-crouch a lot to get to lots of places that should be easy to get.
- No aural notification if a point you're on or near is being taken. Yeah, so I'm a TF2 player, I expect this, but it also means you've got to monitor your minimap even more.
- Do the ranks/experience system do anything? I can't tell.
- No feedback whatsoever upon player death. I'm an average player right now, and I don't see myself getting better any time soon, since the game doesn't help you learn what you could've done instead that killed you. Of course, this is also a game with vast maps, not closely-knit areas like Team Fortress, so random deaths that weren't your fault are going to happen. Still, though...
The awards really do get in the way, I must of unlocked Rifle Efficiency a hundred times now. I'd much prefer a small text notification or something similar.
As far as I know the ranks are just for bragging rights.
There's a Demo. Try it out.
I have to say that I was amazed with the game. Lot's and lot's of fun. And I've only played the demo. Yet...
The gameplay is awsome and the graphics are very enjoyable. It's great for a 500mb downloadable game (well, the demo at least). Nice job Dice...
It's worth the €13 that's for sure.
Keen to see if this can finally draw my attention away from Warhawk. It sounds similar. A simple, free for all frag'em up on the ground and in the air, with a more realistic setting which I find quite attractive. Never have played a Battlefield game and my friends still play the original online so I will definitely be taking a look. I guess they will follow the same distribution model as well, releasing more maps/vehicles/classes as the game progresses.
My hometown of Quito, Ecuador, has a real Sega-blue sky.
I bought this and it is great, riotous fun, however it is now possible to buy Battlefield Bad Company for just over a tenner. The argument that Pacific is a quarter of the price of Bad Company is simply not true and for those who would like a single player campaign and more depth online might aswell buy Bad Company.
For those of us who don't, like me, then this is a great knockabout fun.
I was just about to ask about this. I got BC for $15 (new, Blockbuster) a few months ago, loved single-player, didn't warm up to the online much (although I didn't really try, since I was and still am totally invested in Team Fortress 2).
But when it comes down to it, I'm willing to pay for this if it's intuitive enough for new players, something I don't think Bad Company really was. If you look at a guy, is it obvious what class they are? Are class roles clear when deciding on the loadout?
Basically, ignoring all the depth arguments between the two games -- is it easier to have FUN in 1943?
I spent some 5 solid hours on it last night, and the game is plain awesome. Id' never played any Batlefield before, and by my 2nd match I'd gotten the hang of the controls and mechanics. Maneuvering the planes can be a bitch, though. Is it FUN? HELL yes.
Huge Fan of the first, Big fan of 2 and this looks amazing. Bought.