BattleField 1943

There is no shortage of first person shooters set in World War 2, so there may be a few people who are thinking why should I bother with Battlefield 1943. Which is a pity as Battlefield 1943 is a stand out member of this genre.

To start with it has to be noted that the game is in many ways limited, there is no single player campaign, with the only single player aspect being the tutorial level. There are only 4 maps, of which only 3 at the time of writing are accessible, with the 4th “Coral Sea” air campaign map becoming available when 43 million kills are reached. However what Battlefield 1943 does do within these limitations it does well.

In terms of gameplay on first glance the game appears to be quite limited as there are only 2 factions (the Japanese and American) factions and you are restricted to choosing 1 of 3 classes; Infantry, rifleman, and scout. Each class has its own set of weaponry and special abilities and you can only switch to a different class when you respawn, or if you pick up an equipment pack containing a different class’ weaponry.

While this may seem quite constraining when compared to other shooters when you can use whatever weapons you want, this does force you to adapt how you play to suit the equipment and map. A scout is a bad choice for close quarters fighting, but in the hands of a master is a deadly assassin killing off soldiers from a distance with no recourse. While the reverse is true for the infantry, deadly at close quarters but easy to pick off from a distance.

However, what really adds depth to the gameplay in Battlefield 1943 is the use of vehicles and equipment. In terms of vehicles it is possible to commandeer landing crafts, jeeps, tanks and airplanes, with the aircraft being in particular demand throughout the game. This often leads to a mad rush to the free aircraft at the beginning of a game, with several players hoping to be one of the lucky ones to take to the skies.

With the exception of the single seat aircraft, each vehicle can also take at least 1 passenger. Passengers can either man the weapons on the vehicle or shoot their own weapons whilst in motion. There are also static weapon emplacements spread around the map, which take the form of “forward” facing machine gun turrets and anti-aircraft batteries which can move round 360 degrees but cannot fire below the horizon, making them potentially devastating against aircraft, but leaving the operator vulnerable to ground attack.

The most devastating combination of fixed emplacements is probably in the Mount Suribachi base on the Iwo Jima map. If the guns protecting the base are properly utilised they can devastate enemy attacks and easily fend off air assaults. The base is vulnerable to a sneak attack from the rear however. In addition to fixed gun emplacements, a solitary radio bunker is placed on each map which can be used to call in air strikes, if these are timed and guided wisely can cause mayhem to closely grouped enemy soldiers and vehicles.