[GAME] Battlefield 1943 – Xbox 360

Battlefield was the FPS that ignited my love for the genre and Online play, with Battlefield 2 on the PC taking hours of my life in one of the most rewarding ways. I spent most the free time I had fixed to my PC, enjoying every aspect it had and trying to get all the awards I could. Battlefield Bad Company was also one of my favourite games, the fully destructible environment was brilliant and so were the vehicles. It was a good change from COD4.

So after finding out Battlefield 1943 was available for download on Xbox Live, I was straight on there ready to spend £10 for a fully online game. So what does your £10 get you, well as mentioned it is a fully online game, with 3 maps, 3 classes and the classic flag capture game mode. Being set in 1943 the equipment is older than people are used to in more recent modern warfare games. But I have to say this made no difference to me as they still worked in the game and you actually forget you are playing a WW2 game. The graphics remind me more of a PC game, I still think they are great and with the maps being a good size and destructible environments still in there, I think it is as good as Bad Company or better for graphics. One of the best additions in my opinion is........PLANES! Something I loved in Battlefield 2 but then no FPS I have played since has had them in. Well now you get to hop into a plane and cause havoc (or crash badly losing 10 points for suicide like I did the first 5 times!)

Now £10 is not much money for all of that, along with some fun achievements to grab and the classic awards for completing in game challenges, like Capture 5 flags in one game or melee 4 people (this becomes all the more fun when being a scout as they have swords!)

But there is also a nice little “sub game” I suppose you would call it, called Air Superiority. Based on one map you all have to take flight and have some good old fashioned Dog Fights in the skies, taking down enemy planes and eliminating the opponents score. This is a great way to get your wings and improve your effectiveness in the main game! So 2 games for £10, can’t think of a better deal.

So far I have enjoyed every aspect of the game and the loading times are quick, I have never been kicked off a game, I wait about 10 seconds to find a match. It looks like EA have improved the servers and that side since Battlefield Bad Company, which is great news. Maybe there could be more maps, some unlocks for levelling up, but it is new and only £10 so you would have to assume there will be DLC for this, with all this in and more. I for one will be downloading any update they throw in soon.

The controls are standard FPS; the planes are a different matter and can be a bit tricky to get the hang of, but after a few goes you will think your Maverick! There is no ability to lay flat (like in Bad Company) but this is no major flaw in the game, it is more than likely used to prevent snipers having an advantage.

So in my opinion, it is one of the best FPS’s I have played and the cheapest! If you’re a Battlefield fan, a FPS fan, or looking for an online game that’s quick and fun to play, then this is the one for you. Only 530mb so leaves plenty of space on our precious hard drives, and what more can I say other than I hope to see you on there soon. Enlist for Duty now!
9/10