Downloadable games have come a long way from the simple beginnings of Ms. Pac Man on the original Xbox's Live Arcade to more full fledged releases like Castle Crashers. XBLA and PSN are showing that they have the muscle to host some of the best games on their consoles and developers are using the medium to try new ideas or offer new spins on their releases. EA dipped their toes into this model with NCAA March Madness Edition and are now giving their Battlefield franchise similar treatment. Battlefield 1943 takes the core ideas of the franchise, distills it into a pure and compact offering, and shows that DLC can be more than just horse armor.

 

Those that are familiar with Battlefield 1942 will immediately feel at home with 1943. The game takes the familiar control point game type with limited team respawns that so many other team based shooters have tried to emulate, and updates it with the Frostbite engine from Battlefield Bad Company, complete with the experience point system and character persistance. Instead of being a massive battle with up to 64 players, 1943 shrinks it down to 24 players and three classes. This creates a tighter, more focused multiplayer game that isn't overwhelming to new players and makes for tenser showdowns between teams. It's a lot easier to communicate and keep track of players when there is only 12 of you instead of 32.

 

 

This new scaled back Battlefield shows to be the better choice thanks to the game's balance. Everything can be countered given the right class or situation. The three character classes of  Scout, Infantry, and Rifleman all carry specific abilities that make them both superior and inferior to the other classes. The long range Scouts can plant C-4 to cover their tracks or set taps for incoming tanks and jeeps. Infantrymen are perfect for assaulting control points with their automatic weapons and rocket launchers. They can also repair vehicles to keep other players in the fight. Rifleman can take out Infantrymen before they see it coming or equip their bayonets to quickly win a close quarters battle. Vehicles also factor in the mix, where you can command tanks, planes or jeeps. They can be used to wreak all sorts of desctruction, but if they are faced with the appropriate response, will fall. No one vehicle or class is invincible or overpowered. It's this well tuned balance that makes Battlefield 1943 a fun and strategic shooter.

 

You'll come to appreciate this balance as tactics will always be changing thanks to the game's destructibility. The Frostbite engine is an amazing looking and highly destructive game engine that goes well with the multiplayer mayhem of 1943. Buildings will blow out, towers will fall, and bunkers and cover will degrade away as the battle rages on and looks gorgeous doing so. The game never clips or slows down and the various effects all add to the atmosphere and chaos of war. I hope DICE decides to use this engine in all future Battlefield games. It makes for fun, dynamic matches that never feel the same twice.

 

 

The game is not without its flaws though. The spawn system will sometimes place you in the thick of battle, where you'll quickly be gunned down before you get your bearings. The game does this repeatedly at points, leading to frustration and an intimate relationship with the scoreboard as you wait to respawn. There's also no way to search for a custom game. The only two ways are play with your friends or join a random server. It would've been nice to be able to pick which map you would like to play on at the very least and since there are only three maps, sometimes the game will pick the same one a few times in a row, a let down if you were really wanting to play on another map.

 

Battlefield 1943 is a concentrated elixer of what makes the Battlefield games good. Its compact and disciplined philosophy makes for a tighter game that I enjoyed much more than my days of playing Battlefield 1942. While it could use the inclusion of a few more maps and a more matchmaking options, the three class system and smaller player count make for a fun and controlled game that isn't overwhelming.

 

 

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