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| Source // PlayStation |
An awful lot of first time Battlefield players site Battlefield 3 as their entry to the series, the consoles finally getting a smaller but no less impressive taste of the action, scaling from boots on the ground to dogfights in the sky.
As a nice little treat for those who were hyped to dive into the series, a bite-sized digital-only game was bundled with copies that aimed to give players a blast from the past, and a blast within a minute of entering a map.
Battlefield was going back in time, in more ways than one, with Battlefield 1943.
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| Source // PlayStation |
Fond Memories
I know for a fact that I eventually got around to playing Battlefield 1943. Promised as being on the Battlefield 3 disc, it wasn't but was eventually given for free, as I assumed it would be - not that I bought BF3 for the sole purpose of playing 1943, of course. 1943 had already been out for a few years before BF3 landed on the scene. I was late to the parties well before this 1001 list.
I know I played it because my PlayStation trophy history says I did. Over the course of two days in 2012, I unlocked most of the trophies.
I can confirm to you that I have played for at least 10 minutes inside a plane, and at least two seconds parachuting from a fireball that was once a plane. I can confirm that I've PTFO on foot, in vehicles, killing all the way, winning on each of the three maps at least once.
I can also finally confirm that I have not played thirty matches. I might not even have made it to half that. But given the rest of this blog, I've probably still played more 1943 than most other titles I've dipped into. Did I like it?
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| Source // MobyGames |
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| Source // MobyGames |
Fun Times
Battlefield 1943 strips back an awful lot of Battlefield for the sake of getting you straight into the action. You don't need to faff about with loadouts, or puzzle over whether you should be a Medic who hangs back or one that pushes forward. You don't need to worry about which game mode to pick, and wait for a healthy amount of people to populate a server and get going.
No, instead, you pick from one of three classes, which are suited to one of three ranges of combat, and dive into one of three maps where the defenders need to defend, the attackers need to attack, and everyone ought to PTFO as best they can.
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| Source // MobyGames |
As a downloadable game, it couldn't come with all the graphical might of BF3. As such, 1943 plays a little closer to Battlefield: Bad Company, with its destructible environments, though now thankfully under a much brighter skybox.
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| Source // MobyGames |
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| Source // MobyGames |
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| Source // MobyGames |
In terms of gameplay, it's a tug of war over flags. The more flags you hold, the faster the enemy ticket drain, tickets being the number of respawns they have available to them to fight back. That much is the same as every other Battlefield title, but 1943 differs further.
The faff of class loadouts has been removed, as has the faff of scrambling around the map looking for ammo. Health and ammunition will regenerate, keeping you in the action and away from spawn screens for as long as possible.
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| Source // MobyGames |
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| Source // PlayStation |
Frustrations
Today, though? Of nearly 200,000 owners, PSNProfiles says that only 10 players have fired up their PlayStation 3 for a game of 1943 recently. How accurate are those stats? How recent is recent? Are the servers even still up for 1943 for a handful of players to make use of?
I don't know. I've no longer got 1943 installed on my PS3, likely because I wasn't desperate to keep playing it. As I said, I've got trophy data for two days of gaming. I checked it out, played for however many hours, evidently had my fill and returned to BF3 before moving onto Battlefield 4 and swearing profusely (absolutely had anger issues that need to be resolved).
I wanted the action of Battlefield, but I preferred the serious tone of the bigger games, simple as that.
Final Word
Battlefield 1943 was an experiment of sorts and was probably a top game for some people, those who didn't want all the fuss of a bigger Battlefield, but still wanted the explosive team-based action that the series was known for.
On paper, it sounds like an excellent little title, and in practice, it probably was that as well, but little titles can have little legs, especially when the alternatives are mega-blockbuster hits that a great many more players want to play.
It was nonetheless impressive. It looked lovely, the chaos of war under the clearest of skies. It played as well as Bad Company did, and that played well too. It was simple and straight to the point and would keep players occupied until the main course was available.
It's an example of eliminating game mechanics until you're left with the essentials, a pure experience of what it means to be a Battlefield title. If that's what you're looking for, Battlefield 1943 has it. Here's the gameplay you want, have fun.
If you're looking for something more, something larger, something a little more serious, then it's probably not the game for you.
I hope it's still ticking over somewhere that you can give it a go, though. Everyone loves Battlefield when it's at its best.
Fun Facts
How much of the Battlefield experience do players want? Xbox players clocked up a collective 30 years of game time and 5 million kills in a day plagued with connection issues. Lots of people want their "Only in Battlefield" moment, and lots of them.
Battlefield 1943, developed by EA DICE, first released in 2009.
Version played: PlayStation 3, 2009, via memory.