Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII Expansion Pack

Rating:
Summary: Updated Review of Retail Version
Review: My earlier review discussed only the multi-player demo, which is still available from the Electronic Arts Battlefield 1942 website. This is an update which reflects one week of online gaming with the full version.

This is the game WW2 shooter fans have been waiting for. Not only can you pilot every single vehicle in the game (aerial, naval and mechanized), but you can also choose the style of play you prefer based on the map you choose to play in a given session. Want in your face action without those annoyingly accurate pilots (aka - me)? Fire up the Stalingrad or the Battle of the Bulge maps, no planes on those. Sick of the infantry combat grind and looking for a change of pace? Play the Midway map, where ship to ship combat rules the day. Want everything? Play Bocage, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, etc... . I think you get the idea. All in all there are 16 beautiful maps which fall into the above categories, which gives this game a replay value that is beyond measure. And oh yeah, it's pretty freakin' fun too!

To the reviewers who say this game is choppy/laggy, poorly executed, has mediocre graphics I sympathize with you. But I will say it is probably time for you to update your PC if you choose to purchase games of this caliber. Admittedly, I am running this on a high-end system (Pentium 4 2.0, Geforce 4 TI 4600) with a cable modem, so I have absolutely none of those problems and have to say that with the proper system this game is the most visually impressive WW2 multi-player shooter I have ever seen (yes, it even beats MOHAA and Wolfenstein). The view distances, the map sizes, and visual details of the building exteriors and interiors (such as the church in the Battle of the Bulge level, incredible) are amazing.

Bottom line, the best online first person shooter available.

Rating:
Summary: [great] war game
Review: This is the most amazing and realistic war games I've ever played. The demo is a work of art. Fly planes, drive boats (including Aircraft Carriers and battleships), drive tanks, jeeps, and all kinds of vehicles. Instead of just going by plane or ground, you can do multiple things. I would say this game is a combination of Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (foot battles) Command and Conquer Renegade (vechicles) and Crimson Skies (similar air battles). I highly recommend this game when it comes out.

Rating:
Summary: THIS GAME ROCKS!
Review: OK I DLed the demo and the Wake Island patch, which added Wake Island map, airplanes, jeeps, ships, etc. IT OWNS! I love being a japanese zero and dive bombing the amerikansi. this game is so beautiful and not laggy. its funner then pretty much everything ive ever played. The game is arcadey, yet realistic,but its not a sim by a long shot. That is great, becuase it isnt tedious like Op Flash Point or WW2 Online,b ut its fun like MOHAA, DOD and Tribes 2. This is honestly the best game ive played in years. I definetly will buy this, and so should you...

Rating:
Summary: World War 2...need I say more?
Review: The place...Europe and the Pacific...the backdrop...the world at war! In Battlefield 1942 the action of the Second World War comes to life. Take command of an infantry soldier and from their, build your own image of war! Jump into the seat of a Sherman, grab a jeep, hop into the cockpit of a Me-109, sail a battleship, or just remain as a soldier on foot wreaking havoc on the enemy! This game lets you do it all, the game play system makes even the most computer inept people masters at the game, no realism to deal with, jump out of your plane and parachute to the ground, commandeer an enemy tank and roll down the road plastering anything you see! Once your number is up...do it again!

After the debacle that was World War Two Online, many of the WW2 gamers fell away from the respected titles that followed, and Battlefield 1942 offers the same that WW2OL offered, but this time it doesn't intend on making the same mistake! There will be no pay-to-play requirement (no need for internet at all with the bot program!) The game gives a reliable system that will allow the player to achieve what they really play these games for in the first place...to have fun!

The game will get people back into World War 2 and will have them begging for more! Though the game is labeled "1942" it takes place at any given time during the war, with technology that would have existed not until 1944, but there is no need to look down on the game for such a small oversight! The battles that you fight in will be ones that any WW2 aficionado will recall with little trouble, Tobruk, Stalingrad, Normandy, Market Garden, Midway, Guam, and fictional Pacific and European battlefields to boot! The game also sports a single player campaign as a sort of introduction to how it works as well as recognizing the fine AI the game employs.

There is no ten minute walks to get in the fight, no time consuming loads after you die, no technical capture points systems, or realistic vehicle specifications. You play the game like any game, point and click, watch and enjoy! With the World War 2 backdrop, this game will reintroduce the word "war" to the gamers vocabulary with whole new meanings...I hope you will enjoy this game as much as I will!

Rating:
Summary: World War II in a box!!
Review: ** Get the most complete Battlefield 1942 Game with add-ons by choosing Battlefield 1942: World War II Anthology. If it is not available then you need to get the three games in this pack - Battlefield: 1942, Battlefield 1942 Expansion: The Road to Rome and Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII Expansion Pack that work out a little more expensive. Battlefield 1942: Deluxe Edition has 1942 original and Road to Rome. So all you need with the Deluxe Edition is to get Secret Weapons. To be honest the steepest it works out at is. The Anthology is $30.00 and is the same price as the Deluxe Edition plus Secret Weapons. Getting all three separately will cost you nearly $40.00 so get the best deal in bundle packs.**

Want to play the best war simulation? Go play the old Operation Flashpoint and pray that the spring 2006 Operation Flashpoint 2 deadline will be met with the best war multiplayer simulator ever conceived. Want to play a single player war game that matched the experience of Medal of Honour: Allied Assault? Then go play Call of Duty and get the expansion pack Call of Duty: United Offensive. Want to the play the best SWAT type tactical one on one? Then go get Half-Life 2 and play Counter-Strike. Fancy a futuristic sci-fi multiplayer with huge maps? Then get the latest Unreal Tournament. So what else is there? Well to be honest Battlefield 1942 is straight up probably one of the best multiplayer games I have played, but be warned, the simulation experience does call for infinite amounts of patients and the game is extremely buggy to install. There is very little good technical support except for what the community offers, updates can be patchy, people end up can't playing it, and it suffers from fatal spawn point easy target syndrome that has rendered many of the maps unplayable... however new maps are updated, but just don't expect the BF1942 community to be as responsive as let's say STEAM. The bottom line here is that even single player mode is not supported. The game comes pretty much as it is served so expect to spend more than a day, maybe a week, to get it to work on your machine with lots of google searches for your problem. The solutions should be found in forums troubleshooting guides. Be prepared for discs that don't appear to like firewalls, anti-virus checkers and other background processes. This is the game of games in terms of installation bugs and crashes. In short - Requires broadband INTERNET.

Single player like we said is not supported. Multiplayer is one big CAPTURE THE FLAG, but what a game of CTF! Problem right away is the lack of classes that looks restrictive but it is actually okay, with five types of soldiers to choose from - sniper, machine gun, rockets, medic, engineer... so it is closer to Team Fortress than Operation Flashpoint that allows full configuration of up to twenty classes. Having said that it does not reduce the impact of the game, but does leave the realm of simulation, deviating into more Unreal Tournament territory where there is very real possibility of just leaving your team behind and going on a frag-a-thon across the map. If you are into that sort of thing then maybe the more recent, but certainly not as good, Battlefield Vietnam, can offer you that type of solo bush mission multiplayer experience like Far Cry with lesser graphics, but if it is Pearl Harbor, Petersburg, German Forests, French Country, Operation Overlord, multiplayer style, where you can pilot lots of vehicles, and use a little team commands, then sir, Battlefield 1942 is really what you should be playing across that 1MB connection you got jacked into that modem.

So limiting by its nature of being a multiplayer only game, with a difficult install, that is quite old'ish by today's standards, still manages to provide the best World War II multiplayer entertainment you have ever seen with Operation Flashpoint beating it for realism and detail as a simulation, but this is the war game that people play online, and it still has quite a large community, meaning plenty of 60 (30/30) servers are still up and running with Battlefield 2 coming out sometime in 2005 (hopefully early) you can still live with getting this just because it offers world war II as you want to play it, on-line. I must say that even though I am an avid CS:S player, this one has stolen it for a bit. Battlefield 1942 really is worth it, after you get it running, and after you have the patients to actually play it like a solider ---- crawl for 2 minutes before sniping 3 enemy over the space of 10 minutes with guys above you on a score of 44... patients is the virtue while playing this if you want to win.... Or if you have the skill, grab a bomber and go drop some bouncers on a spawn building for mass kill. Personally I prefer to play to the sneaking sniper. You know I 0wned u. 

Pros:
- Multiplayer must-have.
- Fairly realistic simulation experience that you will play again and again.
- The only World War II simulation worth playing on-line right now.
- Good game engine. Solid playing.
- Replaces Operation Flashpoint as best on-line war simulation game.
- Really big player numbers of servers.


Cons:
- Harsh reality of enduring install problems and updates.
- Expensive.
- Needs broadband.
- Spawn points have exploit bugs.
- No voice-com.
- Not much of a team communication interface either.
- 2002 graphics... but still nice. Models need work.
- There is a bit of a learning curve.
- Not as vast as Operation Flashpoint.

Rating:
Summary: TOTALLY WORTH YOUR MONEY!
Review: Blast away at elite german troops or snipe with the new semi-automatic sniper rifle. Either way, this game rocks! Best game in the world. Awesome multiplayer usage. Worth ten dollars completely so get it and play multiplayer at gamespyarcade! I will be there to play you Weston. Yes. This is your friend Bryce.

Rating:
Summary: Lag and Bugs too much a hindrance to keep it immersive
Review: Too much choppy gameplay prone to lag and control issues. Icky first person gameplay compared to most any FPS. Great ideas controlling the vehicles ships and planes. Lopsided gameplay that heavily favors pilots. Communication a hindrance without real time mic chat built in and a terribly late typed messages. Sometimes almost impossible with skipping key inputs and garbled messages. Therefore any real strategy on a grand scale against the enemy is laughable. Most kids online just 'rambo' and grab a vehicle or plane and take off on their own agenda.

Rating:
Summary: cracking game, open play
Review: I'll spare you all the usual blurb about this game and will simply sumarise by saying this:
- it's terrific fun. I mean it - it completely immerses you and makes you feel like you're there
- you can do whatever you want in each of the missions, including sitting back and watching your friends go in and try the attack themselves (and sometimes succeed!)
- the graphics, sound and gameplay are rivetting: you feel scared - as you should in this kind of game

I loved it, finished it and am playing it again. Thoroughly recommended...

Happy shopping
JB



Rating:
Summary: Battlefiled 1942 Deluxe Review
Review: Lately, I find my gaming collection containing more EA Games software than any other brand!

Battlefield 1942 is a wonderful WW2 simulation. You can play on either the Axis or the Allied teams! Different missions represent different countries from these two sides, and each country has their own, unique weapons! You can choose to be a scout (sniper rifle/handgun/grenades), an assault soldier (assault rifle/handgun/grenades), an anti-tank soldier (anti tank rockets/handgun/grenades), a medic (short range, fast shooting carbine/handgun/grenades/ability to heal), or an engineer (single shot rifle, open sights/handgun/demolition bombs/anti-tank mines/ability to repair vehicles). There are enough maps here to keep you busy for a very, very long time! I got the game about 6 months ago, along with the Secret Weapons and Road to Rome expansion packs, and I still haven't stopped playing!

Fight on land using your basic weapons, or drive a tank/APC/Jeep/artillery vehicle! You can even pick up your dead buddy's or enemy's weapon configurations! Planes dive bombing you and your buddies? Jump into the seat of an anti-aircraft cannon! Aircraft carriers or battleships giving you grief? Grab ahold of those fixed artillery cannon controls and lob some high-caliber, high-impact rounds their way! You sunk my battleship! :)

Fighting on land not your style? Take to the skies in fighter planes and bombers! Most games that combine air/sea/land combat focus more on the land combat, and tend to have horrible air physics! (For example, Operation Flashpoint -- which is another great game, though the air fighting is lacking greatly) Not BF1942, though. The air fighting is almost as realistic as some WWII flying games like European Airwar! The Secret Weapons expansion pack adds a few new, futuristic aircraft such as something resembling a stealth bomber, and some "midget" rocket-fueled fighter planes.

This game also provides you with some sea combat options. Some missions give you aircraft carriers to launch your air attacks from. Some give you battleships with massive artillery cannons! Some missions require you to start on one of these ships, and blaze toward land in .50 machine gun wielding personnel carrier boats!

All in all, this is an excellent game. I ran it previously on a 1 ghz AMD Athlon w/ 256 mb of ram and a GeForce 5600 256mb graphics card with a Logitech Wingman Force FBK USB joystick under Windows 98 2nd Ed. Using this set up, I was able to run it on 1024x768x16 graphics mode at medium-high detail with no problem. Now, I run it on a Pentium 4 2.8ghz 800mhz FSB processor w/ 1 gig of dual channel DDR400 memory and the same 256 mb GeForce5600 graphics card, on a 21" monitor under Windows XP. I am now able to run 1600x1200x32 resolution @ 80hz refresh rate (when you run this game under XP, it lets you choose the refresh rate you want to use!) and absolute full, maximum detail, and the game doesn't even bog the computer down in the slightest at these outrageous settings!

The graphics in the game are excellent, you can even get up close and look at the characters, and they have unique faces! The game play is excellent, I haven't found any noticable bugs or errors! The boats handle like boats, the tanks handle like tanks, the aircraft handle like aircraft, and the firearms handle as close to real life as possible (coming from one who has collected over 35 firearms including A-Bolt .308 sniper rifle, 7.62x39mm AK-47, .223 AR-15, .45 1911 handgun, and many more!). The firearms even have kick that throws off your aim like in real life! The in-game audio gets a four out of five rating. It is quite realistic, but could have been made better with the use of THX or a similiar audio standard. Listen to bombs falling right at you from planes, and try to outrun them, if you can! Explosions all around you, .50 machine guns whizzing hundreds of rounds per minute past your head, your buddies screaming out with their last breath as they pass on from this world.... EXCELLENT realism! You and your men even speak in their native tongue, with english subtitles! The maps are quite large, as well, and give you plenty of freedom in your attack movements. The AI is great as well. I never feel like I am being cheated! The AI suffers from the same advantages/disadvantages as you, they even have to stop and reload, or run out of ammunition, just like you do!

While the idea behind all the maps is the same (checkpoint control), there are several types of checkpoint control offered. Assault maps give you fast-paced, in-your-face combat action that's not for the light hearted! Dive in and out of buildings and behind debris and other objects as you are rained upon by tank mortars and a hail of gunfire. Conquest maps tend to be much larger, and require a little less immediate tact, but put more emphasis on using stealth, concealment, and a well thought out path of attack to achieve your goals.

If you are into war simulators as much as I am, then this is a must have game! It deserves every bit of the 5 star rating I gave it. Battlefield Vietnam is even better, providing modern weaponry and improved fighting physics/terrain, but I haven't played it long enough to go write a review on it! Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Good game, but there are some drawbacks!
Review: This Battlefield 1942 expansion pack is a very good one. The weapons are better, quite a few more vehicles, the enemy is more challenging, and several other new things are great. The drawbacks of this game are some of the following:

1. As one user stated, some maps are too small for fast moving aircraft.

2. The game alot of times runs slow, even on a good system.

3. There are only 8 new levels. Four or five of them aren't that cool.

4. The super heavy tank with the AA gun is too slow.

5. The intro shows the tank with the missles shooting them at very fast speeds. The actual shooting speed in the real game is about 1/4 as fast as it shows them traveling in the intro.

Overall though, this a very fun game. The jetpack lets you jump onto tall buildings, and shoot down on people. I love it! For $20.00, this is a very fun and great game. Just make sure you have a good system when you buy it. The best levels buy the way are Hellendoorn and The Gothic Line. The worst level is Kbely Airfield, and it is terribly boring.

By the way, did you notice the new blood effects when you are shot or when you are shooting the enemy soldiers. Check it out!