I need your help amassing 43 million kills as quickly as possible. And it’s not just me – people around the world want you to join the battlefields of Wake Island, Guadal Canal and Iwo Jima right now. And if you can die or kill a few thousand times, that’d be awesome.
Last week, Battlefield 1943 went live on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Each platform is now racing to be the first to 43 million in-game kills, and I’m right there on the front lines of the X-Box 360 doing my part. And what happens when we reach the blood-soaked final goal? A new map, Coral Sea, becomes available for all of us, and the killing can continue on a brand new field of battle! Normally the release of a new map for an online shooter wouldn’t get me this fired up, but the fact of the matter is, Battlefield 1943 is addictive, high energy fun, and right now I can’t get enough of it.
The game is an online first person shooter set during World War II. Players are randomly assigned to either the Japanese or U.S. Marine side of one of three different battles. Before you join the fight, you choose from one of three weapons kits: rifle and grenade launcher, sub-machine gun and bazooka, or sniper rifle and demolition charges. The non-stop action starts on an air craft carrier where you can either jump into a fighter plane or pile into a landing craft and take the beaches of the target island. From there the killing centers around seizing and holding as many of the five command points for your side as you can. On the island you’ll find tanks, jeeps, anti-aircraft guns and machine-gun bunkers to help you in your fight. Few soldiers last more than a minute in all the digital mayhem, but it only takes a few seconds for you to re-spawn, pick a weapons kit and jump back into the shooting. Victory is determined by which team holds the most control points for the longest time.
Battlefield 1943 is squad-based shooting melted down to its perfectly balanced essentials. Everything works and feels just right. The three maps offer unique but not too-unique challenges, the three weapons choices are each useful in their own ways. The vehicles work well and can swing a battle if employed correctly (although it takes some practice to get the hang of the fighter planes). Hell, it’s even fun and satisfying to man one of the anti-air cannons. Getting into a match is simple (assuming the servers aren’t jammed with people like they were the first week of release), and once you get going there’s very little downtime. I feel like I’ve already gotten my $15 worth out of the game from the past week of playing, and I don’t have any intention of stopping now. Besides, I’ve got to do my part and rack up those kills. Although at the current rate those of us already playing are slaying each other, we might just achieve victory without you. Don’t worry though, we’ll still welcome you with open arms and a hail of bullets when you do sign on. I’ll see you in my gun sights at Coral Sea…
Battlefield 1943 is available for download over Xbox Live and the Playstation Store.
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