Graphics and Sound

Purrty

A good analogy for Battlefield 1942’s graphics is the blond bombshell gold-digger. She’s very pretty, but things proceed exceedingly slow unless you throw money at her. Keeping that stereotype and analogy going, once she gets her claws in your system, it takes quite a bit of effort to get them out. We’re quite certain there is a memory leak since the game spends a good minute unloading itself from the swap file, despite the 512MB in the review system. Afterwards, everything seems to load just a bit slower, from Explorer to Word.

So is all the pain worth it? Definitely. BF1942 is a fine-looking game, the kind that could afford to charge per hour rather than per night. There are better-looking first-person-shooters out there; there are more dedicated naval, air and tank sims that look better, but no game brings it all together like this. The various game modes of BF1942 could stand on their own, graphically. It wouldn't be a stretch to see a dedicated tank combat game look like Battlefield 1942 does.

Nice shot on Guadalcanal

Run cowards, run

Yeah, that's a Hollywood death

Wake Island and Midway look fantastic from the lowly eyes of a GI or the high vantage point of a Corsair pilot. Large, varied textures comprise the ground, sea and sky. Trees, military structures and buildings litter the landscape, sandy beaches contrast with a blue ocean. In Kursk and Kharkov, the beaten ground, the dark green grass and trees, the overcast skies feel like a more appropriate setting for battle between two evil powers. Berlin is a city of wrecked buildings, obstructed streets and machinegun emplacements, vividly showing the brutality of war where gains are measured not by blocks or buildings, but by mounds of ruin that are yards apart. The Battle of the Bulge must be seen to be believed, it has so much atmosphere. You feel cold, looking out at the white snow with dark brown patches of dirt, the barren trees. The cold really is almost tangible as you hear your feet hit the mush.

Mixed salsa

Like the interface, we found the sound effects a mixed bag. Almost all sounds related to weapons ranged from solid to superior. Pistols, rifles and machinegunes are a bit weaker than we’d like, they sound like they’re muffled by blankets. Larger weapons, like artillery, ship guns and tank cannons have the right boom to them, so that’s all good. Explosions aren’t earthshaking but they’re fair enough. We expected more particularly from ship gun shells exploding, but you can’t have everything. Ambient effects are done far better. The battlefield is eerily quiet, except for your footsteps, the rumble and whine of engines, and the staccato of gunfire.

I sux0rz

Why are those buildings intact?

Ownage

Music doesn’t make much of an appearance in the game, which is fortunate since it is utterly forgettable – typical military movie drivel. The voice acting, even though it is used only for the rare voice command, is actually the strongest part of the sound department. The developers went to the effort of getting actors who spoke the genuine language, though we’re not all too sure how Americanized the accents are.