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Battlefield 1943

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Battlefield 1943
Developer(s)EA Digital Illusions CE
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Designer(s)Sebastian Armonioso
SeriesBattlefield
EngineFrostbite 1.5[2][3][4]
Platform(s)Xbox Live Arcade
PlayStation Network
ReleaseXbox Live Arcade
8 July 2009[1]
PlayStation Network
9 July 2009[1]
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Battlefield 1943 is an online multiplayer World War II first-person shooter video game developed by EA Digital Illusions CE (DICE) and published by Electronic Arts for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network via digital download only. Unlike Battlefield 1942, this game takes place only in the Pacific Theater of Operations of World War II. A PC version was planned but later cancelled.

Setting

Battlefield 1943 casts players as either the United States Marine Corps (USMC) or the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) with up to 24 players on three maps: Wake Island, Guadalcanal, and Iwo Jima. After all players collectively reached 43 million kills, players received access to an additional Coral Sea map.[5]

Gameplay

An example of the Scout class fighting in Wake Island. Note the destructible environment.

Like Battlefield: Bad Company, 1943 features the Frostbite Engine for its environmental damage.[6][7] The game only features the series' signature Conquest mode[6] and a new gametype called Air Superiority which was unlocked when the online gaming community reached a combined total of 43 million kills in Conquest. Similar to Battlefield Heroes, 1943 features only three classes - Infantryman, Armed with a SMG and anti-tank rocket, Rifleman, armed with a semi-automatic rifle and rifle grenade, and Scout, armed with a scoped rifle, pistol, and dynamite. Each class has an unlimited supply of ammunition; however, explosive ordnance takes time to replenish. The game also features a regenerating health system.

There are four types of vehicles in the game; fighter, tank, car and landing craft. Each team's main base has two one-man fighter aircraft, with A6M Zeros for the Imperial Navy and F4U Corsairs for the United States Marine Corps. On every map there is also an airfield for either team to capture where a third plane can be used to a team's advantage. Each airplane has four machine guns and can also drop bombs. Tanks can accommodate two players, a driver who can use a tank cannon and a coaxial machine gun, and a passenger who can use a mounted machine gun. Cars can accommodate up to three players: a driver, a gunner in the back who operates a machine gun, and a passenger who can fire their own weapon. Landing craft (boats) are used to deliver troops from the carriers to the beaches. Players can also use air raid bunkers to attack with three bomber aircraft to clear an area of a map. To operate these, the player must enter a bunker with a large spinning dish on top. Planes can be shot down by fighter pilots and anti-aircraft guns, reducing the amount of bombs that the air raid can deliver, or destroying it entirely.

Development, marketing and release

According to the game's development team, accessibility and value were the main reasons the game went digital as opposed to an ordinary retail launch.[8]

At the time of the Xbox Live Arcade version's release, issues with server joining and statistic recording functionality were reported. DICE's Gordon Van Dyke and EA responded to the situation, noting that the player volume was much higher than expected and server capacity was exceeded.[9] To remedy the issues, EA and DICE added more servers.[10][11] Van Dyke also noted that there were problems with players having trouble using their EA accounts.[12] Despite launch problems, DICE reported that after the first day of release players had accumulated 29.45 years worth of game time and over 5 million kills.[13] In 2011, DICE announced that development of the PC version of the game was cancelled, in order to focus on Battlefield 3.[14]

At Sony's conference at E3 2011, Sony announced that a copy of Battlefield 1943 will be included on every disc of Battlefield 3 for the PS3. It was revealed by customers that Battlefield 1943 was not included in the PS3 copies of Battlefield 3. EA revealed through Battlefield's Twitter account by telling a customer that "In lieu of 1943 being available on disk for PS3 customers, EA has made all BF3 expansions available early to PS3 customers."[15]

Ultimately, EA decided to honor the pre-order announcement.[16]

Release and reception

The game was given an aggregate score of 83 out of 100 from Metacritic[18] and a score of 84.18% from Game Rankings[17] for the Xbox Live Arcade version. In addition to having the best sales ever on the first day it was released, Battlefield 1943 went on to become the fastest selling download-only game after the first week.[28] Battlefield 1943 was the top selling Xbox LIVE Arcade game of 2009, as reported by Xbox Live Director of Programming Larry Hryb. It moved over 268,000 units in 2010 according to (FADE).[29]

References

  1. ^ a b Sliwinski, Alexander (2009-07-02). "Battlefield 1943 declares war next week, starting July 8". Joystiq. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  2. ^ Goldstein, Maarten (2009-02-05). "Battlefield 1943, Bad Company 2 Announced". Shacknews. Archived from the original on 6 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Orry, James (2009-02-05). "DICE confirms Bad Company 2". VideoGamer. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
  4. ^ Cocker, Guy (2009-02-05). "Battlefield 1943 Hands-On". GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  5. ^ Magrino, Tom. "Battlefield 1943 rages on consoles in June". Retrieved 2009-05-13.
  6. ^ a b Talbot, Ben (2009). "Battlefield 1943: Pacific". Xbox 360: The Official Magazine (43). United Kingdom: Future plc: 58–59.
  7. ^ "Battlefield 1943 Features". Planet Battlefield. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-07. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "Battlefield 1943 Developer Interview". Game Freaks 365. 2009-07-10. Retrieved 2009-07-11. We want this game to be easily accessible to a wide audience and nothing is easier for the customer than downloading directly to the living room. The second reason we went digital is that 1943 was designed to offer the best bang for your buck. We didn't intend to replace the traditional, packaged game, but set out to create an action packed, multiplayer experience from beginning to end.
  9. ^ "Uh, Battlefield 1943, We Have A Problem". Kotaku.
  10. ^ "News - Launch Demand Means More Servers For Battlefield 1943". Gamasutra. 2009-07-09. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  11. ^ Hinkle, David (2009-07-09). "Battlefield 1943 servers being added 'around the clock'". Joystiq.com. Archived from the original on 25 July 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-22. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ "Battlefield 1943 Status Update, Contest Launch". IGN.
  13. ^ "Battlefield 1943 Devs Addressing Server Issues". 1UP.com.
  14. ^ [1][dead link]
  15. ^ Full name. "Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
  16. ^ Battlefield 1943 Voucher Redemption
  17. ^ a b "Battlefield 1943 for Xbox 360". GameRankings. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  18. ^ a b "Battlefield 1943 (Xbox 360) reviews". Metacritic. CBS. 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-17. 84 - Generally favorable reviews
  19. ^ "Review: Battlefield 1943 - Pacific". December 2010.
  20. ^ Whitehead, Dan (2009-07-10). "Battlefield 1943 Review". EuroGamer. p. 2. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  21. ^ Bertz, Matt. "Battlefield 1943 Review". Game Informer Magazine. Retrieved 2009-07-17. [dead link]
  22. ^ Gallegos, Anthony (2009-07-09). "The Consensus: Battlefield 1943 Review". GameSpy. Retrieved 2009-07-17. Battlefield distilled to the basics
  23. ^ Battlefield 1943 GameTrailers.com
  24. ^ "Battlefield 1943".
  25. ^ McCaffrey, Ryan (2009-07-08). "Battlefield 1943". Official Xbox Magazine. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  26. ^ "Battlefield 1943 Review (Xbox 360)". Reviews.teamxbox.com. 2009-07-08. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  27. ^ Sark (2009-07-08). "Battlefield 1943 for Playstation 3 review". X-Play. G4 (TV Channel). Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  28. ^ "Battlefield 1943 becomes fastest selling downloadable game". gamingtarget.com. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
  29. ^ Sharkey, Mike (2011-01-27). "Microsoft Posts XBLA Sales Record in 2010". GameSpy. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
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