This week marked my somewhat ambivalent return to gaming. After trying WOW for the first time, activating my Dungeons and Dragons Online beta account, and watching my productivity nosedive while my self loathing spiked, I decided I needed a game that would lead me towards a the lifestyle of a “casual gamer.” My friend told me he was going to pick up Battlefield 1943 from XBOX Live Arcade for 1200 Microsoft points and I decided that I could afford 12.50 to avoid spending 10 bucks a month on WOW. It wasn’t just spending money, it was an investment in my future.

Despite the fact that I own a used copy of Battlefield 1942, I have never played a “legit” battlefield game before. It wouldn’t run on my weak ass computer back then. I did however play Battlefield Heroes in beta so I kind of knew what was going on. I should mention on the outset that it follows a “domination” gametype based on capturing and holding flags. Just like Battlefield Heroes (and, I presume, their other paying titles) the aiming system is unforgiving. I like that though, assisted aim makes for lazy players and all sorts of bullshit spray and pray scenarios. You quickly figure out that you’re going to have to do more than unload a clip while strafing an enemy and chalk it up to odds. As frustrating as it is to feel like you should be hitting someone only to die, there is a certain satisfaction that comes with knowing that you deserved your fate and were solidly outplayed. It also makes you feel that much more successful when you do finally start to get the hang of it and start to rack up kills.

The radar system is also crafted in a way that encourages more thoughtful behavior from players, (although it doesn’t always translate.) Instead of the sound of your gun or physical activity revealing your location like in Call of Duty or Halo you will only appear as an icon for your enemies if one of the enemy spot and fire on you. So, if you’re using guerrilla tactics and popping up from the side of the road and retreating you might escape detection completely.

Now for the bad. While the levels are designed well and the vehicles add a much needed level of chaos, there still isn’t a whole lot of variety. The three maps that were immediately available all feel pretty much the same. Sure, one’s shaped like a U, one doesn’t have aircraft carriers and the other one has more trenches but that isn’t really a whole lot. I can’t even tell you which is which. To make things worse, it doesn’t even mix up the interchangeable locales properly; I was forced into seven games of Iwo Jima in a row. The XBOX community unlocked a fourth map by reaching 43 million kills but it’s an air only map and if you’ve ever played a Battlefield game before you know that it would probably be easier to become a liscensed pilot in real life than to become proficient at in game flight. I hope they plan on releasing more unlockable levels in the future.

Limited statistics. My gut reaction is to say that this is awful. The game doesn’t even calculate your K/D ratio. Everyone knows that despite protest from mathematicians who are under the impression that is the golden ratio it is, in fact, the almighty Kills to Death. It has been proven that a K/D < 1 = n00b while any K/D > 1 = a range from respectable to 1337, with cutoffs varying from by region and culture. It’s even important in non FPS games. I often found myself screaming about what I like to call “intangibles” when facing a post game screen on the original smash bros. (You can not underestimate the value of having a team mate with extremely high average life times who can deal damage and have lives to give if a team member bites the dust too early. Avoiding that 2 on 1 at the end is crucial.)

Golden ratio aside, I have often complained that the emphasis on the K/D can feel restrictive and holds me back from enjoying something like Call of Duty to its full extent. I think twice about pursuing challenges and achievements because it’ll hurt my K/D and I won’t be able to defend myself from my friends’ smirks. I’d be the laughingstock of my clan! Without worrying about dying I went out looking for some absurd style kills. The first time I got a kill with the sniper’s remote charges was exhilarating. I ran up on a guarded flag, disregarded everything pelting me with bullets and tossed two before pushing the detonator and cackled as I turned two enemies into a widely dispersed human smoothie.

I do however feel like there are a lot of interesting things to be revealed about my gameplay in BF 1943. A break down of activity by class a la Team Fortress 2 for instance. Weapon of Choice was always fun in Halo. If the point of the game isn’t about kills vs. deaths (which isn’t exactly true because you have to think about time spent on the level instead of waiting to respawn or keeping the map clear of enemies as a resource) then maybe a tally of flags captured, a single game best for caps, time spent in a flag zone etc. I guess what I’m trying to say is that the statistics developers choose to track do encourage behavior and should be considered.

Half the fun of playing these games is going over what your friends did when the dust has settled and arguing over who won or lost the game for your team. There are such a variety of ways to rack up experience points that a breakdown would go a long way towards facilitating some battles of rhetoric to complement the game. “Oh you just got one lucky carpet bomb”… “Sure I only got a few kills but look it was all defensive, I let you spawn, you owe me” … “Look I was just concentrating on tanks ok? Do you know how many times I had to die to clear the path for you?”

Because this is a game you’re going to want to play with friends. The squad system works great. You can make a squad out of your live party or join in with strangers. Each squad gets their own private channel to chat and most importantly can spawn to each other instead of being restricted to spawning at flags. Squad spawn can be particularly helpful for getting that much needed “surge” at contested flags or for pairing up in vehicles. Plus, it means less time walking. And trust me, you will get tired of covering the same tufts of foliage and sandy crags (on every map.)

Lastly, the level system is purely aesthetic. There’s no reason to level. I would have liked to see some sort of nod to the level hierarchy, even if it was just a minimum level required to access the radio tower and call in an air strike. Ten years ago it wouldn’t have been an issue but we’ve come to expect tangible in game rewards for putting in time. It’s kind of disappointing to sit down to play and realize that there’s nothing new to look forward to. Within the first day I had played every weapons combination and become at least somewhat proficient with every vehicle class (shakes fist at plane.)

For an arcade game it’s still excellent and there are much worse ways to spend $12. It’ll be a pleasant distraction for people waiting for more fully formed shooters to come out during the holidays but I wouldn’t expect to be playing it any more than six months from now.

Look for me on live: Spoonhand

This week marked my somewhat ambivalent return to gaming. After trying WOW for the first time, activating my Dungeons and Dragons Online beta account, and watching my productivity nosedive while my self loathing spiked, I decided I needed a game that would lead me towards a the lifestyle of a "casual gamer." ...