Its exactly what it has promised to be, no more, no less
And since I was an big time clan battling 1942 nut, I feel I can bring forth judgment on this game in a way that many can't.
At first honestly, I got frustrated. The lack of further class development, the pointlessness of ranks, and the lack of squad based tactics pretty annoying.
But then I gave it some more time, and I realized this is exactly what DICE intended it to be, and that is something that is even more arcady than the origonal. No map choices, no teamspeak, no ammo, no health packs. Just in your face explosions and action.
I was also worried that with only 24 players, I would be left just running around all day trying to find someone to kill. While you do travel ALOT, well all the time really, there is still plenty of action, and any more players would have been too much, so I don't think it was really a server issue, even when the maps aren't completely full, The ability to spawn off your squad mates makes getting into the game easy peacy.
Weapons are balanced, not only between the Japs and the Yankees, but also between classes. I never ran around the map feeling that I was either completly over powered or under powered. But I will say that the Semi automatic rifle pack is the safe way to play, and its the one I almost ALWAYS choose. Very handy unless you come across a tank, then you better leave it to someone else.
Flying is pretty difficult, I think I am getting the dogfighting down, but I find that bombing targets are very hard. There seems to be very little splash damage in this game, not only for the planes but also for grenades and rocket launchers. The only thing that does spread out the damage are the C4, almost too much I might add. Ive seen the C4 kill people who were too far away to have been hurt that badly by them, and vica versa, Ive launched a grenade from my rifle several times practically right on top of somebody and they ended up living and killing me instead. But I digresse
The bombing from your fighter jet is tough because from a higher altitude, you rarely see enemies marked on a map, and by the time you swoop down and spot them, your going by too fast to hit them with accuracy.
Back in 1942, I was not a pilot, because i thought flying those planes were evening harder, but I saw pilots who did more damage to troops from the sky than any ground pounder did, they were scary, and when they were in the air, you better be in a building. But in 1943, I feel completly safe to run around in the open, I almost NEVER get hit from above.
The only reason this game isn't a 9 or 10 in my book is the communication, or lack there of. I very rarely hear anyone using headsets, and I don't believe this is because they don't have one, Its just no one can hear them. On the few occasions that I did use mine, I was heard by others very very rarely, and it quickly became obvious that it wasn't even worth the effort. Might as well just attack a enemy spawn point and hope that my teammates back me up.
If 1943 worked on their voice chat and squad componants, this game could get even more fun, if that was possible.
Even though it is basicly Bad Company dressed up in a WW2 costume, I say that I like this alot more than the BC game. Its just more fun, and the maps are better too.
So, I'll be on there tomorrow, you can count on that