User Rating: 8.1 | Battlefield Vietnam PC
Release first, patch later. That appears to be the mantra with the EA/Dice team. B1942 was a well documented bug farm on it's initial release, and it looks like it's sequel is following right along. Sure, B1942 was eventually patched into a really great game over time... but COME ON! You'd figure Dice would have learned something from that experience. Oh well, on to the game. Gameplay: B1942 with lots of trees and grass. The engine still doesn't do a great job at "straight up FPS", but the infantry play is much improved. The weapons and kits might need some balance tweaks, M60 w/ LAW comes to mind, but it's a good start. Land vehicles are still fun to play with on some maps, but usually aren't much use when actually fighting. The cover provided by the jungle makes ambushing vehicles far easier than in BF1942. In a tank you can provide some fire support from a distance, but chances are you're just one half-blind, very large, very noisy target for the enemy hiding in the brush. Planes and choppers are a blast for the most part and are implemented very well. Map design is tight and offers maps with lots of bottlenecks and ambush points. Overall, no major complaints about the gameplay. The only real thing needed is some infantry weapon balancing. (The vehicles ruled the day in 1942, the infantry rules the day in BF:Vietnam. I hope they keep it that way!) Graphics: I won't go into all the various bugs and whatnot, as those will eventually be pathced. That said, this is BF1942 with a new dress and lots of makeup. It's the same engine overhauled to allow rendering of grass and lots of trees. Still, it works well for what it is. Fans of BF1942 won't be dissapointed, but will probably be underwhelmed. Sound: The "music played from the vehicles" idea is a neat gimmick, that's it. People are already realizing that broadcasting your location to the enemy by using loud rock music probably isn't very bright. The sounds overall are well recorded but poorly implemented. The overall gameplay and ambient sounds do have incredible potential, just need a patch. Sometimes sounds trigger, sometimes they don't.. Sometimes they stutter, sometimes not. Same issues that plagued the early versions of B1942. Dissapointing. Value: Even with the bugs, balance issues and lack of substantial innovation from 1942, BF:Vietnam is a blast to play. The current unpatched version of the game seems to only be able to handle about 30 or so players at once before performance becomes ugly. That being said, I've played a number of games that involved intense firefights and prolonged infantry battles for control points. While the weapon balance turns everybody into an M60 wielding Rambo, I see the potential once this is resolved. The intensity level is definately cranked a couple of notches from 1942. Tilt: Just like it's predecessor, this game will be worthy of a 9.5 overall rating by the time the third patch comes out. :) 
