Battlefield Vietnam
http://www.electronic-arts.com.au/eagames/battlefieldvietnam/
Publisher: EA Games

It's hard to believe that 18 months have passed since the release of Battlefield 1942. The game that revolutionised an increasingly stagnant online FPS genre is still played by thousands today.

There was something about Battlefield 1942's mix of maps, equipment and weapons that made it an instant hit and heralded the beginning of an amazing array of mods for the discerning players.

Everything from WW1 (Battlefield 1918) through to Gulf War 1 (Desert Combat) has been created on this amazingly versatile game engine.

With a couple of official expansions to the '42 theme and continuing success, it was little wonder that EA invested in a complete remake of the Battlefield series.

Battlefield Vietnam, as its name suggests, puts players in the jungles of South-East Asia at a time when Phantoms ruled the skies, Hueys revolutionised infantry operations and the M16 earned a reputation it has never been able to shake.

Like its predecessor, Battlefield Vietnam does not promise to be a historically accurate Grognard special. Instead, it takes all the elements of the Vietnam War that have made so many great movies and television shows and wrapped them together into a complete gaming experience.

Battlefield Vietnam promises a new experience, but for veterans of the Battlefield universe there's not much new to speak of.

Sure the maps are great, the new weapons, vehicles and aircraft make a change but in reality it is just modernised '42.

One of the best-marketed features of the game was its "realistic" new jungle environments.

While they look great, there is a serious flaw in the programming that completely negates the cover provided by the native flora.

At first I thought I was just inept when BTR60s zipping by 800m away could engage and kill me quite easily while holed up in what I thought was some very thick scrub.

It turns out that to save on graphics processor power the game only draws in foliage in an arc from the player's current position.

Out to about 50m the foliage is thick and provides great concealment - beyond that the maps are bare as Bert Newton's head.

This means anyone engaging a target from a distance using optics can see soldiers prone on a football paddock - when they move closer all of a sudden the scrub grows into place.

Battlefield Vietnam is still a great game despite this serious flaw.

The city maps are intriguing and the ability to lift spawn points with helicopters makes for an increased level of strategy in the series. But like its predecessor, Battlefield Vietnam is essentially a multi-player experience.

The single-player game is really just there to learn the maps and figure out how the hell you fly helicopters with a mouse.
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www.xiii-thegame.com/uk
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