Battlefield Vietnam PC Review Oakland CA

provided by: 

If there was one title you could directly compare to the success of Counter Strike when it came to online gameplay, it would have to be Battlefield 1942, or more specifically, Battlefield 1942 and its mods. Despite the fact both games had less than perfect engines at their prime, millions of gamers can't be wrong. Well, as you would surely already know, the Battlefield series is back in the form of Battlefield Vietnam, and this title is here to combine the worlds of classic gameplay and new generation technology.

First of all, unlike the original, BF Vietnam features no single player campaign mode whatsoever. Instead, offline gaming can only be done in an "instant battle", which was also in the original. The campaign mode was never really a storyline as such, it was just a collection of instant battles with somewhat of a purpose, so its absence isn't a huge disaster, I just feel slightly more attention could have been directed towards the single player side of things.

Naturally, the entire range of vehicles and weaponry has changed for BF Vietnam, as the 20 odd years between the second world war and the Vietnam conflict brought upon completely different tools of combat, including the mainstream military use of jets, improved tanks, and the helicopter to name a few. Not only this, but some of the new vehicles and aircraft can perform unique functions. For example, certain helicopters can now drop ropes down to pick up ground vehicles themselves for transportation into hot zones. Also, in most vehicles, you can select from a list of authentic 60's songs, including the ability to insert your own music. This is a very nifty little feature, as it was actually used in the conflict by the US as scare tactics (Think inspirational Wagner's Ride Of The Valkyries). Unfortunately, my old favorite "puff the magic dragon" doesn't seem to make it into Battlefield Vietnam, but I guess a chain-gun beast spitting 6000 rounds per minute would have made the game a tad one sided.

Stealth is certainly more of a realistic strategy now, mainly thanks to the environments. Rather than the open desert plains or scarce city wastelands of the original, BF Vietnam is completely based in your typical Vietnam scenery, which includes lush fields and dense jungles to name a few. This directly changes the gameplay for the better, as it is now possible to conduct surprise attacks, and on the other hand, hide booby traps. One draw back compared to the original however is the lack of scenery variation in BF Vietnam. Naturally, such a small scaled war geographically has limited changes in environment. This is unlike World War II which was fought in pretty much every likely environment on earth. Nevertheless, the maps are as varied as possible while still remaining realistic including some urban maps; just don't expect the same level of variation as the original.