Mustangs in flight.

Gameplay is focused on control points on the map.  Control points are captured by a side when they have someone in the area for a minute and there are no enemies in the immediate vicinity during that time.  A flag is raised to signify that the control point is now owned by a side and then it remains in that side's possession until captured by the enemy.  Control points also serve as spawn points for the controlling side.  The more points you control, the more spawn points you have while constraining your enemy's deployment capability.

Another important factor in the game is the tickets.  Each side starts with a certain amount of tickets that pay for spawning players after they are killed.  If a side captures the majority of control points, the other side's tickets begin to dwindle.  If a side loses all of their tickets, then they will immediately lose the game.

The game includes 16 different maps set across the four theaters.  While each is supposed to represent an actual battle of the war, the resemblance is passing at best.  Remember that realism is not the goal here, and the designers wanted to make sure that each map is balanced between the two sides.  They've done a real good job in achieving this goal, as each map is not only balanced but provides a different play experience than the others.  The Tobruk map is open desert terrain and the domain of tanks.  Arnhem requires a lot of house to house fighting and thus emphasizes infantry combat.  Wake Island includes several Japanese capital ships and challenges the Americans to defend an island that is far longer than it is wide.  Other maps similarly lend themselves to a particular aspect of combat or a combination of weapons.  There's a lot of variety here and you're certain to find more than one to your liking.

Connecting to a game is easy through the in-game server browser.  Just look for the map you want and the number of players and you can jump right in - no need to wait until a game restarts.  You can then keep playing the map as the game restarts after a side has won, or jump back to the lobby to find a new one.  The game is a blast to play online, as you can get up to 64 players in a single game.  When you're in one of the larger matches, the action is fantastic as both sides get a full-fledged combined arms attack and teams can divide between offensive and defensive squads.  The game is addicting, and you'll find yourself wanting to go back online for another match just about every night.

In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 92%.  Battlefield 1942 is one of the most fun to play multiplayer games out there.  If only solo-gamers were given a bit more attention so that the game was exciting for them as it is for Internet gamers. 

System Requirements:  Pentium III 500; 128 MB RAM;  32 MB Video RAM; 4x CD-ROM;  400 MB Hard Drive Space;  Mouse.

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