Battlefield 1943 | Download EA’s Latest Moneymaker

Battlefield 1943 is in business

Image from PlayStation.blog.

Lovers of first-person-shooter war games, listen up! Battlefield 1943 is now available for download on Xbox live. IGN reports “The game offers endless hours of 24 player multiplayer action.”

Users of Xbox live can download Battlefield 1943 for 1200 MS points. That’s about $15 — not a bad price at all. GamePro magazine says it’s “a triple-A title at a quarter of the price.” Many similar Xbox Live downloads cost closer to $50. The PlayStation 3 version costs about $15, and it will be available on PlayStation Network Thursday.

What’s with the points?

One big beef that many Xbox Live users have with the download system is that Microsoft refuses to switch to real-money transactions. The reason Microsoft uses points instead of dollars is obvious: it distracts players from how much money they’re spending.

Players have to purchase points, then spend their points for downloads. For instance, for 1200 points, players instinctively think they’re spending about $12. However, they’re really spending $15. If a users overspend too many times, they might find themselves needing quick payday loans to keep from overdrawing their bank accounts.

Get used to it

Of course, Microsoft has no plans to ditch their money-making system any time soon. In the meantime, gamers are more than willing to spend whatever it takes to get in on the action.

Battlefield 1943 has gotten a lot of rave reviews from trusted video game sources.

Edge: The Global Game Industry Network

Edge-online.com says at http://www.edge-online.com/magazine/review-battlefield-1943-pacific:

DICE’s Battlefield series has toughed its way through many eras of combat – historical, fictional and futuristic – but it was always its origins in an erratic, barmy depiction of WWII that offered the kind of joyful chaos that EA now wishes to recapture in this downloadable, multiplayer shooter. And it has – to a tee.

Edge also says Battlefield 1943 outshines other download games when it comes to fun factor. More focus on action and less on strategy gives the game a more whimsical feel.

IGN Entertainment

IGN.com also takes note of the action-focused gameplay:

Using the acclaimed Frostbite engine, Battlefield 1943 takes players back to WWII to re-experience some of the legendary battles … over three classic and tropic locations; Wake Island, Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima. Delivering the award-winning through-the-gun and vehicle warfare online experience DICE is best recognized for, Battlefield 1943 will have players battling in ruthless aerial dog fights and intense trench combat.

Gamespot

The highly revered reviewers at Gamespot reported:

Our experience with the new game was punctuated by some incredible standout moments. Playing as the Japanese side, we were able to melee-kill someone using a samurai sword, a bizarre but highly entertaining weapon. There were times when airplanes blasted overhead, toppling the buildings around us but miraculously missing us entirely. But our favorite moment was jumping into an air-raid shelter, which provided temporary cover against the enemy while we piloted a formation of aircraft to bomb a target. … Battlefield 1943 is incredibly fun to play. It possesses all of the hallmarks of a great Battlefield game, and the Frostbite engine offers the graphics that you’d expect.

Free stuff!

If you’re not sure yet whether you’ll be a fan of Battlefield 1943, try it out for FREE! You can download free trial versions at both Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network.

Check out the official Battlefield 1943 web site.