Battlefield 1942 is the latest in an ever-growing line of World War 2 titles that are hitting the computer gaming world. Following on the heels of other very successful titles, such as Day of Defeat, Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, Battlefield 1942 promises all the World War 2 action you could possibly want - driving tanks across the African desert, battling the Nazi hordes in the ruins of Stalingrad, shooting down enemy planes over a Pacific Island, and more.

Battlefield 1942 is a significantly different gameplay style than any of its predecessors. The developers, Digital Illusions, chose to follow in the footsteps of one of their earlier titles, Codename Eagle. While not a huge success, it had a strong following of gamers that appreciated its fresh take on first person shooters - the ability to commandeer a variety of vehicles.

And it is no small variety: Battlefield 1942 offers no less than 35 different vehicles, including aircraft, tanks, jeeps, half-tracks, battleships and even submarines. There are five different character classes, each with their own weapon and kit, and each of which is essential to various aspects of the gameplay. As if that wasn't enough already, there are 16 huge, sprawling maps, each set in one of the main theatres of World War 2: North Africa, South Asia Pacific, Western Europe and Eastern Europe. As you can see, the feature list is huge, and it promises a lot - but does it deliver?

The Gameplay:

Battlefield 1942 offers both single player and multiplayer games. However, the single player game is basically the multiplayer maps with bots - no scripted events or storyline. Unfortunately, the bots themselves are very, very simple, and don't really offer much of a challenge, so gamers starting out with the single player aspect of the game might be disappointed. However, the glory shines in multiplayer, which is really what you should be buying this game for anyway. If you're after a World War 2 single player experience, this might not be the game for you - it is still fun, but just not as polished as some of the other available titles.

The general gameplay involves picking one of several classes: scout, assault, anti-tank, medic, or engineer. Each time you spawn, you can select a different class, so you can adapt fairly rapidly to the needs of the battle. Each of the classes comes with their own weapon, as well as some specific items allowing them to perform certain tasks. For example, scouts ship out with a sniper rifle and binoculars, which can be used to call in artillery strikes or shelling from battleships. Engineers carry land mines and dynamite, in addition to their rifle, and have the ability to repair damaged vehicles and gun emplacements.

Even when you just consider the differences in the troops, you're looking at a pretty decent game right there. Add in all the vehicles and other weapons (such as massive fixed artillery guns, anti-aircraft guns, and machine guns) plus huge maps, and everything is starting to get really tasty.

Next: The Gameplay, Graphics and Audio...