The first thing I thought when I fired up the demo was, "where is the lieutenant?", a fallback from Return to Castle Wolfenstein (the lieutenants are the class that hands out ammunition). Instead of a dedicated class to do this, Battlefield 1942 simply has ammo crates scattered strategically throughout the maps. This works pretty well and makes the game tactically very different to Wolfenstein - you need to know where the ammo dumps are and plan assaults accordingly. There are also first aid closets around the place which give you health.
The vehicles are obviously a huge part of the game, and are extremely well implemented. Jeeps allow two people to whiz around to various parts of the map with great speed. Half-tracks and trucks allow you to move significant numbers of troops into an area whilst under light fire, and then rapidly deploy them, plus also providing a place to re-arm and get health back. Planes can drop bombs and strafe infantry and vehicles with machine gun fire, and in the hands of a skilled pilot are extremely deadly - plus having the added advantage of allowing the brave to venture out quickly to try and capture an area by parachuting down. There are also giant bombers capable of dealing out carpet bombing runs to take out infantry or tank columns. Then there are the naval vessels - aircraft carriers, submarines, destroyers, and landing craft, each of which plays an important role.
Everything is so well done with the vehicles that it really creates a unique playing experience. The gameplay aspects are generally balanced really well, so no vehicle is completely superior in all circumstances. There is a very nice physics engine which means the vehicles behave appropriately when falling off cliffs and going over rough terrain (and bodies fly spectacularly through the air if hit with a giant shell!).
One major thing that many people seem to have problems with getting used to is the way the weapons handle. They are very different to other games, and my first reaction was that it was a really odd issue with the network code - the sniper rifle is particularly hard to use on a moving target. However, like all new games, you just need to adjust. I've adjusted my shooting style several times and now have just settled for leading the target, which seems to work quite well.
The Graphics:
The graphics in the game, put simply, are incredible. If I'd been told even a few months ago I was going to be playing a game that looked like Battlefield 1942 and ran as well as it does, I would have simply not believed them. Everything looks great and the entire engine runs perfectly for me performance-wise. Player models and vehicle models are well-textured and detailed. Visual effects are nice, with explosions being very impressive (if a bit less fiery than I would have liked).
The scenarios and environments are similarly excellent. The sky boxes are very well textured, and oceans look great, so it is a real treat to simply stare out at the horizon from a war-torn beach. Buildings and other scenario elements (for example, sandbags, walls and bunkers) are well modelled and textured. One of my particular favourites are the palm trees, which are used to great effect on some of the Pacific islands.
However, not everyone appears to have it as good as I do in terms of performance - but we'll get on to that a bit later.
The Audio:
The sound effects are also very well done, and it is a great experience to play this game with a nice, big subwoofer cranked right up. Shells landing close to you will knock your player around and generate a great BOOM. Bullets ricochet off your surrounds as snipers try to draw a bead on your face. Planes whiz right over your head, and if you're manning an AA gun, you'll really need to pay attention to their engine noise so you can get them before they get you.
Music is pretty good, though you'll only hear it in menus - no in game tunes here. Special note should be made of the loading music; it is really good - which is fortunate, because you get to listen to it a lot.
There are many voice samples in the game as well. Battlefield 1942 employs a simple yet versatile radio system which allows you to broadcast messages to your teammates. There are menu options permanently displayed up the top and bound to the function keys, each assigned to a category of commands (for example, requests ("I need reinforcements!") or alarms ("I need a medic"), amongst others). Using this system results in a voice message (and a text message) being broadcast to all players on your team, in an authentic-sounding radio voice using the language of whatever team you're on. Obviously being on the Allied side makes this a bit easier, as everyone speaks English there, but I personally dig the extra realism provided by the correct languages.
Next: The Bad Stuff...
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