Battlefield 1942, who hasn't played it? Alright, there might be a few of you heathens out there but fact is it remains one of the more popular multiplayer games here on the Shack more than a year after its release. The game has had two expansion packs and currently Digital Illusions is working on the sequel, Battlefield Vietnam. Jason recently attended an Electronic Arts press event and spent some time with the game. You can find his write-up here.

During my demo I was able to see one map without all the new environmental additions. Without the grass and trees, it looked remarkably just like a map from the previous game. Once they were put back in place, you really get a sense for how they'll affect the gameplay. It's not just about obscuring your vision, it's about enabling you to coordinate your movements between areas of the jungle. While the amount of brush will be determined by the individual users' graphic settings, that level of detail setting won't give one player a visual advantage over another (it'll just make it prettier). One thing I specifically asked about was whether or not you'll be able to swim, and while you can, it's limited to treading water, just like the previous game. Underwater swimming won't be in this game. ...