Gamespy.com has a nice little article about the forthcoming Battlefield 1943, and whether it represents good value for money (with just 4 maps and 3 infantry classes). I will put a 'rain check' on this issue until I try it out - but, in my opinion - BF1943 is what it is, a bit of silly fun to keep the crowd interested while other larger projects are in the works (principally Bad Company 2 and Battlefield 3).

So, what can one say about what is just a bit of amusing frivolity? Well, only that I think the designers missed out one one really cool element they might of added.

You see, by the time the *real* 1943 came around the writing was already very much on the wall for the Japanese - it really was a case of not 'if' the allies in the Pacific would win, but 'when' - the American industrial machine was already winning the war, and all the Japanese could do with their disintegrating manufacturing base was stem the tide. This was how it was for the next two years until final victory was achieved.

Japanese weapons manufacture was never a match for the USA, that's not to say they weren't technologically capable - but the US strategy of pouring out huge numbers of crude but effective weaponry drowned the Japanese war machine (and a good thing too).

Battlefield 1943 is a snapshot of this fact, with the US forces very much out-stripping their Japanese counterparts technologically. Balance in the game is only really achieved by a bit of judicious 'cheating' when it comes to Japanese inventory - most notably in the case of the Japanese infantry being issued with the 'Type 5' semi-automatic rifle in order that they can compete with the M1 Garand equipped GIs!

"The Type 5 Rifle (Type 4 Rifle in Japan: 四式自動小銃 Yon-shiki jidousyoujyuu) was a Japanese experimental semi-automatic rifle. It was a copy of the American M1 Garand, with a 10-round charger-loading magazine and Japanese style tangent sights, which had been developed alongside several other experimental semi-automatic rifles. However, none of the rifles entered into service before the end of the war, with only 250 made and many never assembled." Wikipedia

My niggle is NOT that the game designers did this - but rather that they didn't follow through this interesting scenario and likewise equip the rest of the Japanese side with equally experimental Japanese designs!

As we all know, Japan had many cutting-edge weapon designs 'on the drawing board' when the war ended - and there has always been much speculation about 'what if' some of these remarkable advanced weapons had reached the front. Think of 'Luftwaffe 1946' and you can see where I'm going with this!

For example, take the BF1943 Japanese tank - the rather feeble and obsolete Type 97 Chi-Ha. This venerable 'medium' tank mounted a 57mm gun, but was hopelessly out-classed by the US M4 'Sherman' with it's 75mm gun. So, 'what if' we substitute - as the designers did with the Type 5 rifle - the Type 97 tank with the more advanced Type 4 or Type 5 Chi-Ri tanks?

Above: The Type 5 Chi-Ri tank. Only one prototype existed at the end of the war, but the intimidating nature of this design is obvious from this drawing. It had a 75mm main gun, but it's engine and slopping armour intimated it's superiority to the US M4 Sherman tank. Drawing: Vincent Bourguinon, 2007, source - ww2drawings

These advanced designs were much more the equal (and some would say superior to) the US Sherman tanks, but were only ever produced in prototype form by the end of the war. But think what a real challenge BF1943 would be if one of them had been included for the sake of game balance?

Likewise the famous Japanese Zero was 'past it's sell by date' by 1943 - but there were a host of very interesting Japanese designs that had equal performance to the US F4U Corsair!

My point is - if you are going to bend history to make an interesting and balanced game, why not make a feature of it and go all the way. I know all military buffs would relish the thought of fighting against the 'what if' weaponry of Japanese - just to see if they really would have made the difference. After all - that's precisely what made the concept of 'Luftwaffe 1946' so interesting and successful!

Above: J-7W1 'Shinden' Interceptor - "It was expected to be a highly maneuverable interceptor, but only two were finished before the end of war." Wikipedia - Drawing: Vincent Bourguignon, 2007 - source: ww2drawing

> Battlefield 1943 web site
> Gamespy.com - Battlefield 1943 Hands-on Preview