Battlefield 1942: Das beste Battlefield wird heute 20 Jahre alt
Ah, Battlefield 1942, those were the good old (multiplayer) days. Back then, after buying it, all I had to think about was playing. Simpler times, and Battlefield 1942, with its sprawling battles, kept me glued to the screen for ages. And that was 20 years ago already. How quickly the years fly by. Feeling old now? Me too.
It might sound cliché, but it doesn't feel like it was that long ago. I still vividly remember how Battlefield 1942 blew me away back then with its vast battlefields, controllable vehicles, and diverse classes. I can't even begin to count the hours I spent in Conquest mode; it was a huge number. Along with Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force, it's the multiplayer shooter I've invested the most time in to this day. That says a lot.
It might sound cliché, but it doesn't feel like it was that long ago. I still vividly remember how Battlefield 1942 blew me away back then with its vast battlefields, controllable vehicles, and diverse classes. I can't even begin to count the hours I spent in Conquest mode; it was a huge number. Along with Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force, it's the multiplayer shooter I've invested the most time in to this day. That says a lot.
I've flown on these wings before. Have you?
Battlefield 1942 was a multiplayer shooter the likes of which are hard to imagine today. Not in terms of gameplay—Battlefield is still around, after all—but in terms of everything else. These days, multiplayer games seem to have thousands of things I have to unlock. There are seasons. Battle Passes that expire after a month or a season. No thanks. If I buy something and then have to stress myself out to unlock everything within a certain timeframe, I might as well not bother. For me, that has nothing to do with relaxed gaming anymore.
Battlefield 1942 didn't need any of that stuff back then because it excelled in everything else. Sure, it wasn't always perfect, especially when the teams weren't balanced and nobody wanted to switch sides. Or if the opposing team had such a good pilot that he calmly reduced all spawning vehicles in the base to rubble within seconds for minutes on end, without his teammates being able to bring him down.
Sometimes you loved pilots, sometimes you hated them.
On the other hand, there were great moments when you fought your way through the lone action on the beach of Wake Island, taking out several enemies and capturing a control point. Or when a small group of soldiers, perched on the wings of a B-17 bomber, took off from the airfield and parachuted over a control point. You just had to use every opportunity as it presented itself. And Battlefield 1942 was very flexible in that regard. Grab a fast jeep at the base and zip across the map to a neglected control point? If things went badly, a tank would get you. If things went well, you'd open up a new entry point into the battle for your team, one that had the potential to turn the tide of the fight. Success and defeat were always closely intertwined.
I loved this dynamic of Battlefield 1942. Those moments when you were absolutely certain that the other players around you knew exactly what they were doing. People crawling up to a tank and planting an explosive charge without being noticed. And moments when you seriously wondered how others, given what they were doing, were even able to walk in a straight line. More than once I asked myself why someone had parked that battleship right on the beach again, or rather, on it.
Battlefield 1942 Retro even today, a groundbreaking shooter,
Trailer for you:
Likewise, you had no idea what to expect when entering a battle. An effortless triumph for your team? A crushing defeat at the hands of the enemy?
Or a fight so close it's literally decided by the last respawn tickets? Anything was possible, and that's what made it so exciting. The great thing about it? You were completely focused on the game. No challenges, no prerequisites to unlock anything, just pure gameplay where everyone plays as they please. Focused gameplay without having to think about anything else afterward—I miss that in multiplayer shooters.
Legendary maps like Wake Island, Operation Market Garden, Kursk, El Alamein, and Tobruk are etched in my memory thanks to this game, and they're memories I wouldn't trade for anything. In that sense, 20 years of Battlefield 1942 is a wonderful occasion to look back. At the same time, it saddens me that multiplayer shooters have increasingly put me off over the years since. Sorry, dear developers, but I don't want to make playing a multiplayer shooter my life's work. Especially not amidst all the ongoing games and ever-expanding open-world titles that exist today.
But there is one thing I would celebrate: a remake of Battlefield 1942. Exactly as it was back then, just with modern technology. No seasons, no battle passes, no unlocks. Equal conditions and content for everyone. Is that really too much to ask these days? So, now I'm going to hum the theme song to myself for a while and reminisce.
Or a fight so close it's literally decided by the last respawn tickets? Anything was possible, and that's what made it so exciting. The great thing about it? You were completely focused on the game. No challenges, no prerequisites to unlock anything, just pure gameplay where everyone plays as they please. Focused gameplay without having to think about anything else afterward—I miss that in multiplayer shooters.
Legendary maps like Wake Island, Operation Market Garden, Kursk, El Alamein, and Tobruk are etched in my memory thanks to this game, and they're memories I wouldn't trade for anything. In that sense, 20 years of Battlefield 1942 is a wonderful occasion to look back. At the same time, it saddens me that multiplayer shooters have increasingly put me off over the years since. Sorry, dear developers, but I don't want to make playing a multiplayer shooter my life's work. Especially not amidst all the ongoing games and ever-expanding open-world titles that exist today.
But there is one thing I would celebrate: a remake of Battlefield 1942. Exactly as it was back then, just with modern technology. No seasons, no battle passes, no unlocks. Equal conditions and content for everyone. Is that really too much to ask these days? So, now I'm going to hum the theme song to myself for a while and reminisce.
Autor: Benjamin Jakobs
Source: eurogamer.de
