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Jungle Boogie

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 8
Date: April 09, 2004
Author: Amazon User

It's a jungle out there. Battlefield Vietnam whisks PC gamers to the dense foliage of Southeast Asia as war rages.

Sequel to the best-selling Battlefield 1942, Battlefield Vietnam has the look of yet another surefire hit.

Reinforced by movies such as Full Metal Jacket, the horrors of the Vietnam War and the domestic upheaval of the 1960s are seared into the national consciousness. Battlefield Vietnam captures the feel of the times with 1960s music and stylized imagery. The sound track alone is worth the price of admission as it pumps out tunes from Jefferson Airplane ("White Rabbit"), Creedence Clearwater Revival ("Fortunate Son"), and others.

In a clever twist, players can dial the tunes while operating vehicles, boats and aircraft. Other players will hear the music when the vehicle comes near.

Since Wagner's "The Ride of the Valkyries" is included, Battlefield Vietnam makes it possible to re-create the famous helicopter-assault scene from Apocalypse Now. Gamers can also substitute their own digitized music for the game's playlist.

Despite its focus on Southeast Asia, game play in Battlefield Vietnam is much the same as that found in Battlefield 1942. Players once again control an individual soldier using a first- or third-person view.

Combatants can be of one of several classes, including engineers, infantrymen or snipers. This time around, however, players can choose specialties within the classes. A North Vietnamese engineer, for example, can be equipped with a mortar in addition to his standard gear. Or, he can tote a shovel to prepare tunnels for other soldiers.

Characters are once again able to control vehicles, which have been updated to reflect Vietnam-era equipment. Soviet-made T-54 tanks and MiG-21 jets are among the North's arsenal, while U.S. and South Vietnamese troops will find F-4 Phantom fighters, Huey helicopters and Jeeps. Sampans and U.S. Navy patrol boats help players cruise the numerous waterways.

A new wrinkle is the ability of passengers to shoot their weapons from within vehicles. Also new is the airlifting muscle of large helicopters, which can carry tanks and patrol boats to strategic locations.

The game's rendering and sound engines have likewise been revamped. Explosions and battle sounds are noticeably more intense, while, on the graphics side, players must cope with jungle growth in many maps. The dense foliage opens new possibilities for ambush or placement of booby traps.

The 14 maps showcase a broad range of terrain, from jungle canopies to rice paddies to urban landscapes. Historically significant battles depicted include Khe Sanh, Hue, and the Ia Drang Valley.

Like earlier titles in the series, Battlefield Vietnam can be enjoyed as a single- or multi-player experience. While the single-player game is fun, the artificial-intelligence 'bots are inept, even at the higher difficulty settings. With a tendency to attach themselves to a vehicle and then do nothing, they are little more than cannon fodder.

Battlefield Vietnam really shines, however, in multiplayer action. The game supports up to 64 combatants in local area network or online combat. Internet play is free, and dozens of servers are already playing host to wild matches.

If you plan to experience the game fully, you will need a beefy gaming rig. The minimum hardware configuration calls for a 933-MHz processor, 256 megabytes of RAM, and a GeForce3 or Radeon 8500 video card. But even with twice the RAM, a much faster processor, and a top-end Nvidia card, I experienced long load times and the occasional slowdown during play. Of course, I was running maxed-out graphics. Play speed can be enhanced by dialing down the visuals, reducing the number of A.I. 'bots, or both.

Where does the series go from here? Expect an add-on module or two, just as Road to Rome and Secret Weapons brought additional weapons and battles to Battlefield 1942. Even more exciting is the prospect of mod designs that will allow the game's engine to simulate battles in other times and places. The success of Desert Combat, a Battlefield 1942 enhancement that let gamers slug it out in an eerily realistic simulation of Iraq, will surely inspire mod makers and map designers here. The game includes a map-making utility.

Potentially good but many problems

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: March 25, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Another big fan of BF1942 and mods is perplexed by the unfinished release.

P4 2.8 GHz
GeForce 4600 Ti 128 MB (ASUS)
512MB DDR 2700 RAM
Intel 845 PE chipset M/B (ASUS)
SB Audigy
Windows XP

My problems are these:

a) Sound is extremely buggy. Surround doesn't work properly. Some vehicles and actions are silent (eg. can't hear tanks sometimes) and some sounds keep going after the action is finished. EAX causes lag until you change the soundbuffer variable in config file. I simply turned off everything and used rudimentary 2D sound driver to get it working for now.

b) Graphics are laggy. The game consumes huge graphics resources but doesn't look good enough to justify it. I can only play it smoothly on low settings. Badly in need of optimisation. Even on low, play is a bit jerky.

c) Internetworking is in need of revision. Commonly on some servers, everyone will suddenly start to lag and will have to leave to find another server. It happens to everyone at the same time.

There are many other graphics issues as well, especially for those with ATI cards.

I am very disappointed that the game was so unfinished. It seems like we will have to go through the same process again with DICE that we did with BF1942. Why ? Didn't they learn anything from the first game ? Were all the programmers new ?

The poor quality of the release aside, once I got the game running I had fun. I love the authentic 1960s Vietnam feel of the game which is very well done and I often feel like I am in a movie like Platoon or Full Metal Jacket. The gameply is good (but not balanced) and the game has real potential.

My advice. Wait for the patches before buying it. Everyone is assuming patches will come from the BF1942 experience which finally became a great game. If they fix the sound bugs and my graphics card still won't cut it, I will buy another one because I feel the game will be good. If they don't fix the sound glitches, I will not worry about the game and uninstall it.

I really hope they fix it.

Absolutely Horrible

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: May 19, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I was debating on buying this one or Far Cry and for some reason assumed that since the Battlefield series had so much popularity and EA was an established name in the gaming world that BF: Vietnam would be a smarter choice. Boy was I wrong.
First off this game plays like a bad beta version. On my 2.8 Gig Pentium Proc, GeForce 4 MX 440, 1 gig DDR, system, it lags. My system exceeds if not doubles the minimum requirements and this game runs like I was using an old 486.
Secondly, the controls on this game sucks. The controls needed to use the helicopters and jets are too complicated for a controller, but too hard to configure on a keyboard and mouse set-up. Try doing a bombing run in the jet. Near impossible (and I am an avid Microsoft Flight sim pilot). The interaction levels with the computer allies are horrible. Most of them can't drive with you in the vehicle, you can't tell them where to go and when to stop.
Lastly, the computer AI is messed up. The computer AI is way too easy on the easy level, and too hard on the normal level. Evenin the custom mode unless you play around with it you can't get it right.
Wonder what happened to EA's pride in their games. They owe everybody a refund and an apology. Anything over 2 stars for this game is insane.

Pilots win again

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: May 28, 2004
Author: Amazon User

OK, so the graphics are better, and some of the maps are cool, but once again we have the fundamental BF failing: Anyone who can fly reasonably well dominates the game. I know, I know "so just learn to fly". Fair point, but if I wanted to play a flight combat simulator, I'd buy one. The game therefore degenerates to hanging about the airfield, fighting team mates to get a chopper, then wasting everything that moves on the ground. Don't bother.

Explanations of things I have seen in reviews

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: June 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

It appears to me that some people who have reviewed this game just don't have much experience with online FPS, the players, or recent happenings with punkbuster. For those of you new to the online FPS community, and it is a community, there are those of us who admitedly have been playing the Battlefield sereis for quite a while. You are going to run across people on almost every server that is going to destroy you because of the difference in skill. I have read complaints about unbalanced this and that. I honestly have yet had a problem with scoring above 35 points a match playing with the people at my local LAN center. You learn to deal with spawn killers and air and land vehicles. Also, depending on when you got the game, a US heavy machine gun called the M60 got some much needed patching. It went from the n00b cannon from hell to the gun everyone avoids like the plague, which is good. So, depending on the time you played this game, experience with that gun may have varied. Also, some of you have spoken of problems with Punk Buster. ALWAYS MAKE SURE PUNK BUSTER IS ENABLED. Servers will kick for not using it and even deny you from joining. This is to stop some of the cheaters from earlier installments from making the game no fun. Unless you are a seasoned vetran of the FPS genre, or you are willing to put in effort, please don't complain about good players on servers. This game has too many good features to pass up, but only if you want to play online, or LAN with your friends.

This is the game that has dominated my life

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 27, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I usually don't write reviews but since I was here, I figured I should write one on the game that I play night and day. This game is unreal and a lot of fun. With the ability to drive tanks, shoot mortar, put down bouncing betties, fly F-4s, this has a play style for everybody. It's an addictive game!

Great Strategy Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is great. While the movement is kind of choppy at times and the screen shots aren't always the best, this is still a great game. The strategy to succeed caters to all levels. With basic controls anyone can learn to play and enjoy this game. There are always plenty of people of all ages and skill levels to play this. Now that the price is dropping it bumps this game up even higher on the wish lists.

It is fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: October 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Battlefield Vietnam is a fun game. Theres a lot of things you can drive. Theres also a lot of guns to choose from. Theres the M60,M16, M14 and a lot of others. You can even take the enemys weapons. Its different than oter games because instead of doing missions and get objectives you have to take enemy camps and bases. Its a lot of fun. A bad thing is that it takes about 3 shots to kill an enemy. You can usally hit them once and then they see you and kill you. Its worth 50 dollars.

A very good game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 26, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Battlefield: Vietnam is a very good game, make no mistake about that. The fast paced gameply, some truly awe-inspiring aireal battles and massive firefights make for a definitive multiplayer experience.

Pros:
-Lots of weapons and vehicles
-Enough maps to keep u occupied for a very long time
-Massive firefights
-Huge air battles
-3d warfare - infantry, boats, tanks, and aircraft fighting on the same battlefield at the same time

Cons:
-Aircraft controls are a little more difficult than they need 2 be
-vehicles are much more vulnerable than they were in BF:1942 (could be a pro)
-All too easy for players to camp on top of the spawn points and blast people as they spawn

Despite these cons, BFV earns 5 stars for its fun factor if nothing else. Some over the top action provides for a very entertaining experience. Although it might not be as good as BF:1942, it surpasses Joint Operations (not by much though). This game has earned a permanent place in my collection. As for the tech specs, i ran it on a P4 2.4ghz, dual channel 256MB DDR RAM (512 after u add it up) and a Radeon 9200 256MB with excellent graphics and no problems at all. Buy this game!

This game is a battlefield

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 09, 2004
Author: Amazon User

You heard me right pal! this game is not for whining boys who complain that they get killed so easily. If you think this is your average counter-strike game... guess again. With tanks, choppers, boats, booby-traps and several square miles-long map, gameplay is one heck of a battlefield.

Im really amazed at how other players say this game is bad or that its too overrated, well I guess ignorance breeds discontent.
The vietnam game takes you to another level after BF42, the level of infantry tactics is only limited by your imagination.

Though it has few issues like a high-end pc and a fast net connection. Believe me, if you posses those two requisites and you're in into squad shooting games, this title is for you.

I myself was a skeptic when I first heard of the title. But after buying the game and playing it online, well my money spent was money well-spent.

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