In an age where multiplayer first-person shooters are king, the most popular games have a myriad of guns, maps, and modes. While choice is always good, I believe these games have become too complicated, and fun has become diluted by developers focusing on quantity over quality.
One of my favorite multiplayer shooters is Battlefield 1943, the successor to the classic shooter Battlefield 1942. This downloadable title is incredibly simple with little variety in its content.
Battlefield 1943 has only four maps — one of which is exclusively an air combat map. In addition, you only get three classes to choose from, each having two guns, a special item (such as C4 or grenades), and a melee weapon. Players can't even go prone, making hiding and camping much more difficult. And in terms of game modes, you only have the classic Conquest mode to enjoy.
The features in this game seem utterly lacking, but the quality of the content more than makes up for this deficit. For example, despite having three maps to play on, I was never bored. The arenas are all incredibly well made and well balanced for each side, which provided an incentive to know the map and made each game a new and refreshing experience.
Also, I never missed having lots of guns to choose from. In this title, players only have one gun for each purpose, and it makes the whole game much more simple and elegant. For example, you essentially have one sniper rifle, one machine gun, one mid-range rifle, one pistol, and one rocket launcher. This puts all gamers on an even playing field and makes the game very easy to balance. Additionally, since snipers aren't able to go prone (they can only crouch), sniping becomes an even more challenging and rewarding experience.
The sole game mode available, Conquest, is essentially a hybrid of team deathmatch and capture the flag, and it never fails to entertain. When playing, I certainly never missed the standard modes in most first-person shooters, as all of the maps were best suited for Conquest.
While the Call of Duty and Medal of Honor releases focus on providing as many options as possible, I hope more games will follow Battlefield: 1943's example of simple elegance providing a fantastic and addictive multiplayer experience.
Originally posted on leviathyn.com.