Product Description

The Battlefield franchise is entering a new era with more firepower and ferocious new combat settings. Staying true to the over-the-top, action-packed multi-player style, Battlefield Vietnam will drop players into some of the Vietnam War's fiercest battles. Fighting in theatres from jungles surrounding the Ho Chi Minh Trail to the city streets of Hue, players will choose from two well-equipped forces, the United States or the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Vietcong.

Offering an arsenal of weapons and vehicles authentic to the Vietnam conflict, players will battle in first-person perspective. The workhorse vehicle for the US during the conflict was the helicopter and it will serve the same purpose in Battlefield Vietnam.

The NVA will be outfitted with many Russian-made vehicles including the T-54 tank and Mig-21 jet. Taking a step forward from its franchise predecessors, Battlefield Vietnam will allow passengers to fire from moving vehicles and players will have the ability to airlift other vehicles via helicopter. The game will also deploy new rendering and sound engines that will help take players deeper into the 1960s mindset. Battlefield Vietnam, like its brethren Battlefield games, allows players to join forces on teams in games up to 64 players over the Internet, or jump into single-player action.

Amazon.co.uk Review

After a series of highly popular expansion packs Battlefield Vietnam represents the first proper sequel to the blockbusting Battlefield 1942. The set-up is pretty much the same as before in that you're cast as a basic infantryman, using standard first-person shoot-'em-up controls, but have the chance to commandeer and pilot any vehicle in the game. Since this new game is set in the Vietnam War that means 24 authentic-looking vehicles, including helicopters, jet fighters, patrol boats and tanks.

Battlefield Vietnam is largely an online game. There is a single-player mode but the computer AI is so appalling it's really not worth bothering with, except as a means to learn the controls of the various vehicles. When played online things really come alive as you cooperate as a part of a team to storm the enemy control points. Although the graphics are little changed from its predecessor there are significant differences in the way the basic gameplay works in Battlefield Vietnam. This is most obvious in the differences between the two sides with the Viet Cong having access to a range of special weapons such as pungi sticks and other booby traps, compared to the hi-tech American jets and helicopters. It's a pity the graphics and control interface weren't improved more but despite it sometimes still feeling like a mission disk rather than a true sequel, Battlefield Vietnam is certainly one of the best online games currently available. --David Jenkins