Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII Review - PC Game Reviews

Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII Review

BF 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII is the second expansion pack for Battlefield 1942 which was voted the Multiplayer Game of The Year for 2002. The first expansion, Road to Rome, was nothing more than a collection of six maps. Secret Weapons comes with eight new maps, crazy vehicles, and brilliant action.

The core gameplay remains the same. Two teams of up to 32 players’ battle to control ‘Flag Points’ around the map. The team that controls more flag points keeps earning tickets while the other team steadily loses them. Once either team runs out, the round concludes. This might sound simplistic but the actual gameplay is an intense mixture of Tribes & UT 2003 with a lot of addictive fun for added measure. The expansion pack has three major additions; new vehicles, eight maps and a Conquest Mode that is similar to Unreal Tournament’s Assault.
The first major addition to the game are the ‘Secret Weapons’. These are a set of sixteen vehicles and weaponry that were either in development or limited combat at the end of WWII. They range from a Bond-style rocket pack to the amphibious Schwimmwagen that can fight the good fight on land and in the sea. The most powerful of these weapons is the awesome Nazi Sturmtiger which is a combination of a Tiger Tank body with a naval gun; an incredibly effective weapon that is capable of mass destruction. For the purpose of quick transport, each side has one Sholay-style motorcycle with a sidecar. In the aerial department, there are four jet planes that can move fast enough to cover the entire map in ten seconds! The best of the batch is the Wasserfall guided rocket that puts you in control of a high-speed missile with a limited amount of fuel. You steer the rocket from a first person perspective, similar to the Redeemer in UT. A useful addition that most fans of the series had clamoured for is the C-47 cargo plane that acts as a mobile spawn point and can help troops to parachute behind enemy lines. All the weapons are extremely well balanced with both the Allies and the Germans having a perfect share.


The new maps are good overall. In The Eagle's Nest the Allies have to capture a German camp which has only one road and two bridges leading to it. This key location is extremely hard to attack but once captured, it is the Germans will have to go on the offensive to claim it back. This makes for some extremely vibrant and amusing gameplay. Most maps, like Hellendoorn or Mimoyecques, feature amazing gameplay and constant action while only Kbely Airfield felt incomplete and bleak. On the whole, these eight maps are a welcome addition to the world of BF 1942. The final addition this title brings is the new Objective mode which is supported by six of the eight new maps. This mode gives one team certain objects to destroy while tasking the other team with protecting them. If you play the Allies on Mimoyecques, your job will be to destroy Hitler’s V3 gun by dropping explosives down three ventilation shafts at the north end of the map. Naturally, the job of the Germans will be to protect the gun. Unfortunately this mode doesn’t feel quite as balanced or enjoyable as the Conquest mode. In fact, you’ll have a hard time even finding servers running this particular mode.


For an expansion pack, this game is slightly expensive. The new secret weapons alone are not worth the price of the game but the combination of these zany weapons with the great new maps make this game a must buy for every BF 1942 owner. If you love multiplayer and don’t own BF 1942 yet, pick up a copy today. Even a year later BF: 1942 remains one of the most stylish and multipurpose online shooters ever.


HIGHS: Addictive gameplay, Cool weapons.
LOWS: No single-player Campaign
NUTSHELL: Best when played online.