Battlefield 2 is Back With Epic Maps and Cracking Gameplay

Welcome to the all new scenic Battlefield.

Looking back, it is hard to imagine that when Battlefield 1942 first came out, many in the industry thought it would die out within months of release. While it was a highly promising game, it was extremely rough around the edges. For example, it had sketchy net code and was missing weapons (the Japanese army, for example, used mainly German weapons). It also didn't help that it was released at around the same time as two other multiplayer first-person shooter behemoths: Planetside and Unreal Tournament 2003.

However, the players of BF1942 could see where Swedish developers DICE were going, and diligently stuck with the game as it went through patch after patch, improving into the game that, at its height, was the pinnacle of online warfare. Their devotion was such that BF1942 has now spawned an entire new game mode based on its conquest style - gameplay that has been picked up even by the Unreal Tournament franchise.

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The quasi-sequel Battlefield: Vietnam was never as successful, to the extent that vast numbers of players still play the original over BFV. The developers - DICE Canada this time as opposed to DICE Sweden - and EA, finally admitted defeat when they released a World War 2 mod for Vietnam which included many of the best maps from BF1942.

The reins have passed back to DICE Sweden for this, the full sequel to Battlefield 1942. Battlefield 2 takes us to the modern battlefield, pitting the US Marine Corps, Peoples Liberation Army of China and the imaginary Middle Eastern Coalition off against one another in 15 of the biggest, most detailed maps we've ever encountered in an online arena.