Battlefield Vietnam

This article is about the video game. For the documentary television series, see Battlefield Vietnam (documentary series).

Battlefield Vietnam
Developer(s)	Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts
Designer(s)	Armando Marini
Series	Battlefield
Engine	Refractor Engine
Platforms	Microsoft Windows
Release date(s)	NA March 14, 2004 EU March 19, 2004
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Battlefield Vietnam is a first-person shooter video game, the second in the Battlefield franchise after Battlefield 1942. The game was developed by the Swedish company Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts on March 15, 2004 in North America and days later in other parts of the world. Battlefield Vietnam takes place during the Vietnam War. It features a large variety of maps based on historical settings, such as the Ho Chi Minh Trail, Battle of Hue, Ia Drang Valley, Operation Flaming Dart, The Battle of Khe Sanh and Fall of Saigon.

On March 15, 2005, EA re-released the game as Battlefield Vietnam: Redux, which includes the 1.01, 1.02, 1.1, 1.2, and 1.21 patches, new vehicles, maps, and an EA-produced World War II mod, based on the previous Battlefield 1942. On 31 May 2014, the game's multiplayer master servers went offline due to the GameSpy shutdown. However, online play remains possible simply by directly connecting to the IP address of a server.

Gameplay

Battlefield Vietnam has the same point by point objectives of Battlefield 1942; in most maps, the objective is to take Control Points around the map to enable friendly players and controllable vehicles to spawn. Like other Battlefield games, Spawn tickets play a vital role for defeat of a Team. Battlefield Vietnam features a revolutionary form of asymmetrical warfare gameplay. The two teams (American or Vietnamese) are given wildly different kits and vehicles, making the U.S. rely more on heavy vehicles and the Vietnamese rely more on infantry tactics. The U.S., for instance, will get heavy tanks, helicopters, and bombers, while the Vietnamese are forced to rely on anti-tank/anti-aircraft weapons in order to stop the American side. This gameplay was intended to reflect the actual conditions of the war. The inclusion of a "Sipi Hole" for the Vietnamese - effectively a mobile spawn point, representative of the vast tunnel networks the Vietnamese used in the actual war - did a great deal to balance the gameplay.

Battlefield Vietnam features the United States, with Marines, Army and the Navy, South Vietnam with Army of the Republic of Vietnam and North Vietnam with the Viet Cong.

Built on a modified Battlefield 1942 engine, Battlefield Vietnam has many new and improved features from its predecessor. The game gives the player a variety of weapons based on the war. Various contemporary weapons and concepts are featured such as the AK47 assault rifle and punji stick traps. It also has several additions to it, such as air-lifting vehicles and, while in a vehicle, playing the vehicle's radio, which featured 1960s music. Players can replace the vehicle soundtrack with their own music tracks. Players are able to fire from the passenger sides of vehicles, rather than leaving the player defenseless. The game is the first in the Battlefield series to utilize a 3D map, allowing players to see icons that represent the position of control points or friendly units, giving the player an increased situational awareness.

The game features a variety of military vehicles from the war, that are drivable by players. These include vehicles such as the M551 Sheridan, M48 Patton, the AH-1 Cobra, F-4 Phantom II, M-113 APC and the Huey chopper. North Vietnamese and Viet Cong units include MiG-17 and MiG-21 jet fighters, Mil Mi-8 Hip helicopter, ZSU-57-2 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, PT-76, T-54 tank and a Vespa scooter.

Mods

There are numerous modifications ("mods") to Battlefield Vietnam available. One of these mods was produced by DICE, and is called Battlefield: Vietnam World War II Mod. This mod consists of the Pacific maps of Battlefield 1942 remade with updated graphics. New weapons such as a flamethrower and a mortar were added to this version.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings 84% Metacritic 84% Review scores Publication Score GamePro GameSpot 8.5/10 IGN 8.2/10 X-Play

Battlefield Vietnam received generally positive reviews. Critics praised the graphical improvement, vast selection of maps, vehicles, and weapons, and online multiplayer. Heavily criticized was the single-player enemy AI, which would often ignore the player even while being attacked.

External links

• Battlefield Vietnam at IMDb
• Battlefield Vietnam at MobyGames