Some reason, this game is often confused with Battlefield 1942. Perhaps the name “Battlefield” confuses some players into believing they’re the my talking tom hack, but they are most certainly not! Battlefield Heroes is best described as what would happen if Team Fortress 2 was involved in the Second World War. In it, players side with either the Nationals (Axis) or Royals (Allies) and attempt to obliterate one another in a comical firefight that’s very cartoon-like in its presentation. I think the more lighthearted nature of the game is what keeps so many players involved in the community, but there are also traces of historical accuracy to keep purists amused.
It’s hard to find fault with the visuals. Yes, they’re very laid back when compared to something like Call of Duty, but I believe this was the developer’s intention with the game. There’s certainly a comedic vibe to the entire experience that kept me engaged throughout the time I played the game.
Perhaps the only fault I can find with it is each gameplay session, regardless of the chosen map or opponents, caused me to be disconnected from the Internet. I’m not entirely sure what was happening, but it has affected two different routers connecting to two different ISPs. If this issue didn’t exist, then I’d have no problem putting it in the first place position, but it is a major bug with the game that holds back an otherwise top-tier contender.
IGN Score: 8.0
Personal Score: 9.5
Age Advisory: 16+
1. Call of Duty: World at War (PC – 2008)
Yes, Call of Duty is making another appearance in the best of list with this title, which is the most recent Call of Duty game for the PC. After a slew of releases focused on more modern military conflicts, Activision reverted back to its roots with World at War and put players in the Pacific Theater and Eastern Front operations within the Second World War. The experience holds true to its predecessors in that it’s very chaotic throughout the single player mode and features an impressive multiplayer experience to boot.
Visually, World at War is nothing short of a masterpiece. The stunningly detailed in-game graphics are complimented by exceedingly spectacular cinematic cutscenes that accent the player’s progress throughout the game. Movement is fluid, responsive, and I dare say lifelike in many instances. Of course, this can be speculative as my test rig was able to play this game at very high settings. The experience may differ at lower settings, which may be required of some older systems not purpose-built for gaming.
It would be hard for me to consider anything besides World at War to be the best FPS WW2 game. It is currently unmatched in the gaming world in terms of its strengths and is likely to hold this distinction for quite some time as developers seemingly shy away from the WW2 genre on the PC. Regardless, I would be happy to make this my go-to WW2 game for quite awhile!