Published on the Mac by Aspyr Media, the Deluxe Edition of the game features 16 maps based on well-known European and Pacific World War II battles, including the Normandy invasion and Midway, as well as the 6 maps found in the expansion pack Road to Rome, which highlights the Allied invasion of Italy. All the action is multi-player, whether you play with and against computer-controlled “bots,” human players, or a combination of the two, and up to 64 players can take part in the fight simultaneously. There are three main game types: conquest, team deathmatch and capture the flag. A fourth, co-op, combines bots and human players but plays the same as conquest.

Street Fighter. Take the battle to such war-torn cities as Berlin, Stalingrad and London.

Rock-Paper-Scissors

Every soldier in the game fills a scout, assault, anti-tank, medic, or engineer role, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. They can also jump into jeeps, tanks, armored personnel carriers, fighter and bomber planes, battleships, submarines, aircraft carriers and more, taking the fight into new dimensions as they battle both other players in vehicles and soldiers on foot. In addition, anti-aircraft guns and other artillery can turn the tide when both team’s tickets get close to zero.

“Creating artificial intelligence that works in a big ‘sandbox’ like Battlefield is really difficult. Our programmers did a fantastic job with that, giving them several different successful strategies to win a map but allowing them to morph those ideas based on what the player does.”

- Tobias Andersson, producer

“We wanted a rock-paper-scissors approach [to the soldiers and vehicles],” says Andersson. “Maybe a soldier is exposed to a plane on the open ground but he can turn the situation around if he mans an anti-aircraft gun. And a couple soldiers have a very good chance against a tank if they have the right equipment. Even a lone soldier can always call for backup from artillery or bombers if he’s a scout.”

Into the Wild Blue Yonder. Fly fighter planes off aircraft carriers or take control of the ships and move them into position to launch aircraft.

In conquest matches, the Axis and Allies teams start with a certain number of “tickets” that decline every time a player dies or one team loses too much ground. When one team’s tickets reach zero, they lose the battle, with the other’s declaration of victory — total, decisive, or minor — dependant on the number of tickets they still have. If you choose to play the game solo, you can go through a campaign that presents all the battles in chronological order and rates you after each one, awarding you a medal depending on how well you performed.

Flags planted in certain spots on every map represent territory that can be acquired or lost. If you remain near an unoccupied flag long enough, that spot falls under the control of your team and dead troops can respawn there, giving your side an advantage if its starting point is far away from the action.

However, if troops from the other side kill the soldiers guarding the spot or find it untended, they can claim it for their team.

AI in a Sandbox

Andersson notes that “many people use the single player campaign as a way to train before they go online.” He adds: “Creating artificial intelligence that works in a big ‘sandbox’ like Battlefield is really difficult because the computer-controlled soldiers have to behave like human players. Our programmers did a fantastic job with that, giving them several different successful strategies to win a map but allowing them to morph those ideas, or even just switch to something random, all the time, based on what the player does.”

You’re Cleared for Take-Off. Get behind the controls of everything from one-man fighter planes to heavy bombers; the latter allow you to play gunner if you don’t want to fly.

Asked if he’s ever been unable to distinguish a computer player from a real one, Andersson responds: “Yes, sometimes, and it’s really mind-blowing. I remember one time I was driving a tank in co-op mode and somebody jumped in and manned the turret on top. We had a blast, driving right into the enemy base with great success.

“When you have to place a competition in a well-known scenario, [World War II] is an obvious choice.”

- Tobias Andersson

“The realization that it was an AI player made me think about what we will be able to achieve in the future when AI is developed even further. I don’t think it will ever replace playing against real people, but it will certainly be a more viable alternative.”

Gotcha! Sometimes it’s fun to just duke it out on foot.

In the meantime, it adds a rich dimension for players who can’t, or don’t want to, go online against live players. You certainly won’t find any of the bots using cheats.

If you liked this game, check out:

• America’s Army: Special Forces
• Delta Force: Black Hawk Down
• Call of Duty
• Ghost Recon: Game of the Year Edition
• Medal of Honor: Breakthrough
• Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield
• Return to Castle Wolfenstein
• World War II Online