European Theater

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Lore & Background

In Battlefield 1942, the European Theater is represented through maps based on real battles in the European, North African, Eastern, and Italian Fronts. The game's single-player mode pits players against AI, while multiplayer allows online or LAN play. The Axis powers include Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, while the Allies consist of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Soviet Union. Each map determines which nation-specific armies are used—for example, on the Wake Island map it is Japan versus the United States. The game was built on the formula of Codename Eagle, an alternate history World War I game, and was developed by a team of 14 people at Digital Illusions. An Xbox version was announced in early 2001 but cancelled so Electronic Arts could focus on a PC expansion pack.

In Their Own Story

The rain in Berlin was cold enough to numb the fingers on the trigger, but the heat from the burning tank nearby made the air shimmer. Sergeant Miller checked his scope, the digital overlay flickering as he scanned the rubble of what used to be a grand opera house. Somewhere in that maze of concrete and steel, an enemy sniper held the line. The sound of distant artillery rolled through the valley like thunder, shaking dust from the ceiling tiles above. This wasn't just a map on a screen; it was a graveyard of history being rewritten by the next generation of soldiers.

Reader's Guide

The European Theater in Battlefield 1942 is experienced through the Conquest mode, where teams capture control points to enable respawning and reduce enemy tickets. Each team starts with a set number of tickets, which are consumed when members respawn. A team loses tickets when its members are killed, and at a fixed rate when the other team holds more capture points. The greater the disparity in held capture points, the greater the rate of ticket loss to the disadvantaged side. A match is won by killing all members of the opposing team when they have no remaining tickets or no available spawn points. Players can choose from five infantry roles: Scout, Assault, Anti-Tank, Medic, and Engineer, each with specific strengths and weaknesses. The game also features vehicles such as fighter aircraft, bombers, capital ships, submarines, aircraft carriers, tanks, APCs, jeeps, coastal artillery, anti-aircraft guns, and mounted machine guns.

Did You Know?

• Battlefield 1942 was originally proposed by DICE as a GameCube exclusive, but negotiations failed because Nintendo had no online strategy.
• The game was built on the formula of Codename Eagle, a less well-known game set in an alternate history World War I.
• Battlefield 1942 sold over 3 million copies by July 2004.
• The game won Game of the Year at the 6th annual Interactive Achievement Awards.
• A Macintosh-compatible version was released by Aspyr Media in mid-2004.