Battlefield 1942 is an expansive first-person shooter (FPS) set in World War II developed by Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts for the PC. The game can be played single-player against bots, but most of the focus has been on its support for large-scale, multiplayer Internet games. On average, there are 1700 or more servers running Battlefield 1942, with up to 64 players competing on each.

It combines realistic 3D graphics with gameplay more extensive than the average FPS. Players are able to fly fighters and bombers, captain battleships and aircraft carriers, man coastal defenses, drive tanks and jeeps, or just fight as one of several classes of infantry. Some believe that Battlefield 1942 has one of the most realistic physics engines available in FPSs on the market. Each battle takes place on one of several maps located in a variety of places and famous battlefields in both the Pacific and European Theaters. While the combat is always Axis versus Allies, the location determines which specific armies are used (for example, on the Iwo Jima map, it is Japan versus the U.S, on the Battle of Britain map, Germany versus the UK).

Since its release on September 11, 2002, there have been over a dozen mods (modifications) developed by independent gamers. Each mod changes the gameplay by adding new weapons, vehicles, and gameplay rules. The most famous of these, Desert Combat, moves the setting to modern combat in the Middle East. particularly spectacular is that the DC team developed the mod without any developer support or modmaking tools.

The creators of Battlefield 1942 have released an expansion pack entitled Battlefield 1942: Road to Rome. Another expansion pack, Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII, was recently released and includes the addition of various new gameplay modes and design concepts which were not used widely on the battlefield, having been developed shortly before the end of the war. Free, downloadable patches fix bugs in the game and sometimes add extra content (such as the aforementioned Battle of Britain map). Digital Illusions is developing a sequel to Battlefield 1942 called Battlefield Vietnam. It will be sililar to that of the Desert Combat mod, except that instead of present-day helicopters and tanks, it will be Vietnam War-era weapons that comprise the game's arsenal. Its new features include a new engine that heavilly uses normal mapping, multiple weapons for most classes, and new maps.

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