September the 10th, 2012, is the ten year anniversary of Battlefield 1942, one of the all time greatest vehicular FPSes ever made. Are you doing anything to mark the event? Or do you have any great stories from those incredible moments you saw in-game?
Maybe you just remember enjoying battlefield 1942 at one stage or another. This is your opportunity to share with the Escapist a fondness for a truly awe-inspiring game.
Over the past few hours I've been playing it again, with a community that used to play it all the time, now brought together again for the occasion. It was a hell of a good time! As for a story, this one happened to me on the Phillippines map, and I wrote it down to enter a Battlefield Heroes Contest. I managed to capture the game's intense action well enough to get a prize!
Maybe you just remember enjoying battlefield 1942 at one stage or another. This is your opportunity to share with the Escapist a fondness for a truly awe-inspiring game.
Over the past few hours I've been playing it again, with a community that used to play it all the time, now brought together again for the occasion. It was a hell of a good time! As for a story, this one happened to me on the Phillippines map, and I wrote it down to enter a Battlefield Heroes Contest. I managed to capture the game's intense action well enough to get a prize!
So there I am, one sunny day in 1942, soaring above the Philippines in my Zero fighter. I'm on the hunt for a hotshot Corsair pilot that my team tells me has a knack for swooping down and decimating tanks and PT boats. I want to see if he can dogfight as well as he can divebomb, but I've only got 30 rounds left and grey smoke is trailing from my fighter. If I was smart I'd head back to my carrier to rearm and repair, but dammit there were people DYING out there because of this guy! I decided to 'quickly' finish him off and THEN return to base. That was the plan, at least....
Out of the corner of my eye I spot a movement, and bank just in time to see a speck in the distance hurtling earthwards like a meteor. As I get closer the distinctive gull wings of the corsair come into focus as it swoops down, missing the ground by inches and rockets up into space on the other side of a now charred tank. I've been playing on this server long enough to know that this pilot uses a joystick, and as I'm stuck with keyboard and mouse the zero's turning circle (which is normally better than the corsair) will be no match for his. I'm going to have to get in close without him seeing me. This won't be easy.
He soars up into the sky, losing speed. I'm still a bit further away than I'd like to be, but I take aim and wait for him to level out where he'll be at his slowest and most vulnerable. He begins to level out, but even as I first fire my guns he snaps off a half roll and dives away, unscathed.
I had been spotted. Now it was everything or nothing.
He uses his dive to gain speed and loop up towards me. I had been climbing and losing speed for some time so I jammed hard right on the rudder and barrel rolled out of his line of fiery leaden death. Instead of turning to get behind me he continues his climb to get height over me. Crafty blighter. So I dive a bit and then swoop up to stitch him from underneath. Unfortunately seeing the danger he twisted like an eel and as I came roaring up I didn't get a clear shot.
The fight continued like this for some time. As he could out turn me he would often get on my tail, where I would wait until he was about to fire before pulling off a high G manoeuvre and spoil his aim, and then have a split second where he was in front of me, but always managing to evade my crosshair with a move of his own. As with all do-or-die dogfights, ours lost height, and soon we had to keep one eye on our opponent and the other on the rice paddies near the landing beach that loomed ever closer with each swoop.
At this stage, my team had none of the flags on this island -the big Western one- and sure enough tracers from below started whizzing close to my airframe.
My fighter was crippled and low on ammo. A deadly enemy fighter pilot was after me, and people on the ground were taking potshots at me. Should I bail out? NEVER!
No, there was only one thing for it- get the hell away from that ground fire, even if it meant getting the corsair on my tail. I shot away from the beach, heading for the mountains. If I could get there before he completed his turn I'd be able to get some cover. I skimmed over the peak and plummeted down just in time- bullets were zipping around me just as I got out of sight. I hugged the jungle path through the valley, staying as low and fast as I dared, and crossed out to sea again near the US marine base, searching the sky all over.
There was no sign of the Corsair. Had I shaken him or was it a trick?
There he was, above and behind me. I was easy meat. I figure I may as well go down swinging so I snapped my fighter around to face him. He didn't seem to expect that, for it spoiled his aim and in his dive he overshot me. As he went by I stitched a line of bullets into his fuselage. Thick smoke coughed from his engine but he swooped upwards, still in control. I had 2 bullets left.
He started zig zagging towards the coast. I started climbing and following him- too far away to guarantee a hit. I thought he'd try flying in the valley like I did, but as he got to the beach he turned and came up to meet me. He started firing a long way off but i held my fire until I was absolutely sure I'd get him. I squeezed the trigger and popped off my shots. The first shot hit him in the wing root and the smoke became solid black. The other bullet missed. I had taken hits and my fighter had dark grey smoke now, but he was climbing in a plane that isn't good at climbing, so I pulled up, and he struggled to lift his nose, losing more speed. Then I dived down on him, and I was close enough to see his face as I yanked my plane upwards, releasing my bomb at the same time. It must have been the last thing he ever saw, as it struck the plane square in the middle and he disappeared in a ball of fire and twisted debris. With intense relief I turned towards my carrier and started heading back.
My team had been busy in the meantime. They had launched an assault on the landing beach and were gaining ground. Even so, I was going straight to my ship no matter what happened. Trouble is, I made the mistake of taking the direct route, which took me over the West Harbour which was still in enemy hands. It seemed deserted, but just as I was about to cross the final mountain range, a puff of flak burst across my nose, setting the engine on fire.
Now I make it a point never to bail out if an enemy aircraft is about to get me- air to air kills take more planning and time than most kills so it's only fair to get your kill reward from downing the plane. But AA guns can be used with just one hand, so I have no problem with bailing out of a plane crippled by AA guns or mounted MGs. So I did. I parachuted safely down as my faithful zero met it's fiery end on the rocks below. I had been so close to getting home that I decided to hell with it. I'll attack the Harbour single handed.
Peering cautiously over the hilltop, I surveyed the base. A few soldiers were about, a PT boat was pulling away from the pier, and a tank was trundling around. I crept down the slope and made my way towards the base, moving parallel with the path. As I watched, the tank got snagged on something and lurched over. It rolled down into a ditch and the driver leapt clear just before it exploded in the shallow water. Nobody else seemed to have noticed. Well I decided to have some fun about that. I type, so that everyone can see:
'I could make a joke about the dude that just rolled his tank...'
'...but then that might give away my position, hey'
Plenty of lols from my team- from the other team not so much! The driver in particular was now looking wildly around trying to spot me. It was then that I saw a soldier sitting calmly in the AA gun nearby. He was staring up in the sky, almost bored. I just knew I couldn't pass up this chance to get the guy that stopped me getting home, so I crept a bit closer and gave him a quick burst to the head. He didn't even have time to swing the gun around. No sooner had he slumped over the controls when I saw three or so soldiers running up the hill towards me. So much for stealth...
I run around a curve in the hill, hoping to find a path away from them, but to my horror find just an alcove with the ruins of a bunker sitting surrounded by sheer cliff. Like it or not, I would have to take on all those soldiers at once. I run for the bunker, reloading my submachine gun as I go. They mount the rise and start firing on me before I get to the bunker. I keep my cool and keep running to the ruins as if I hadn't seen them. All three of them set their sights on the right side of the bunker, half expecting me to continue running out that side, but instead I reappear on the left and start blasting them. One marine crumples to the ground and the others dodge and return fire. I take cover again as their bullets take chunks out of the concrete in front of me. The remaining enemies split up and approach the bunker from both sides.
In a matter of seconds they'll have me surrounded, so I decide to launch my attack first. I fling a grenade out to their right flank and charge out to the left, my gun chattering. The soldier on the left recovers his surprise enough to score some hits on me before he fell, but on the right the other guy was too busy running away from the about-to-explode grenade to notice. I knelt and fired, and he bit the dust just as the grenade went off.
The immediate danger was gone, but I was still in a pretty tight spot. It wouldn't be long before they respawned and had another go at me. As I ran further down the path, reloading and healing myself as I went, the three soldiers rounded one of the huts and started firing from long range. Then they exploded.
I look up and see a friendly tank charging for the harbour. It seems we had won the landing beach and our troops were now reaching further out. I run into the base to help my friend. The flag is in a small courtyard between huts, a very dangerous spot for a tank. The three respawn again, one right near me, pulling out a mine to toss under the tank. He turns and sees me, still holding the mine, looking dumfounded. I kill him and dive through a doorway as a grenade comes sailing over a nearby rooftop. It explodes on the tank, which swivels around looking for the aggressor. I spot him up on a hill. I silence him just as he throws his next grenade. The tank begins to smoke from damage. The flag is grey.
I reload, then creep around the huts looking for the third guy. He probably doesn't want to attack the tank without knowing where I am first, and yet I know he is close, because the flag refuses to go to our side. The tank keeps looking wildly around, changing it's direction every now and then. I peer through a window and see the last man, his back to me, watching the tank with a bazooka slung over his shoulder. He's waiting for it to face away from him to hit it in the weakest spot- the thin rear armour. The way the jittery tank driver is going, this wont be long. Nevertheless, I decide to make this a cinematic climax, so I put my gun away and pull out my dagger. I creep into the hut, silent as possible...
Outside, the tank trundles up near the window, still looking around wildly for an unseen enemy. Unable to go forward, he decides to turn around. The rear end of the tank swings round and the anti-tanker's aim quivers with anticipation. I loom up in the darkness behind him and as his grip tightens on the trigger, I give him a savage slash across the back of the neck. He slumps to the floor silently. I look out the window to see the tank cannon pointing at me. Looks like the driver spotted him after all. Better late than never, I suppose...
I head outside, we capture the flag and he fixes the tank, and we both jump in and trundle away in search of more adventures
Out of the corner of my eye I spot a movement, and bank just in time to see a speck in the distance hurtling earthwards like a meteor. As I get closer the distinctive gull wings of the corsair come into focus as it swoops down, missing the ground by inches and rockets up into space on the other side of a now charred tank. I've been playing on this server long enough to know that this pilot uses a joystick, and as I'm stuck with keyboard and mouse the zero's turning circle (which is normally better than the corsair) will be no match for his. I'm going to have to get in close without him seeing me. This won't be easy.
He soars up into the sky, losing speed. I'm still a bit further away than I'd like to be, but I take aim and wait for him to level out where he'll be at his slowest and most vulnerable. He begins to level out, but even as I first fire my guns he snaps off a half roll and dives away, unscathed.
I had been spotted. Now it was everything or nothing.
He uses his dive to gain speed and loop up towards me. I had been climbing and losing speed for some time so I jammed hard right on the rudder and barrel rolled out of his line of fiery leaden death. Instead of turning to get behind me he continues his climb to get height over me. Crafty blighter. So I dive a bit and then swoop up to stitch him from underneath. Unfortunately seeing the danger he twisted like an eel and as I came roaring up I didn't get a clear shot.
The fight continued like this for some time. As he could out turn me he would often get on my tail, where I would wait until he was about to fire before pulling off a high G manoeuvre and spoil his aim, and then have a split second where he was in front of me, but always managing to evade my crosshair with a move of his own. As with all do-or-die dogfights, ours lost height, and soon we had to keep one eye on our opponent and the other on the rice paddies near the landing beach that loomed ever closer with each swoop.
At this stage, my team had none of the flags on this island -the big Western one- and sure enough tracers from below started whizzing close to my airframe.
My fighter was crippled and low on ammo. A deadly enemy fighter pilot was after me, and people on the ground were taking potshots at me. Should I bail out? NEVER!
No, there was only one thing for it- get the hell away from that ground fire, even if it meant getting the corsair on my tail. I shot away from the beach, heading for the mountains. If I could get there before he completed his turn I'd be able to get some cover. I skimmed over the peak and plummeted down just in time- bullets were zipping around me just as I got out of sight. I hugged the jungle path through the valley, staying as low and fast as I dared, and crossed out to sea again near the US marine base, searching the sky all over.
There was no sign of the Corsair. Had I shaken him or was it a trick?
There he was, above and behind me. I was easy meat. I figure I may as well go down swinging so I snapped my fighter around to face him. He didn't seem to expect that, for it spoiled his aim and in his dive he overshot me. As he went by I stitched a line of bullets into his fuselage. Thick smoke coughed from his engine but he swooped upwards, still in control. I had 2 bullets left.
He started zig zagging towards the coast. I started climbing and following him- too far away to guarantee a hit. I thought he'd try flying in the valley like I did, but as he got to the beach he turned and came up to meet me. He started firing a long way off but i held my fire until I was absolutely sure I'd get him. I squeezed the trigger and popped off my shots. The first shot hit him in the wing root and the smoke became solid black. The other bullet missed. I had taken hits and my fighter had dark grey smoke now, but he was climbing in a plane that isn't good at climbing, so I pulled up, and he struggled to lift his nose, losing more speed. Then I dived down on him, and I was close enough to see his face as I yanked my plane upwards, releasing my bomb at the same time. It must have been the last thing he ever saw, as it struck the plane square in the middle and he disappeared in a ball of fire and twisted debris. With intense relief I turned towards my carrier and started heading back.
My team had been busy in the meantime. They had launched an assault on the landing beach and were gaining ground. Even so, I was going straight to my ship no matter what happened. Trouble is, I made the mistake of taking the direct route, which took me over the West Harbour which was still in enemy hands. It seemed deserted, but just as I was about to cross the final mountain range, a puff of flak burst across my nose, setting the engine on fire.
Now I make it a point never to bail out if an enemy aircraft is about to get me- air to air kills take more planning and time than most kills so it's only fair to get your kill reward from downing the plane. But AA guns can be used with just one hand, so I have no problem with bailing out of a plane crippled by AA guns or mounted MGs. So I did. I parachuted safely down as my faithful zero met it's fiery end on the rocks below. I had been so close to getting home that I decided to hell with it. I'll attack the Harbour single handed.
Peering cautiously over the hilltop, I surveyed the base. A few soldiers were about, a PT boat was pulling away from the pier, and a tank was trundling around. I crept down the slope and made my way towards the base, moving parallel with the path. As I watched, the tank got snagged on something and lurched over. It rolled down into a ditch and the driver leapt clear just before it exploded in the shallow water. Nobody else seemed to have noticed. Well I decided to have some fun about that. I type, so that everyone can see:
'I could make a joke about the dude that just rolled his tank...'
'...but then that might give away my position, hey'
Plenty of lols from my team- from the other team not so much! The driver in particular was now looking wildly around trying to spot me. It was then that I saw a soldier sitting calmly in the AA gun nearby. He was staring up in the sky, almost bored. I just knew I couldn't pass up this chance to get the guy that stopped me getting home, so I crept a bit closer and gave him a quick burst to the head. He didn't even have time to swing the gun around. No sooner had he slumped over the controls when I saw three or so soldiers running up the hill towards me. So much for stealth...
I run around a curve in the hill, hoping to find a path away from them, but to my horror find just an alcove with the ruins of a bunker sitting surrounded by sheer cliff. Like it or not, I would have to take on all those soldiers at once. I run for the bunker, reloading my submachine gun as I go. They mount the rise and start firing on me before I get to the bunker. I keep my cool and keep running to the ruins as if I hadn't seen them. All three of them set their sights on the right side of the bunker, half expecting me to continue running out that side, but instead I reappear on the left and start blasting them. One marine crumples to the ground and the others dodge and return fire. I take cover again as their bullets take chunks out of the concrete in front of me. The remaining enemies split up and approach the bunker from both sides.
In a matter of seconds they'll have me surrounded, so I decide to launch my attack first. I fling a grenade out to their right flank and charge out to the left, my gun chattering. The soldier on the left recovers his surprise enough to score some hits on me before he fell, but on the right the other guy was too busy running away from the about-to-explode grenade to notice. I knelt and fired, and he bit the dust just as the grenade went off.
The immediate danger was gone, but I was still in a pretty tight spot. It wouldn't be long before they respawned and had another go at me. As I ran further down the path, reloading and healing myself as I went, the three soldiers rounded one of the huts and started firing from long range. Then they exploded.
I look up and see a friendly tank charging for the harbour. It seems we had won the landing beach and our troops were now reaching further out. I run into the base to help my friend. The flag is in a small courtyard between huts, a very dangerous spot for a tank. The three respawn again, one right near me, pulling out a mine to toss under the tank. He turns and sees me, still holding the mine, looking dumfounded. I kill him and dive through a doorway as a grenade comes sailing over a nearby rooftop. It explodes on the tank, which swivels around looking for the aggressor. I spot him up on a hill. I silence him just as he throws his next grenade. The tank begins to smoke from damage. The flag is grey.
I reload, then creep around the huts looking for the third guy. He probably doesn't want to attack the tank without knowing where I am first, and yet I know he is close, because the flag refuses to go to our side. The tank keeps looking wildly around, changing it's direction every now and then. I peer through a window and see the last man, his back to me, watching the tank with a bazooka slung over his shoulder. He's waiting for it to face away from him to hit it in the weakest spot- the thin rear armour. The way the jittery tank driver is going, this wont be long. Nevertheless, I decide to make this a cinematic climax, so I put my gun away and pull out my dagger. I creep into the hut, silent as possible...
Outside, the tank trundles up near the window, still looking around wildly for an unseen enemy. Unable to go forward, he decides to turn around. The rear end of the tank swings round and the anti-tanker's aim quivers with anticipation. I loom up in the darkness behind him and as his grip tightens on the trigger, I give him a savage slash across the back of the neck. He slumps to the floor silently. I look out the window to see the tank cannon pointing at me. Looks like the driver spotted him after all. Better late than never, I suppose...
I head outside, we capture the flag and he fixes the tank, and we both jump in and trundle away in search of more adventures
