What's the best war game?

[Mickey]

I want to buy my son (and myself), a great PC war game. I hear different things about Medal of Honor, and Battlefield 1942. Any help?
Thanks
Mickey

[DanTheManPR]

Does he want a single player or multiplayer game?

[Mickey]

I think he would like a bit of both, (single and multi-player).

[Logan]

I think you'll find an overwhelming recommendation for Call of Duty's single player campaigns. They're all very cinematic, well-scripted, and a ton of fun. To top it off, you are nearly always with a squad of AI soldiers to back you up. Also, unlike Medal of Honor, you get experience as 1) a member of the U.S. Airborne starting the night before D-Day, 2) a British Covert Ops unit, and 3) a Russian conscript in the midst of retaking Stalingrad and, later, capturing Berlin. It's a very epic feeling game. Along the way, you'll jump from an airplane, defend a bridge, destroy a damn, drive a tank, and storm the Reichstag, to name a few of the missions. You can't really go wrong with Call of Duty.

On the other hand, if you're looking for fun, arcade-style multiplayer, you'll love Battlefield 1942. It's light on the realism and heavy on the fun. The real thrill is playing with up to 64 people online - when played correctly, BF1942 is all about teamwork, strategy, and coordination. It allows you to control all types of vehicles - fighters, bombers, tanks, transports, jeeps, PT-boats, and destroyers, as well as gun emplacements, machine gun nests, and flak cannons.

My recommendation: I'm more a single-player man myself, so I would prefer Call of Duty if I could only have one. The BF1942 single-player experience is pretty weak, and Call of Duty does offer pretty solid, infantry-based multiplayer. It's very similar to Medal of Honor, which has been a favorite to us here at 3DGamers for playing online for some time. Also, while it itself is not a hardcore simulation, Call of Duty provides enough graphical accuracy to make you feel like your fighting in World War II.

Hope this helps! We'll be glad to answer any more questions you might have.

[Bruenor]

Well the Battlefield series is essentially multiplayer only. Yes, their is a single player component, but it is horrible (to put it mildly).

A good mix of both modes are offered by both Medal of Honor and Call of Duty. They have a great single player game and offer solid multiplayer experiences. Another good SP/MP game, if you don't mind some undead in your WWII, is Return to Castle Wolfenstein (get the platinum, game of the year package).

Both MOH and RTCW can be had for dirt cheap, I'm not sure what COD is going for.

Hope that helps.

[DanTheManPR]

I give another vote for Call of Duty. Great single and multiplayer.

Also, you can try downloading Wolfenstine: Enemy Territory. It's a free, multiplayer-only WW2 game.

[Ojnod]

I don't know how old your son is but let it be noted that RTCW is a more "mature" game than the others. Still a classic though. By me saying it is more mature, I don't mean like grand theft auto, but this has blood and stuff where-as CoD and MoH did not.

[dos.Kapital]

I agree with the others about Return to Castle Wolfenstein. The creators did an ingenius job with recreating the feel and era of covert ops circa WWII, yet also incorporating a very interesting(and chilling) horror fictional story alongside it. It's a good balance--zombies and genetic mutant villains vs. loads and loads of nazis. Great game, but it might be a bid much if your son is under 17. Just my thoughts, anyway. :scared:

[Gaim Mastr]

*inserts two pennies*


First Person Shooters


Return to Castle Wolfenstein
As Bruenor mentioned, if you're going with a combo single & multiplayer game, get the Platinum Game of the Year edition. Not a realistic WWII game, due to the whole occult & undead thing in single player. But a very well created game set in WWII with loads of great atmosphere to lose yourself in. This game focuses on the lone soldier behind enemy lines doing work for the OSS (prelude to America's CIA). No zombies or such in the multiplayer, just pure WWII action with others online. Still very popular with lots of servers and players online.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory
Multiplayer only game that's very popular. And it's free to download and play. Fun WWII action. As always, 3D Gamers has what you're looking for (http://www.3dgamers.com/games/wolfensteinet/).

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault
Pure WWII game (no zombies or such). If you're going for this game, pick up Medal Of Honor Allied Assault War Chest. You can get it for <$40 and it comes with both expansion games. There are massive amounts of fan-made mods available for free downloading and playing, including custom uniforms and maps to play on.

The stand alone single player game focuses on the lone soldier behind enemy lines. Though some missions pair you with allies to fight along side of you. The expansions add a great deal more to the element of being part of squad as you fight your battles.

All in all, the Medal of Honor: Allied Assault series is very well done. The atmosphere of the game is superb. Even with a 2.1 speaker system or headphones you'll hear the crunch of the snow beneath your feet, guard dogs barking in the distance, etc.

Call of Duty
Most of the team that created MoH:AA also created this game. It's a pure WWII game. I won't repeat what others have already stated about this game, other than to express the fantastic squad action. The lone soldier behind enemy lines isn't played upon nearly as much in this game as the other two I'd mentioned. The atmosphere is absolutely astounding. Even though you don't have to rush through the game, once you're in battle with your squad the action and adrenaline rush move you through the battles with dizzying speed as you try to avoid bullets wizzing by your head.

Multiplayer is strong, though not nearly as many fan-mad mods as MoH:AA has. Very fun action though. The first expansion for this game "United Offensive" is due out next month I believe, which should expand on both the single and multiplayer maps & missions.

Battlefield 1942
Primarily designed for great multi-player action. Though I have had fun playing the single player version for many hours, it doesn't carry interest as much as the previously mentioned games. For multi-player action though, you can't go wrong with this game. Super popular with plenty of fan-mad mods.

They have also released Battlefield Vietnam, which is like BF1942, except it takes place in the Vietnam/US war. I'd also repeat what Logan mentioned about this game.


As for strategy war games, I'd have to defer recommendations to Zeddicus here. He's a strategy game fanatic with lots of expierience and games under his belt.

[Shaolin K]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Ghost Recon yet. It's a more realistic war game than the other games mentioned previously. It's loads of fun and much more of a tactical type game.

[Logan]

Very good point Shaolin. Ghost Recon is one of the few games that I still try to find time to play, and it's a blast playing with friends on a LAN or online. However, Ghost Recon (as well as the Rainbow Six series) is a very love it or hate it type of game. It requires a lot of thinking, and can at times get pretty tedious. It can also be pretty difficult to a newer player. I would recommend someone play one of the other previously mentioned war games first, to see if they like it. Otherwise, Ghost Recon can be pretty overwhelming. Then, once they get the hang of it, gain experience, and want to branch out to the super-realistic games like Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six, I would definitely recommend Ghost Recon.

[Gotanypop]

Call of Duty is one of my favourite games of all time. You won't be disappointed.

[SupaTroopa]

You can't go wrong with MOH, COD or RTCW. For that matter I really enjoyed VietCong as well, and need to replay it now that I have a system capable of handling it smoothly.

[Mickey]

...to thank you all very much for the information. I was totally surprised at the number of replies and the professional summaries; and the courtesy afforded me.

Thanks Again!

Mickey

[Gaim Mastr]

nah........ such things are commonplace here. :thumbup:

We're glad we can help fellow gamers. :group: