A new fan-made Battlefield video offers side-by-side comparisons of Battlefield V and Battlefield 1942 to show how much Electronic Arts’ shooter series has changed over the years.
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Battlefield 1942 was the first Battlefield game to be published by EA and developer by EA Digital Illusions CE, the developer that’s a subsidiary of EA and is better known as EA DICE. Released back in 2002 for the Windows PC and Mac platforms, Battlefield 1942 featured a World War II setting just like Battlefield V does, and the comparison video above that comes from YouTuber Tequila Joe shows how far the series has come over the course of 16 years.
Tequila Joe’s “Battlefield 5 vs. Battlefield 1942” video that was shared last week shows the upcoming Battlefield game next to the first in the series for nearly 12 minutes worth of comparisons. Instead of simply showing unrelated gameplay from each game, two perspectives show similar scenarios in the game whether it’s the actions that players are taking or the guns that they’re holding.
The most obvious difference between the two games from watching even a few seconds of the video is the changes in graphics, but that’s only to be expected across more than 15 years of development. Blocky and blurry textures filled Battlefield 1942 with animations looking especially jerky compared to the smooth reloading animations and other movements of Battlefield V, but the difference in game mechanics is also apparent in the comparison video.
While Battlefield V and more recent Battlefield games before it offer a host of aiming options ranging from iron sights to scopes and other aiming peripherals, aiming in Battlefield 1942 was entirely different with the most players could hope for being a right click that zoomed in further. Building destruction was also a feature that was added later with a scene at the 7:30 showing two starkly different uses of remote explosives, one that sets off some small explosions and the other a tool that levels an entire building.
Sounds are also one of the more noticeable changes with realistic gunfire audio and other effects often a point of discussion in games like this regarding whether the effects sound real enough or not. Around seven minutes in, the video compares the two games’ vehicular combat scenes and shows a tank firing its secondary weapon in Battlefield 1942, one that doesn’t sound nearly as menacing. Again, this isn’t knocking Battlefield 1942 and the tech available at the time, but it does show how different the series looks after 16 years.
Battlefield V releases for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on Nov. 20.
