Battlefield Heroes is developed by Electronic Art's Digital Illusions CE also known as DICE.  Battlefield Heroes (abbreviated as BFH) is based off of the British and German forces in World War 2.  In Battlefield Heroes there is a large variety of features that is sure to keep players from getting bored for quite awhile!  Battlefield Heroes offers some great gameplay and a heap of variety.  So much variety in fact that you may compare it to a buffet… Of awesome sauce.

Pros

•    Stunning graphics compared to other browser based games
•    Various features to keep you from being bored for a VERY long time
•    Servers match you with players of your level and skill
•    Vehicles for enhanced gameplay
•    Phenomenal game support

Cons

•    Deplorable community

Story

The game is comprised of two warring factions (the “Royals” and the “Nationals”) based off of the British and German forces in World War 2.  That’s as far as the story goes, with no ingame quest system that involves a mainstream quest or something that lays the fabric for some sort of in depth story. even though there is next to nothing Battlefield Heroes has to offer in terms of story, we must remember this is a First Person Shooter.  Even though the only story is the ongoing fight between the Royals and the Nationals, it’s still more than most of the online FPS that are out there, which is why it receives a slightly above average score of 6.

Gameplay

General matches are pretty balanced.  Both factions have access to the same three classes (Commandos, Gunners and Soldiers).  Commandos being the tanks of Battlefield Heroes can take heavy damage and dish it right back at them.  Commandos are the sleek, suave ones of the three.  Being able to turn invisible to enemies at a distance commandos can easily slip behind enemy lines and stab an opponent in the back.  Last but not least are the soldiers. Although they are the least effective in 1v1 combat, their ability to spot hidden commandos and reveal enemy soldiers to his teammates make him an essential ally in battle.  Often paired with a Gunner he can heal his allies when necessary.  As you play the game you will eventually level up. As you reach certain levels you are awarded “Hero points”.  Hero points can be allocated into different skills giving you the ability to “mold” your characters strengths and weaknesses.  You can even learn new skills such as the “I Eat Grenades” skill for Gunners.  For a short amount of time, every explosive your character gobbles up heals a certain amount of health.  Aside from Hero points, players can also take on missions.  As these missions are completed the player is rewarded with “Valor points”, ingame currency and experience.  As players rank up, new missions are available.

Game Variety

Bored of fighting on the ground?  Want to take the fight to the air or run over an enemy player in a speeding jeep?  Well in Battlefield Heroes, you can.  Players have a choice of three different vehicles that they can take control of and wreak havoc with.  The three vehicles are the tank, the jeep and the plane.  The plane and the tank only spawn on certain maps.  Vehicles spawn in the players’ base.  Having trouble taking down that pesky plane?  You know, the one that keeps dive bombing your squad and destroying your tanks?  Well in Battlefield Heroes you can hop into an anti aircraft gun and take the fight to those pesky pilots! Thus far there are six different maps, each map covering quite a large area.

Game Features

Usually upon the start of a match you have players rushing past one another trying to score their favorite vehicle.  Annoyingly enough, 8 times out of 10 they rush off by themselves to a distant part of the map with a vehicle that can hold 2 or 3 players.  In situations like these, the “I need a ride!” emote comes in handy.  There is also an “I need a medic” and a “Hello!” emote for taunting your dead enemies.  More emotes along with various articles of clothing can be bought from the Battlefield Heroes item mall with “Battlefunds”, a virtual Battlefield Heroes currency bought with real money.  

User Friendliness

As soon as you enter the start up screen, new accounts/ characters are prompted to play the tutorial.  Within this easy to understand tutorial, you will learn how to shoot, run, take control of a vehicle, and drive it.  The short and sweet tutorial gives you the jist of Battlefield Heroes gameplay.  The best part about it is you can retake it at any time if you didn’t pick up on something.  Also, if you wanted to practice your flying skills without damaging your stats, you could easily enter the tutorial, blow past all the stuff you already know and start practicing!  Aside from the great starting tutorial, the game matches you up with a server filled with players of your level and skill each time you play (unless you manually choose to pick a specific server, in which case you may play with players a much higher level then you).

Graphics

The graphics have to be one of my favorite things about Battlefield Heroes.  The cell shaded cartoon graphics give the illusion of a Pixar movie where you are the main character.  It’s stunning for a browser based game.

Game Support

The support is phenomenal.  Internet Explorer, I sent in a question via the “Contact Us” link at the bottom of the Battlefield Heroes website, there was an answer to my question waiting for me in my email later that day.  When it comes to hackers/glitchers, every game has them.  But during the time I played Battlefield Heroes (about a month), I had only seen one hacker during my entire experience.  The amount of time I spent playing per day ranged from 2- 4 hours.  Now either I was incredibly lucky, or EAs commitment to ensuring Battlefield Heroes is as hack free as possible is a trustworthy one.

Community

One thing that can ruin an amazing game is an awful community.  Though the Battlefield Heroes community is no game breaker, it definitely isn’t something to be proud of.  Most of the games I played seemed to be filled with players under the age of 11.  Now that wouldn't have been a problem if they were mature, but they weren’t.  Throughout my Battlefield Heroes experience, I was constantly being called a hacker, a cheater, and among all things, a noob (for killing that particular player).  Epic wing clips were met with the words “epic fail” from my fallen enemy.  On multiple occasions I have been cursed out throughout the duration of the match from start to finish because I ran some guy over with my tank.  Though what I may have just written might make the Battlefield Heroes community look like an unenjoyable community to be a part of, that is not true.  There is a decent part of the community that helps out the “new guy”, says “good game” after a match where their team just got trounced and tries to actually have fun instead of put others down.  On a score of 1-10 I would rate the community a 4 which is a less than average score.  Though you’ll meet some really great players in the world of Battlefield Heroes, they are few and very far between.  A lot of matches will have you putting up with a lot of trash talking.

Performance

Battlefield Heroes is playable on Internet Explorer and Firefox.  Lag was about the same on both browsers.  What it comes down to is your internet connection.  All the servers, regardless of who hosted it were consistently lag free (for the most part).  During the time I had played Battlefield Heroes, I had played it on a wireless connection.  I almost never experienced lag with the exception of severe weather.

Overall

Overall Battlefield Heroes is a great game.  There’s a ton of variety to keep you from being bored, the two opposing factions are as balanced as you can get, and it’s easy to pick up and play.  Game support is phenomenal, and the amazing cartoon graphics will have you staring at the world of Battlefield Heroes for quite awhile.  Just make sure you’re not flying a plane or driving a jeep through enemy territory when you do it.  Though a large part of the community is immature and offensive, all these great aspects make up for that.

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