Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII Expansion Pack Review
Secret Weapons of WWII
Secret Weapons of WWII is an expansion pack for the Windows PC game Battlefield 1942, from EA Games. It requires the original BF 1942 game to play. This expansion pack is considered the ‘weird one’ with its varied assortment of new weapons and maps. While it does offer some great new maps and vehicles for online play, I’ve found that it isn’t nearly as well played as the Road to Rome expansion.
At the time of its release, this expansion pack sold for $29.99, which put off a lot of gamers. The price seemed way too steep for an expansion to a game that was already a year old. However, the price eventually dropped and this gained some acceptance. It offers a bunch of new vehicles, eight new maps, and a new objective mode style of gameplay. It was more than just a map pack, which is part of what explains the high price.
Personally, I only looked at getting this expansion pack because I wanted more maps to play online. Although BF 1942 is still pretty fun against the computer AI, nothing beats playing real people on the Internet. However, some of the maps in this expansion pack have been mostly ignored by gamers online.
Secret Weapons of WWII contains the following eight maps:
- Eagle’s Nest – This one isn’t too hard to be found online with people playing.
- Essen – This is by far the most popular map in this expansion. It’s a huge map and there are always people playing on it. This is one of the giant tank maps.
- Gothic Line – You see this map being played every now and then online.
- Hellendoorn – This is a pretty popular map that can be frustrating because of how large it is, plus there’s a big body of water in the middle of it.
- Kbely Airfield – I really liked this map, but you don’t see it played too often. It features a large airfield plus a little compound beside it.
- Mimoyecques – This one pops up every now and then online and is pretty fun when you have enough people in it. The setting is very hilly, which can have certain tactical advantages.
- Peenemunde – I don’t think I’ve ever seen this map being played online.
- Telemark Research Base – This is another one you see pop up from time to time online.
Even if the maps are hit and miss, there are still some really cool vehicles and weapons in this expansion. Most notable is the addition of a jet pack, though it only shows up in three maps. Other weapons include throwing knives for the soldiers, plus a variety of new tanks and planes. There’s even a giant B-wing plane that borders on ridiculous, but it is fun to fly. Most of the new vehicles are just slightly modified versions of the old ones, but they still enhance the gameplay.
You can buy Secret Weapons of WWII separately, or you can get it in the Battlefield 1942: The Complete Collection boxed set. If you still play the game regularly, I think it is worth having for the extra maps. I’ve seen used copies it for sell on Amazon and eBay for less than five bucks.
Box Cover
This post is part of the series: Battlefield 1940s
A collection of reviews for Battlefield 1942 and 1943.
