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Posted November 5, 2012 by Peter in News
 
 

Battlefield 1942 available for free download

Battlefield 1942 available for free download
Battlefield 1942 available for free download

It seems to be a good time if you’re a Battlefield fan – and if you are, you’re keeping a lot of company, as last week we reported how Battlefield 3 Premium has broken the two million subscriber mark. Today Electronic Arts have announced that to recognise this milestone the first title in the series, Battlefield 1942, will be released as a free download.

With the release also being claimed to mark the 10th anniversary of the series (which is close enough – it was released in September 2002), Battlefield 1942 laid the foundations of what has become one of the biggest gaming franchises running. While the title may look fairly primitive by modern standards, the team-based gameplay and specific soldier roles should still feel as fresh as it ever did.

However, as with all things that sound too good to be true, there are a few catches.

    • Firstly, the free download is only available through EA’s Origin service, which has at best divided the opinions of players and certainly never achieved the same level of coverage as Valve’s Steam.
      Secondly, the release does not include the official expansion packs released for the game, and is not cross-compatible with the original disc-based version – while owners of the core game can replace it here, if you’ve got the add-ons you are unfortunately out of luck.
      Finally, while the game as much like the ten-year old original as it can be, it is not guaranteed to work with any of the mods the community developed for it – though in the interests of balance, it should be mentioned it does not explicitly state it won’t be compatible either.
  • If none of that seems off-putting, you can head to EA’s Battlefield 1942 page to find out more on getting your free download.


    Peter

     
    Peter can be described as an old, hairy gamer, a survivor of the console wars of the 1990s, and a part-time MMO addict. He has an especial fondness for retro gaming and observing the progressions in long running gaming series. When scandalously not caught gaming, he can also be found reading comics and fantasy fiction, or practising terrible photography.