Battlefield 1942 Mods

What is a "mod?" A mod is an add-on to a game, usually created by a third party, adjusting the game in some fashion. Sometimes it involves only a small change, such as adding blood to a fighting game, or changing weapons or vehicles in a first-person shooter game.

But sometimes the mods are more encompassing. For example, Counter-Strike was originally a Half-Life mod. It offered completely new weapons, levels, characters, and a completely new goal. It used the Half-Life engine to run a completely separate game, one that millions of gamers enjoyed.

A couple years later, Battlefield 1942 came out, and not too long afterwards, its own mods began to surface. While there were many, many mods, there's no question the strongest performance was by the Desert Combat mod. It integrated flawlessly into the Battlefield 1942 environment, changing weapons and vehicles, and adding its own maps and missions for a completely new gaming experience. I have played Desert Combat for years, and I've always enjoyed it.

But there are so many different mods out there, why would I limit myself to just this one? Sure, it may be the most notorious and best-received mod for Battlefield 1942, but surely these other mods offer another new experience. It's a great way to avoid paying for a new game.

Well, yesterday I downloaded 4 different mods, with the hope that at least one of them would turn out to be a real enjoyable one. To say I was mildly disappointed would be something of an understatement.

HomeFront
Noted as the "Halo mod," I was excited to see what this one had to offer. Sadly, anytime I tried to get into a game using this mod, the game crashed. So while the interface had me feeling optimistic, I never actually saw the game. This would be a problem for most of these mods.

Pirates
With this one, I was able to get into a game, and the GUI clearly was adjusted to represent the pirates game. However, the actual gameplay, including weapons and vehicles, was exactly the same as the BF 1942 game. I tried to find an online game to see if that might offer the true gameplay, but best I could tell, there were simply no servers running the Pirates mod. So screw it, I said. Uninstalled.

Galactic Conquest
This is it, the Star Wars mod I had heard about for years. I figured, finally, I'll get to see if it's any good. Wrong-o. This was another one that didn't work at all. It's possible that I have a new version of BF 1942 that is incompatible with the older mods, but shit, I don't want to have to roll back my BF 1942 just to check to see if that's the case. So no go.

G.I.Joe
This was the only one that seemed to at least offer a glimpse of what it's supposed to be. All of the player skins were changed to standard "Joe soldiers" or "Cobra troopers," which is okay, though I had been hoping to take on the cold visage of the opportunistic Destro. But maybe that's too much to ask for in this kind of game. The vehicles and weapons were adjusted to be more like the original G.I.Joe gear, though the vehicles were a little limited. Two jeeps and two helicopters, no heavy vehicles of any kind. Also, on the custom G.I.Joe maps, the AI seemed to be simply missing. The enemy soldiers would just sit there, in their bunkers, waiting for who knows what to happen. In the end, a deleter.

So I'm back where I started. I've got Battlefield 1942 and the elite mod, Desert Combat. I'll have to ride these waves for now. I hear Battlefield 2 has some worthwhile mods, maybe I'll check them out if I ever get that game.

Cooking MaMa: Cook-Off

This will be probably one of my shortest reviews and probably the most useless. I can't imagine why anyone reading this blog would be interested in this game at all, but, I've had a chance to review it, so here goes. Before I begin, let it be known that I have only played the game maybe twice. The rest of my review is based on watching Alissa play it (who really likes it for some reason).

Gameplay: This gameplay is probably the only positive here and its a slight positive at that. The gameplay is kind of entertaining. You move the Wii remote around to move tools causing you to prepare and cook food. You do everything from open cans, crack eggs, peel potatoes, stew, fry, and anything else you can think of. Its gameplay and multi-player setup doesn't go much further than any of the other party games that have come out for the Wii. The actual game involves going head to head with the computer making meals faster and better than the computer. It sucks.

Graphics: The graphics are absolute crap. I'm sure they tried really hard to make this work, but its a long shot. They can't even make all the food look like its supposed to.

Sound: Also awful. You get some elevator music throughout the game and after you've completed a certain part of preparing the meal, Cooking MaMa rates how you did based on time and quality. It sounds like an Asian voice and it is hard to understand.

Replay-ability: Unless you are a perfectionist, you only have to go through things once. Even if you completely bomb a meal, it still lets you continue the game and adds recipes no matter how you did on the selected meal.

Wrap-Up: As I read before my wife purchased the game, its not worth the $50 they ask to own this game. I wouldn't own this game if Alissa didn't purchase it. And I definitely recommend that you rent it before you consider purchasing it. She still enjoys playing it though, so I guess I can't complain too much.