What it do--I'll save the details for another post, but I've found most of my recent physical disc game purchases have been pretty underwhelming (Red Faction: Guerrilla and Left 4 Dead, I'm looking at you.). And I still hate Halo 3 as much as ever despite it being our (Miyako crew's) community standard.
On the other hand, the offerings found on the Xbox Live Arcade shine time and time again. In terms of value/expense, the downloadable games are far superior to the 60 USD releases, and Battlefield 1943 (1200 Microsoft Points, 15 USD) is a prime example. Halo3: ODST is a prime example of the opposite.
Battlefield 1943 does little, if anything, that is new. However, it does a lot of small things right, and these small excellencies come together to make a consistently enjoyable experience. In no particularly significant order, I'll mention a few of my favorite aspects.
Unlimited/recharging ammo is a great feature. It's one less (trivial) thing to worry about, and it doesn't detract from the game. While it may sound like a game-killer to have unlimited rifle grenades, for example, the recharging ammo dynamic actually prevents it from ever becoming a problem (shoot, reload, shoot, wait for recharge). Recharging ammo also helps keep up the pace of the game as players need not take time to seek out supply drops.
The same goes for regenerating health. While many people complain about recharging health, I think it makes combat much more interesting (the implementation of medics notwithstanding). Having non-regenerating health typically goes hand in hand with having too much health and being able to take a ridiculous amount of damage (which is utterly reviled among my gaming crew) or being killed by a stubbed toe after a lengthy battle that wore you down slowly. Neither of these are game-breakers, but regenerating health has substantial gameplay advantages. It's not several small amounts of damage that will bring a target down-- you have to think about your attack and make sure you hit hard when you have the chance (whether it's from you maneuvering intelligently or the target making an error). Further, there's no gray area where you're at 40-70% health and are not sure whether to risk an attack or retreat for a health refill. With recharging health, you're either scrapping for cover or ready to go on the offensive. I can see how people would get some gameplay out of quantified health, but I find that recharging health improves the pace of a fight.
DICE/EA's single best move may be the Coral Sea Air Superiority game mode. Before its introduction, players who dedicated themselves to flying airplanes would sit at the home base runways and wait for planes to spawn. In short, it was a waste of manpower. With the addition of Coral Sea, the flyboys gained an outlet. I noticed that the intensity (and overall fun) of the ground game concurrently increased. Now planes in Conquest mode are more or less used as a way to rocket over to a capture point and parachute down to glory. They even sit unused in many games.
The three classes (Scout/Sniper, Infantry/Antitank, and Rifleman/Rifleman) appear to be used pretty evenly among players. More interesting, however, is how their abilities play out offensively and defensively. While I play as every class, I favor the scout because I like the demolition charges. Choosing a capture point to defend, scattering charges around it, and retiring to a hiding place some distance away to watch over it (with eyes downrange and detonator in hand) is a great role for the solitary player.
The HUD system is great for this style of combined arms wargame. The player has a radar on which enemies appear only when spotted (hit) by you/your teammates or when firing themselves. Relevant icons also appear on the field of view, tracking targets through brush. Most impressively, though, is how the marking icons fade from view or gradually fail to track the targets as they move away or pass behind obstructions. It's a great system that I think DICE should retain; the stealthy players get a fair shake while everyone else gets into the action with minimal frustration.
While I'd like to see more than 4 maps (3 that I actually play), even more players than 24, and a way to stay on the same team as your friends, BF1943 is probably the best value on Xbox Live. Except for Carcassonne.
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