Battlefield 1942 vs Battlefield 3
Battlefield 1942 is an FPS game from DICE (2002) while Battlefield 3 is an FPS open-world game from DICE (2011).
Quick answer: Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield 3 are too close, or too thinly reviewed, to separate on the numbers; the table below shows what each holds.
Battlefield 1942
What each one is
Battlefield 1942 is filed under FPS. In contrast, Battlefield 3 under FPS and Open-World.
Battlefield 1942 is a 2002 first-person shooter game developed by Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It is the first installment in the Battlefield series. The game can be played in single-player mode against the video game AI or in multiplayer mode against players on the Internet or in a local area network. It is a popular platform for mod developers, with many released modifications that alter the gameplay and theme.
Enjoy total freedom to fight the way you want. Explore 29 massive multiplayer maps and use loads of vehicles, weapons, and gadgets to help you turn up the heat. Every second of battle gets you closer to unlocking tons of extras and moving up in the Ranks. So get in the action.
Story, characters and reception
Reception
Reception The game received "generally favorable reviews", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic . At 6th annual Interactive Achievement Awards, Battlefield 1942 received awards for Online Gameplay, Innovation in PC Gaming, PC Game of the Year, and Game of the Year. In March 2010 Battlefield 1942 was awarded with "Swedish game of the decade" award at the computer game gala hosted by Swedish Games Industry. (Wikipedia)
Plot
In March 2014, U. S. Marine Sergeant Henry Blackburn ( Gideon Emery ) of the 1st Recon Marines is deployed to Sulaymaniyah , Iraqi Kurdistan with his fellow squadmates Private First Class Jack Chaffin ( Tony Denman ), Lance Corporals David Montes (Ronan Summers) and Christian Matkovic (William Meredith), Staff Sergeant Steve Campo ( Eric Loren ), and Captain Quinton Cole ( David Harewood ), under the squad callsign Misfit 1-3. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Critical reception Reception Battlefield 3 received mostly positive reviews. IGN gave it a score of 9. 0 out of 10. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Battlefield 1942 | Battlefield 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | — | 7.1/10 |
| Steam rating | — | Mostly Positive (72%, 19,290) |
| Critic aggregate | 89/100 | 89/100 |
| Price | Unknown | $39.99 |
| Install size | — | 20 GB |
| Steam Deck | Untested | unsupported |
| Released | 2002 | 2011 |
| Developer | DICE | DICE |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Battlefield 1942 vs Battlefield 3, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Battlefield 1942FPS gameBattlefield 3FPS open-world gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Battlefield 1942No descriptive tagsBattlefield 3Action, Shooter, FPSThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Battlefield 1942Metacritic 89Battlefield 3Metacritic 89Metacritic's critic aggregate, from the game's Wikipedia reception where it was never on Steam.
Content and scale
Battlefield 1942—Battlefield 319,290 reviews · 2 add-ons · 20 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Battlefield 1942UnknownBattlefield 3$39.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
Across the rounds a number can settle, it is level at 0 each. Which one is "better" is the part no figure decides, so we leave it to what you want from the two.
Where they differ
ActionMultiplayerShooterSingleplayerFPSFirst-Person
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Battlefield 1942 is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Battlefield 3 is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Battlefield 1942 | Battlefield 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | — | Graphics card (AMD): |
| Minimum CPU | — | 2 GHz Dual Core (Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz |
| Minimum RAM | — | 2 GB |
| Install size | — | 20 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Battlefield 1942 · Battlefield 3.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Battlefield 1942 and 1 for Battlefield 3. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
If you like one, also try
Common questions
How different are Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield 3 in scope?
Battlefield 1942 lists little scope data. Battlefield 3 has drawn 19,290 Steam reviews, ships 2 add-ons and installs in 20 GB.
Is Battlefield 1942 or Battlefield 3 better?
Neither carries enough reviews for us to score it reliably, so we do not call a winner. The table above shows what each does have.
Which is cheaper, Battlefield 1942 or Battlefield 3?
One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.
Should I get Battlefield 1942 or Battlefield 3?
Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield 3 are too close, or too thinly reviewed, to separate on the numbers; the table below shows what each holds. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.