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Battlefield Vietnam pc Game Reviews
Battlefield Vietnam
Critic Score
Metascore: 84 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
7.0 out of 10
based on 48 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 56 votes
Read user comments
Rate this game

The Battlefield franchise enters a new era equipped with more firepower, modernized weaponry and vehicles, and a deeper infantry experience from the jungles to the beaches of Vietnam. From villages on the Ho Chi Minh Trail to the city streets of Hue, wage modern warfare as the United States or North Vietnamese Army (NVA). Select from a variety of characters within the different soldier classes as you command powerful new vehicles including the UH-1 Huey helicopter, the M551 Sheridan tank, and the F-4 Phantom fighter jet on the U.S. side and the Russian-made T-54 tank, the MIG-21, and Mi-8 multipurpose helicopter on the NVA side. Go to war in new dramatic battle scenarios including leading a squadron of Huey helicopters in an all-out attack on an enemy compound, executing an ambush of enemy soldiers from dense foliage, captaining a PT boat through a dangerous jungle river passage, and more. Grab your M-16, ready the Napalm and prepare to enter some of the fiercest battles of the Vietnam War. [Electronic Arts]

PUBLISHER: Electronic Arts
DEVELOPER: Digital Illusions
GENRE(S): First-Person Shooter, Action
PLAYERS: 64
ESRB RATING: T (Teen)
RELEASE DATE: March 15, 2004

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
GamePro
The superior force in online warfare and a real candidate for PC Game of the Year. If you’re fed up with Flak Cannons and Rail Guns, enlist with this platoon. Posthaste, soldier!
Read Full Review
92
3DAvenue
It is practically the same thing, just louder, bigger and better.
Read Full Review
92
Gamezilla!
What really makes this game such a blast to play is the developers' understanding the importance of vehicles and aircraft in the Vietnam War.
Read Full Review
90
PC Gameworld
A must buy if you’re a fan of the series. It will be appreciated more by players old enough to remember the Vietnam Conflict and the 60’s, or gamers who have studied it and can groove to the vibes.
Read Full Review
90
PC Gamer
Just an utterly fantastic multiplayer shooter, and while it doesn't replace "Battlefield 1942," it's a perfect complement. [June 2004, p.64]
90
Cheat Code Central
Battlefield Vietnam lets you use everything you've got, from your shooting skills to your strategy acumen. It's very engaging and easily one of the best Vietnam war games ever created.
90
GameZone
All the new weapons, aircraft, and landside vehicles fit the time period and are well equipped for battle. The addition of helicopters really expands on the tactics and the way battles are fought.
Read Full Review
90
GMR Magazine
All the hardware that makes modern warfare hell is here, and from the moment you see the enemy hightail it at th efirst sound of your F-4 Phantom's engines, you'll know why every FPS - be it set in the future or that fabled galaxy far, far away - is out to imitate the Battlefield formula. [May 2004, p.89]
Read Full Review
90
Gamers Depot
Like its older brothers, BF Vietnam, though based on real battles and real places, doesn’t focus so much on the gritty realism as on the “excitement factor” of war.
Read Full Review
90
Computer Games Magazine
"Unreal Tournament 2004" might be the superior product, but Battlefield Vietnam is the better game. [June 2004, p.73]
89
VideoGamesLife
As if intentionally trying to be the best it could be, Battlefield: Vietnam has possibly the greatest musical score known to game-kind.
Read Full Review
88
Playboy
The only missing element is a massive hippie protest back home. [Mar 2004, p.39]
88
XGP Gaming
Where Vietnam easily makes the most improvement, however, is in its visuals. Boasting a much more powerful rendering engine, the environments of Vietnam come alive.
Read Full Review
87
Computer and Video Games
DICE has done enough to justify the status of sequel rather than expansion pack. It looks great, sounds funky and plays superbly. [PC Zone]
Read Full Review
87
Gamer's Hell
Battlefield Vietnam's added depth, new content, and improved visuals and audio should make it practically a must-have for any fan of this sub-genre.
Read Full Review
86
GameSpot AU
The single player aspect of the game is even more barebones then the previous title. Gone is the campaign and in is "instant action" which as you may have guessed allows you to select a map and then play with a number of bots.
Read Full Review
85
Stuff
The soundtrack, one of the best aspects of the game, effectively immerses you in the era, while the visuals make you really, really thankful you were not in Vietnam.
Read Full Review
85
GameBiz
There's no doubt that Battlefield Vietnam is more like an expansion pack than a sequel, and it's not significantly different from the original nor is it a vast improvement on the Desert Combat mod. Fortunately, there are more vehicles and on a lot of maps the points are close together, making the action faster.
Read Full Review
85
Next Level Gaming
I think it needs a little more oomph on more scenarios and the detail in the graphics. Also, conquering control points over and over gets too repetitive after long play.
Read Full Review
85
GameSpy
When it's all said and done Vietnam doesn't wow us the way that "1942" did in its day, but it's a step forward graphically, a leap ahead in the sound department, and just as much fun as the original.
Read Full Review
85
eToychest
The new setting is wonderful for the type of game that Battlefield is, a freeform romp through the area with vehicles and different kits to wage war upon.
Read Full Review
85
GameSpot
Packs more dramatic moments in its gameplay than most any multiplayer-focused action game in the past few years.
Read Full Review
84
PC Format
An enormously rewarding and complicated game Battlefield Vietnam is then, and unquestionably an improvement upon its predecessor. At the same time, it’s so remarkably similar to BF 1942 it’s almost not worth buying if you’re an existing fan.
Read Full Review
83
Game Revolution
The gameplay that was amazing a year and a half ago is not as shockingly new, leading to a battle that many of you will feel you’ve already fought. Still, the seamless inclusion of land, sea and air combat coupled with the intensity of jungle warfare wins it a medal of honor.
Read Full Review
83
ActionTrip
What I personally would've liked to have seen from DICE is even more creativity in terms of map design, game modes and player classes.
Read Full Review
82
Inside Gamer Online
BF:V has a ton of AI routines to run all at the same time, and it sucks every last resource from your system. Online play, however, will probably run quite well in comparison.
Read Full Review
82
Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)
Battlefield Vietnam loses out for just one reason, and that reason is that it never feels like a genuine sequel. The quantum leap isn't quantum; evolution has not created a new phenotype. It's simply not different enough or inventive enough. [PC Gamer UK]
Read Full Review
82
IGN
Does it bring the same overwhelming feeling of joy and freedom that the innovation of Battlefield 1942 brought to us? No...[but i]f you're a fan of 1942, you'll have fun in Vietnam.
Read Full Review
80
2404.org
It really does a fantastic job at letting you in on the Vietnam era, and I’m sure that after a few patches it will be even better.
Read Full Review
80
VIA Gamers Arena
The only truly outstanding aspect of the game is the scope and ambition of the game, which it pulls off just as competently as it's predecessor. It's close resemblance to the original works both for it and against it.
Read Full Review
80
GamerFeed
Vietnam has all the great play elements 1942 had, and the addition of more varied aircraft such as attack choppers coupled with more technologically advanced weapons provide enough spice to make the games distinct.
Read Full Review
80
Game Informer
An incredibly good time if you can find an amicable crew of fellow soldiers. [May 2004, p.106]
80
Boomtown
Water effects are much prettier and the added bump-mapping makes the massive tanks very impressive. It’s not much, but it’s nice to see that the graphics have evolved.
Read Full Review
80
GameShark
With the inclusion of a fully accessible level editing utility included with the game, as well as the capacity to accept third party modifications, Battlefield Vietnam is probably going to make as big an impact as "Battlefield 1942" did.
Read Full Review
80
Australian GamePro
Riddled with annoying little bugs (such as the worst collision detection, ever), it provides an above average FPS war experience, but never echoes the ‘wow’ factor of the original.
Read Full Review
80
PC Arena
Though the glaring omission of the single player campaign is inexcusable, the multiplayer component most definitely makes up for some of it.
Read Full Review
80
Edge Magazine
Vietnam is not about skill or proving your worth. It's about taking part in recreations of famous battles, crawling on your belly, loving every minute. And when it works, nothing can touch it. [Apr 2004, p.103]
80
RealGamer
Lush environments help to feed the games realism value along with detailed and nicely animated character models.
Read Full Review
80
Maxim Online
What sets Battlefield apart is that you can pilot choppers and tanks to a cool ’60s soundtrack. And you can even cue up “Ride of the Valkyries” for that air cavalry attack. Sure smells like victory to us.
Read Full Review
80
Computer Gaming World
The only real bummer in the new stuff? The M-60 machine gun, which is so powerful and easy to use that it lets even blundering newbies rack up ridiculously high frag counts. It needs tuning down.
Read Full Review
80
Worth Playing
There’s a certain, “been there, done that, bought the t-shirt” feel to the game and what’s going to determine the long-term success of the game how much the mod community endorses the game.
Read Full Review
80
G4 TV
A Teen-rated, sanitized version of one of America's defining moments. And perhaps this substance is what's lacking, because while Battlefield Vietnam is a capable game, it doesn't have quite have the impact that its predecessor.
Read Full Review
80
Yahoo! Games
Although the game pays lip service to the famous -- and feared -- tunnels of the VC, there are no claustrophobic underground chambers and passageways. Perhaps engine limitations are the reason, but it's certainly a missed opportunity.
Read Full Review
80
FiringSquad
BFV's lack of originality can't be excused - not only isn't it all that much different from the original, it isn't even clearly better than the Desert Combat mod.
Read Full Review
78
Xequted
Has a great fun factor that allows for hours of online battles with your friends and enemies –despite the lack of true Vietnam grit.
Read Full Review
70
1UP
Branding aside, perhaps most frustrating is the omission of environmental interactivity -- napalm does nothing to bush and tanks are rendered useless by the thinnest slice of bamboo.
Read Full Review
70
games(TM)
The fact that 1942 was such an enjoyable title means the gameplay's already a proven factor, but combine this with all the other new goodness you get for your money... and you get a game that really entertains, albeit in a fashion that some of us might well have seen before. [Apr 2004, p.102]
65
Gaming Nexus
Unplayable is the best word to describe this debacle.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this game is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 56 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Guy S gave it an8:
Although some of the weapons appear unbalanced, and the AI is poor if you want to practice offline, this game should still be considered a classic and a must in the battlefield series. The best part of the game is napalming a section of the jungle or towing a light tank with a helicopter.

Nicolas B. gave it an8:
The Jungle scenery is great and really effects how you play and what you base your strategy on. The graphics look well polished and the new addition of helicopters is a really good gameplay addition. My only issue was the crummy AI and the buggy physics. Otherwise, a great multiplayer game and it has definitely earned the "Battlefield" name.

Peter B. gave it a5:
A mediocre follow-up to one of the best FPS games ever made.

Chris P. gave it a7:
Its a good game all together, but there are a few problems. For one, when playing on some maps, the AI will only aim at you. This includes all the tanks, which gets extremely annoying when trying to play. Another problem is the freezing up. Sometimes when playing, it will just freeze and when it comes back you will be dead. Other than that, I pretty much enjoyed the game. A neat thing is the "radio" you have when in a vehicle that allows you to play some of the music from the Vietnam era. The helicopters are also pretty cool to be able to use.

[Anonymous] gave it a10:
I really enjoyed this game.

Sam F. gave it an8:
Being this game is alot like BF1942, Most people will enjoy this game. It has a few very good points to it, the most notable is the music. All the music from that era gives the game a new feel. Also the graphics are way better which you will see in the explosions which are more realistic than just a big flash. You see a fireball. Gameplay is the same except there is no capaign in SP. With 14 maps which really set the mood in different areas...your job is still capturing waypoints, but the AI (With a patch) will seem smarter this time around. A worthy succesor to The bf series.

Klaus W. gave it a9:
I was somehow torn between the 8,9 and 10 but I decided on a 8.9 beacause the game somtime acts sluggish in you'r computer even though you have a good graphics card. Some of the levels are recycled wich make you feel as if your ripped off. The a.i is te dumbest ever. But the games music rocks the graphics are good and a lot of the times the game really makes you feel sucked in. The multiplayer is really awsome and there many vehicles to drive. At the price you can pck this up for this game is awsome a little more time should have been spent working on this but anyway buy it if you dont have somethig to do.

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