Those of you who played BF1942 (or the BF1942 demo) will be familiar with the new Wake Island map, but for those of you who aren't (or don't remember), it starts with the USMC launching from an aircraft carrier and assaulting a small, crescent-shaped island to the southeast. The Chinese defend the island with the usual assortment of vehicles and emplaced weapons, and there's also an airstrip at the farthest point from the aircraft carrier. It's probably the most tropical map in the BF2 arsenal, with palm trees, sandy beaches, and bloody mayhem from above.

Speaking of which, some tweaks have been made to air defense, after many players noted how difficult it was to eliminate a chopper or jet. The emplaced rockets do more damage, for one, and they track with increased precision. It still takes two or more tank shells to destroy a chopper, which feels kind of silly because the shell should incapacitate even the beefiest attack heli, but what can you do. Maybe they'll tweak that in the next patch. On the other hand, DICE has finally added names to the capture points, making strategy much more fluid for everyone. Instead of saying "the northeast base" or "the west central base," you can name it and use acronyms instead of wasting precious moments giving rough coordinates. Drivers can also see the names of passengers, so they now know who's actually riding with them. Before, all you knew was that it was a teammate (blue) or a squad mate (green).