Battlefield 1943: "This is where you go WHEEEEE! k?"

With my debit card...somewhere, I was prepared to spend $45 purchasing EA's hot new regurgitation, called Battlefield 1943, on all three platforms - PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. But now, after (finally) spending some time with the multiplayer 360 demo, I think I'll spend my $45 on something much more entertaining, like booze. And maybe buy the original Battlefield designer some too.

Developer DICE architected ramps into the fucking terrain of Wake Island, turning this iteration of the multi-million selling property into Battlefield 1943: You will now go WHEEEEEE edition.

"Oh, that's just a coincidence!" you might say. Well, my astute friend wearing the shoes of a devil's advocate, these hills are obviously designed to rocket a 4x4 into parts unknown to useful gameplay. Poorly modeled foliage and an impossibly durable tree or two might occupy a tiny spot on each hill, but they've been placed in such a way to remain inconsequential to any potential vehicular acrobatics. In some cases, fences await the stuntmen on the other side, but the light barriers remain as effective at stopping oncoming traffic as a plate of glass or a cardboard wagon full of watermelons. 

I'm not one to question the universal appeal derived from blasting a land-based vehicle into the clouds. It's fun, and it will be for all eternity. But if it doesn't directly serve the competitive game design, then why proposition players towards it like a dirty old hooker "changing it up?"

Here's an idea: It's DICE's way of allowing the casual player to quickly relieve frustration after being mercilessly gunned down repeatedly by the opposing team.

This is not Battlefield 1943. The shooting mechanics, aerial flight, and vehicle mechanics and animation all feel inferior to the almost decade old originator Battlefield 1943 - a title I played with great regularity.

The PC version releases soonish, so I'm witholding a bit until I get what I assume will be the definitive version. Until then, I feel like the blockbuster Battlefield series just coughed on my World War II dollar menu food.