Wake Island

The maps for Battlefield 1943 are much more in keeping with the original versions in Battlefield 1941, only of course the graphics are infinitely more superior.

Having said that, even though the overall maps themselves are the same the individual graphics upon the maps have had a major revamping.

Players can expect a new outlook and a more exciting experience compared to previous Battlefield versions while playing on Battlefield 1943 Maps.

Wake Island

The Wake Island map is an old favorite and appeares in all the Battefiend games, so most of us will not be surprised or disappointed to see it reappear in Battlefield 1943.

However there are a couple of differences it seems between the BF1943 version of  Wake Island and that of BF2

There are more concrete bunkers and the archtecture is more fitting for the situation with pacific island style thatched roofing instead of the tiles seen in BF2. The map has many more destroyable aspects than in previous versions also.

Wake Island – In Real Life

Wake Island is a map used throughout the Battlefield series, and considering its popularity there are no surprises that it is included in the release of Battlefield 1943.

Wake Island (which is actually a Coral Atoll), is located in the North of the Pacific Ocean and has a coastline of roughly 20 kilometers. The Island is currently considered a minor outlying Island of the United States of America, and it’s use is currently military related.

In early January 1941, the United States of America built a military base on Wake Island, although troops were not permanently housed their until August that year. These troops were given some weapons, most of which were operational (if barely).

On the same day as the Pearl Harbor attack (December 8 1941), Japan also begun an attack on Wake Island. Some 30 odd Japanese Nell bomber aircraft attacked the Island initally and destroyed 8 out of the 12 aircraft belonging to the Marine Corps on the ground.

The military personal and civilians initially fought off attempts of the Japanese to take over the Island, although eventually they were overcome by the sheer number of Japanese troops. Many of the captured Americans were then sent to Prisoner of War camps in Asia, although some were kept to maintain the Island.

American forces then undertook several bombing raids on the Island the Japanese were concentrated on, and after a successful raid on October 5 1943 the Japanese commander ordered the execution of the remaining Americans on the Island. The Japanese never formally surrendered Wake Island until September 4 1954.

It is the bombing raids the American forces carried out on the then Japanese controlled Island that the Battlefield 1943 version of the map appears to be based on. The map on BF 1943 appears to be similar to that of the actual physical shape of the Island, although the airfield looks to be dramatically smaller.

Many keen eyed viewers of this article will notice the Battlefield map of Wake Island is very similar to that of the actual Atoll. The major changes in my mind, are that of the beach, airfield and artillery island. Apart from that and the odd change in landscape Dice have kept with the history of the Island’s characteristics.