The freely distributed Battlefield Heroes is a cartoon-style third-person-shooter, in the Battlefield series. There are no advertisements in the game and players aren’t penalized for not paying. You can pay, but all you get are extras, such as unique clothing and an ability that doubles the experience points you gain.

G’day there, mate.

The objective for your team remains the same as the other Battlefield games: win by lowering the enemy team’s points from fifty to zero through successful captures and holds of enemies’ flags. The game only features four maps, but, according to the developers at DICE, people typically stuck to a certain few maps in past Battlefield games. So Heroes only needed a few maps as long as they were as polished as possible.  The maps are divided into two categories: infantry-based and vehicle-based.

The two infantry-based maps are Victory Village and Coastal Clash. Victory Village, my personal favorite, features a village (go figure) where the majority of the combat focuses on urban fighting. The map is the most balanced, as every point is within striking range of the next. Coastal Clash is more symmetrical since the map splits into two: one high road with a windmill and a low road near a light house. The middle ground is a valley and is a no man’s land.

The other two maps, Seaside Skirmish and Buccaneer Bay, focus on vehicles. Seaside Skirmish has each team hold onto their point at their ends of the map while they try to capture two points in the middle of a town. The map is very wide open, which is ideal for the Commando class. The final map, Buccaneer Bay, focuses on height, as it is based on a hill with one point on top and the other on the bottom in a pirate ship.

Several of the vehicles in the game are very clunky and do not seem to handle very well, such as the Jeep. The airplane flies the same as previous Battlefield games, which will feel comfortable for veterans while difficult for newbies. The tank, by contrast, handles the best is and is the easiest to use; it holds a driver, a gunner, and a person on its turret.

The game’s three classes—the Soldier, the Gunner, and the Commando—are typical, yet suit the game perfectly. The Soldier is your jack-of-all-trades class. He is the best combat class and wields a sub-machine gun and shotgun. Secondly, the Gunner plays like Team Fortress 2’s (TF2) Heavy class. He’s represents the anti-vehicle personnel, as he is well-armored and carries rapid-fire machine guns and rocket launchers. Finally, the Commando is a combination of a spy and a sniper, which gives you two ways to play. As a sniper, you can keep your targets far away; or, as a spy, you can try to get behind an enemy, stab them a few times, and then use your pistol to finish them off.

Gaining experience is as easy as standing in front of a flag pole.

As players earn experience points, they gain options towards customizing their character. As mentioned previously, paying players get new clothing and an ability that helps them level up quicker. Everyone playing, including non-paying players, gain experience points by capturing flags, killing opponents, and completing missions. Every weapon or item that you can then buy with your experience points is not better, but different depending on how you play. Compared to TF2’s class updates, Heroes’s item replacements don’t feel like they unbalance the game.

Many have stated that the cartoon graphics are a knockoff of TF2’s, but I disagree. Yes, both feature colorful renderings, but the color scheme of Heroes is much more vibrant than the mid-western themed TF2. At medium settings, the graphics look on par with TF2’s.  And Heroes even runs on my netbook on the lowest settings. In the end, the graphics will keep people playing, as they can run on basically any system.

While the sound is not a huge selling point in the game, it’s done well enough to keep it turned on and not have your own soundtrack running in the background. The background music is pleasant and refreshing.

The three classes of Battlefield Heroes may be generic, but it’s still fun to play. The game does have some flaws that hold it back from being the best free game on the market. Nevertheless, it’s still a blast to hop on with some friends in Ventrilo and play a couple rounds of some simple Battlefield action.