Released in March 2004, this game is in essentially a sequel to BF1942, except that it focuses on a much more limited conflict - that of the Vietnam war between the American and South Vietnamese forces on one side and the Vietcong and North Vietnamese forces on the other.
The game engine is a newer version than BF1942, capable of showing undergrowth and more terrain detail (the water effects are much better). Gameplay is pretty much the same, with a few really nice tweaks including heat-seaking missiles, mobile (lift-and-drop) spawn points for the NVA, use of booby traps and anti-personnel mines, more intuitive helicopter controls than those offered by Desert Combat and helicopters capable of airlifting other vehicles.
Another hyped feature is the ability to play radio music in the vehicles, which although fun in some respects is unlikely to be counted as an important feature of the game by those playing it.
The maps have some variation, ranging from jungle maps to urban areas although obviously nowhere near the diversity of the BF1942 maps. Some of the maps are also variations of other existing maps, designed to reflect the fact that many battles took place in the same locations but at different times. In some respects this is neat but some view this as skimping on the number of maps players would expect for their money.

Perhaps the nicest features though are the fact that the game focuses more in infantry action and less on vehicle superiority; the combination of grassy cover and trees or buildings on many maps mean that while useful as support vehicles, tanks and jeeps are too vulnerable to sneak attacks from LAW or RPG armed soldiers and the additional change that allows capture points (flags) to be taken more quickly if more team mates are involved. This is a relatively minor change but it does encourage teamwork more than in BF1942, which has to be a good thing.
Weapon animations are greatly improved over the original game although the weapon game balance was sadly lacking when the game first shipped (the LAW/M60 combination was so blatantly overpowered I cannot see how DICE failed to spot it) although this has been rectified with subsequent patches.

Although fun to play, the graphics have a slightly washed out look compared to the crisp feel of many similar games and the maps are too small for the jets you can fly around in. This game has certainly not captured the gaming community in the way that BF1942 did
(with some preferring the game Joint Operations), a fact possibly reflected by lack of any plans for an expansion pack.
However the improvements in game play, continued support of DICE and prospect of more quality mods shouldn't be overlooked.

Most Popular Mods:
WORLD WAR II MOD: In a bizarre twist to the norm, this is actually an "official" mod, in as much as it was developed by DICE, seeing if they could recreate some of the BF1942 maps using the BFV engine. Although only limited to some of the Pacific maps (including Invasion of the Philippines), the difference is very noticable and greatly enhances the BF1942 experience.
As was probably the intention, it has spurred other mod-makers into converting all the other BF1942 maps to the BFV engine, although as yet no substantial mod has been completed.
POINT OF EXISTENCE: Although from a different team, this modern day mod (America versus Russia) feels and plays very much like the Desert Combat mod. The models and detail are of exceptional quality. Despite using the BFV engine, POE does seem (to some extent) to reverse the emphasis of the basic BFV game from infantry action back to the vehicle dominance evident in Desert Combat.