For all asking why this game is so fun, here's why...
It's a fun FPS set in WWII era. The thing that distinguishes it from most other FPSes is that you can operate every vehicle in the game, whether it be a jeep, tank, plane, motorcycle, assault boat, aircraft carrier, or whatever... Not only can you drive or steer these vehichles, but you can also ride in them while someone else is driving or steering. The controls for doing this are very intuitive, and they have an very "arcade-y" feel as opposed to being a simulation. Okay... not only can you drive/steer/ride, but you can also shoot while you're doing it... steer the carrier while you man the big gun, your buddy mans the other gun, and other teammates man the machine guns and anti-artiliary guns. Man the machine gun on the assault boat as your teammate steers you and several others in for a beach landing. Drive the tank and fire the big cannon while your friend watches your back with the machine gun mounted on top.
Classes are also supported in the game and are nicely balanced as far as weapons and skills. The soldier is the best and easiest to use, and basically just shoots and blows stuff up with grenades. The medic can help heal other players. The engineer can lay mines and det packs, but can also repair vehicles and mounted weapons. The sniper can do the usual snipey thing. In this respect, it is very much like the free Wolfenstein game, however, in 1942 you can at any time pick up a dead player's pack and switch to that class of player!
It's friendly to noobs because when you respawn in the game (which you do at various intervals after you're killed), you're usually in a fairly safe spawn point and you have some time to go take cover or find a vehicle or whatever.
Play usually consists of maps that have several bases (which are also the spawn points). Your team tries to coordinate fighting to take over those bases while the enemy does the same. Each team has "tickets" or points, and the less bases you currently have, the faster those tickets count down in relation to the other team's tickets. So, you have to strategically expand and hold most of the map at any given time. First one with no tickets left loses! There are also other modes of the game, include CTF.
Road To Rome is an expansion pack that moved the action from the Pacific to Africa and Europe and added some new weapons.
Secret Weapons is an expansion pack that has a bunch of new vehicles that are a stretch for WWII, but very fun to play with. These include a jetpack, some experimental planes, some amphibious vehicles, an anti-aircraft gun mounted on a tank, a machine gun mounted on a motorcycle sidecar, etc...
Well worth the money! Lots and lots of hours of entertainment at any price! Highly recommended!