DICE has had some serious competition in the Shooter genre of games, and with the huge success of the latest Call of Duty release, they had to really up their game in order stand out amongst the competition. It’s only a few months into 2010 and already it seems to be shaping up to be a fantastic gaming year. Does Battlefield Bad Company 2 adhere to that statement?

The game follows the characters along from its predecessor’s and continues the fight in modern times. This time Bad Company team face the challenges in the middle of a chilling Russian winter. The beginning scenes allow the player to get to grips with the controls and combat. What separated the original Battlefield: Bad Company from other games of the genre was its sense of humour, and in general it returns in the sequel. Your squad’s banter remains as personal and funny as ever, and the game maintains this feeling of friendship throughout. Bad Company also featured an impressive destruction engine, something which is lacking in the Call of Duty franchise. The game not only shows off some impressive damage to buildings and more overt destruction, but there are also some subtle touches that bring a nice level of fascination to the experience. Building destruction has also been improved, as players now have the ability to bring entire structures to the ground by destroying their framework.

However, if you were planning on buying Bad Company 2 solely for the single player aspect of it, you might find yourself disappointed with it. It’s not that the single player is particularly bad, it’s just that it does not feel impressive enough to justify the game being among the top shooters on the market. Like its predecessor, the multiplayer is what makes the game stand out.

Although most of the game occurs in South America, Bad Company 2 starts its single-player campaign in North America. The game offers a range of environments, including snow, desert, jungle and urban warfare. The first mission begins by flying you over an enemy encampment in a chopper, gunning them down. With plenty of structures, explosive tanks and incoming vehicles, it really is an awesome way to kick off the game! Once the chopper has landed, the characters continue their carnage on foot. The first challenge is to eliminate a machine gun nest at the top of a hill. You flank the side, whilst the rest of your loyal team draw fire. A simple bullet to the back of the head takes care of the gunner. You then have to run into an office to steal some info, and the first urban battle commences, but I don’t want to spoil the game for you so that’s all I’m saying!

It is noticable, however, that Bad Company 2 has taken a few cues from the Call of Duty franchise. The last Battlefield game was the first to introduce a fully fleshed out storyline and it stumbled a bit in the process. The humour was laboured and over the top, the open mission design was a bit too open, and everything seemed coated in a dense fog. A lot has changed and improved for the sequel.

The big changes come in the form of a more cinematic and streamlined approach. The dialogue still offers its fair share of humour and the level design, in general, feels more straightforward.  The guns still sound great and react well, and the vehicles handle smoothly. The instant-respawns and med-kit injections that players experienced in the first Bad Company have been replaced by standard checkpoints and regenerative healh bar, making the whole experience and challenge of war so much more realistic. In addition, the AI squad mates fighting alongside you actually act like soldiers. They will press the attack while you flank, or will hold off the enemy while you reload or take cover behind something. Many games in this genre tend to dump you in the middle of battle with pretty much ineffective soldiers standing by your side, making you do all the hard work, but Bad Company 2 brings an edge of reality to the game.

On the other hand, DICE have still not yet improved on this game’s predecessor in some aspects. There are still no arms on screen when driving vehicles, so the steering wheels apparently have a mind of their own. Some of the combat is very unrealistic, for instance, you can see one of your friends take a rocket to the face and then get back up again! Another downside is that missions feel very unstructured. Unlike in the Call of Duty games, where missions have set weapons and themes, Bad Company 2 has missions where you start off sniping and then suddenly find yourself manning the turret on a chopper, so in some respects DICE have made this game too action-packed. The problem with making the campaign so fast paced is that it is over so quickly. You can easily complete the single player in under six hours.

However, those of you who purchased the first Bad Company game will know that they are not bought for their single player, but for their multiplayer. Maps can be completely different by the time the online game has ended thanks to the improved destruction engine. Battlefield is also well known for its epic, large-scale online fights and vehicles that come with that. There is no doubt that this game is team-based, and the very layout of the game is designed to encourage players to work as a team, and even offers extra points for players who do just that.

I think what struck me most about the online play is how flexible it is. The class system allows you to choose what kind of approach you want to take to each battle, and the maps and modes allow you to decide what kind of game you want to play. There are giant battles to be fought in the Team Rush mode, whilst if what you are looking for is standard, frantic and close-quarter modes, then Squad Deathmatch is for you.

The game also offers the well known class-upgrade system, allowing new weapons, gadgets and perks to be unlocked, making the gaming experience that much better. Those of you who are familiar with the Call of Duty challenges and the rewards that follow will feel right at home, and the special effects that DICE have incorporated are incomparable to any other game.

+ Enhanced destruction engine makes gameplay incredible.

+ Amazing detail of environment.

+ Intense and fast paced gameplay. The rush mode (only one available in the beta) is super intense and requires strategic attacks and retreats.

+ Bullet fall. If you shoot a bullet over distance, it will fall. If you shoot a rocket over distance, it will most likely land about 20m short of your target, making gameplay a challenging experience.

+ Vehicle gameplay. In most games that you have tanks, you use it as a tank. In this game if you charge your tank in, you will lose it. This means that you need to play strategically.

 + Upgrades. Whilst upgrades and get new guns have always been available in the Modern Warfare series, Bad Company 2 has now introduced it as well and has you well covered with a vast array of perks, weapons and gadgets for you to use.

 - No Prone. Unlike many other shooter games, Bad Company 2 does not give players the ability to go prone.

- Knifing is next to useless unless the enemy is standing dead still because if they even flinch you’ll miss.

- No “tap-out”, meaning that if you have last stand, you cannot commit suicide, so if you only have a few bullets left, or want to change your class, you have to wait until you die!

8.6/10

By Peter Baumann Posted Monday, March 15th, 2010 7:46 pm