[Review] Battlefield: Bad Company 2

As a public service to the series and the readers out there I feel that it’s important to note at the top of this review that I neither enjoyed nor completed the original Bad Company game. While I enjoyed the story, and being part of a rag-tag group of misfits that equated to cannon fodder in the eyes of the US military, I found the game-play extremely unappealing. It’s unfortunate when that happens, because there are some things that they pushed forward that could have made it a truly great game; namely the unique not-so-serious story line and a fantastic group of characters.

To that end the sequel had a running start. With DICE resolving pretty much all of the complaints I had with the game-play of the original game I was free to kick back and enjoy the story.

While the game doesn’t seem to fit in with the ending of the original game, and takes on a more serious tone, it is interesting in its own right. Basically you and B-Company have be charged with the task of hunting down a secret super weapon developed by the Russians that comes with the threat of crippling the whole of the USA. Obviously this is a little more serious of a narrative than the original game’s quest-for-gold motif, but the color commentary from the crew keeps things from feeling too heavy.

Another large change that fans of the original will quickly pick up on is how B-Company’s status has greatly improved. Now they operate as a sort of elite military unit sent in to operate on their own, quietly and accurately. All in all, I would say that I missed the original campy/goofy feel of the first game’s story, but considering all the improvements that DICE has made it’s really hard to fault them for not being funny enough.

Game-play has been completely revamped; everything feels a whole lot better. Each of the multitudes of guns feels unique and reliable. There was not a single gun throughout the whole of the single player game that I did not enjoy or that I found useless. That’s saying something as I’m the kind of gamer that will generally find one weapon that I enjoy and ride it straight into the ground. Even more impressive to say considering the quantity of weapons that you have an opportunity to collect while pushing through the single player campaign.

One of the big features of the first game was the destructible environments. The people that enjoyed the first game did so mostly because of features like being able to clear-cut forests with the use of a machine gun. But it was the building physics that bothered me and eventually let me down in the first. The game was touted to be the best for being fully destructible, however when you got in to trying to terrorise buildings you would quickly find that only the outside walls could be wrecked and the core of the structure would remain intact. Bad Company 2 resolves that though and makes sure that everything you come across in the game will fall down. There are a few minor exceptions to this rule, like bunches of pipes or lumber, but for the most part anything standing can be knocked down to its basest elements.

Not only does everything feel better, and work the way it is supposed to now, but you'll have a lot of variety to entertain you through the 8-10 hour campaign. You'll get to ride in tanks, hummers, helicopters, and switch through different positions in each. One ride you might be the driver peeling through the wide-open desert, in the next you might be manning a 50cal while your hippy pilot soars you high over a Russian military base. Not only that but there are interesting little tweaks to the game-play based on locale, like in the ice stage you'll fight a blizzard and need to run from house to house to warm up by the fire before frostbite takes hold.

AI is 50/50 in Bad Company 2. While the enemy AI is remarkably intelligent, and will having you hot-footing from cover to cover as they break it down piece by piece, your team becomes an issue rather quickly. For a game that revolves around a close-knit group of military comrades they seem to have a cowardly response to firefights and their roles in them. Playing through the single player mode for the first time on the medium difficulty setting I can’t think of a single enemy that I didn’t kill personally. The squad will sit back and wait for you to clear the way, or run forwards and spray a tidal wave of bullets at everything but your enemies. You will need to make sure you look out for number one, because your teammates will not be coming to your rescue here.

Graphically Bad Company 2 can stand shoulder to shoulder with any other First Person Shooter out there. Actually, I would say it probably stands above them. The particle effects, texturing, and smoke featured throughout the game are just about the best you’ll come across.  Where the game really shines though is the wide-open expanses that you’ll be trekking across, and the variation in scenery that you’ll get to enjoy. While it’s very easy to get tunnel vision in an FPS making your way from objective to objective I would strongly encourage anyone that picked up this title to taking a look around from time to time. You’ll be treated to breath-taking, insanely large, picturesque vistas that range from snow covered wastelands, bright wide deserts, and lush green jungles. Each new scene feels like you switched games, while you could argue games like Call of Duty have different locales and let you experience varied terrain, nothing will come close to the kind of variation you’ll be treated to in BC2.

While I might not have the keen ear of some of my friends in the audio industry I know enough to say with confidence that Bad Company 2’s audio is top-notch. The weapon effects sound real and not just that but insanely sharp and detailed. Having a sniper-shot wiz past you in Bad Company 2 encourages the feel for a need to mess one’s pants. Additionally the voice cast is solid.

This is one of the best groups of video game voice actors out there to date, not only do they all match their characters perfectly, but they complement each other in a way that makes you appreciate whoever’s job it was to go through casting process. This is aided in no small part by a group of pretty talented writers, the commentary you get from your team while you’re pushing your way through some suicidal no-win missions is priceless and makes you forget that your team aren’t doing much for you when under fire.

When you’re talking about a First Person Shooter though, you need to talk multiplayer. Multiplayer is where Battlefield got started, Bad Company was a departure from the core of the series by bringing in a story, but the soul of the series is in their multiplayer functionality. To that end, most people will be surprised to find there are only three modes of play in Bad Company 2’s multiplayer. Even more surprising for those that enjoyed the first game’s twist on online play, there’s nothing that revolves around grabbing gold. Instead you’ll find a series of games based around team play, and this is where DICE really won me over.

For a long time I’ve complained about the lack of team-spirit in FPS games, and have been looking for something that would bring teams together to work for a common goal instead of having 8-50 freelance players that just happen to be wearing the same color. Bad Company 2 forces cooperation in gaming through a series of play mode limitations and functionality changes. Of the three modes available there are NO free-for-all options. The primary plays-style is a mode to work with your team on either attack or defend a series of M-COM stations. The other game-types will have you capturing a series of locations and holding them to accumulate points, or participating in a team death-match type game.

Not only are there no game-modes for you to go all lone-wolf on, but the function of the game is based around your team working together for a common goal. The classes are built from the ground up to be a piece of the puzzle, and not a one man army. Each class has very specific advantages and disadvantages which are only overcome by utilizing your assets and relying on your squad-mates. The back/select button gets a starring role in the multiplayer mode being used to point out key points of interest for your team, as well as marking opposing players/vehicles on your team’s screens for a limited amount of time. It’s an ingenious play that makes quick work of the age old problem of how to get a group of strangers all playing on the same team. Add that along with the limited amount of deaths your team can accumulate and you’ll find a lot of people playing a lot more strategic and careful game... or losing constantly.

All-in-all I’m impressed with the overall package provided in Bad Company 2. It’s surprising how far they have come from the original game considering I had almost no desire to play it for more than 2 hours and now I find myself compelled to get back to playing BC2 just as soon as possible. I would encourage everyone out there to get an idea for the play style of this game, and give it a try. If you’re a fan of the genre like me, you’ll find yourself pleasantly surprised by the unique take on FPSs that Bad Company 2 provides.