User Review : Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Ups

• Amazing sound engine
• Intense, action packed campaign
• Intense, action packed campaign

Downs

• Limited epic moments
• Short campaign
• Destruction lags while online

DICE's best effort since BF2

Back in March last year EA released the sequel to Battlefield: Bad Company for PS3, 360, PC. Most of my friends being console gamers I decided to go for the PS3 version over the PC version.

With games like 2009's Modern Warfare 2 featuring a seriously intense campaign and rather extensive multiplayer, DICE found themselves with some work to do if they wanted to be considered a major player in the FPS scene. Fortunately for them, they responded with a more intense campaign, a more fully featured multiplayer, and improved graphics.

The campaign has no real link to the originals, except that you play as the same guy and have the same squad mates. The stories pretty basic here, you're on the hunt of a WMD in order to save the world. Luckily its all kept fresh and interesting by the amount of locations the game takes you to.

The campaign feels a lot different this time around, with a more focused and action packed story. In the prequel, the characters where very friendly to each other, maybe making the odd joke at one another’s expense, but they got on alright. Here though they're really aggressive towards each other. DICE have obviously tried to make the game a bit more serious, but I'd have to say they have gone too far away from the jocular nature of the original.

The AI has been improved greatly from the original, enemy combatants now seem to actively work together, attempt to flank you and destroy your cover. Thankfully your friendlies do the same back to your opponents, although at times it does seem that they couldn't hit the proverbial fish in a barrel.

Overall the campaign is much more intense and interesting than the prequels, but the epic moments which make Call of Duty so popular are still a bit few and far between. Without mentioning any story details, I'll just say that there is certainly more room for a sequel. I kind of finished the game thinking that what is obviously going to be in the sequel should have been in this game, it ends very early on.

While the PC version (which I regret not getting) looks absolutely stunning, on PS3 the graphics aren't nearly as sharp. That's not to say they are bad, they are up there with the best from any multiplatform shooter. However, aliasing is pretty bad, gun models are a bit chunky and the shadows do tend to be blocky. The lighting is really quite impressive though and textures aren't pretty detailed most of the time.

The sound engine is also undeniably great even on PS3. With a 5.1 surround sound system blasting away, the guns, explosions and ambient noises all sound 100% realistic. I must recommend grabbing a sniper rifle, cranking up the volume (and bass), heading indoors and then letting rip. The sound reverberates off the walls just perfectly. Top effort DICE. I must admit though I'm very disappointed that the classic Battlefield theme has been more or less neglected here. Seriously DICE, it's awesome, why would you not use it?

The original Bad Company was known mostly for its impressive destruction, which while not as stunning as Red Factions, brought a unique aspect to the gameplay. The destruction model has been improved a fair bit, you can now completely destroy buildings, foundations and all. However, it still feels like you are destroying pre determined segments, like the destruction isn’t being calculated in real time. Regardless, it’s still fun throwing everything you've got at a building and watching it crumble to the ground.

The destruction when going online isn't toned down at all, but at least on PS3 there is some serious lag with the destruction engine, as there was in the original. Knife a window or a door and it can take about a second for the object to react. This can get frustrating online when you are trying to hastily retreat into a building but are thwarted by a door which gets in your way and won’t disappear.

Speaking of online, the multiplayer of Bad Company 2 is where probably the majority of people will spend most of their time. There are four online modes, Rush, Squad Rush, Conquest, and Squad Deathmatch. In rush players either attack or defend pairs of M-COM stations until the attackers run out of tickets (respawns) or they are successful in destroying all bases. This is played by 24 people at a time. Squad Rush is much the same as Rush, but with only one squad (of four) per team, with games played out over smaller maps.

Conquest, the classic Battlefield mode, is where two teams fight for control of several bases. Each team has a certain number of tickets, which are depleted by each death or if the opponent team holds the majority of bases. The final mode, Squad Deathmatch features four squads of 4 players whose single aim is to rack up 50 kills the fastest.

There perhaps aren’t as many maps as there could have been, and it would have been nice to completely new maps added earlier (apart from updated maps from previous battlefields, it took until Vietnam for a fully fledged expansion to be released). However, there is enough diversity in the maps and the game types to guarantee you at least 50 hours of game time if you’re into online shooters.

In conclusion, Bad Company 2 is a really solid game with a few failings here and there. While these do detract from the experience to a degree, there is certainly plenty of fun to be had with both the improved campaign and the expanded multiplayer.

Score

9.4

Graphics

Generally solid, although aliasing is quite major online especially, gun models not quite up to scratch.

9.7

Sound

Only reason for not giving sound a 10/10 is that the classic Battlefield theme is chronically underused to point of being nearly absent altogether.

9.5

Gameplay

Campaign is much more intense the originals. Guns handle well; fire fights play out in a not too scripted feeling way while remaining focused. AI is generally on the ball.

9.3

Fun Factor

The intense campaign and destructible environments make for some pretty exciting moments. However, the fun is actually slightly lowered by the fact that your once friendly squad mates seem to be all on their periods.

9.3

Online

Plenty of diversity in game modes, although perhaps a few more weapons and maps to choose from would be good. The destruction system is quite laggy, which gets annoying quickly.

Overall

9.4