Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Review

Written by: Darren Cartledge Posted: 5th March 2010

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Heading out to battle.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Details:

Goto Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Game Page

	First Person Shooter
	PC/PlayStation 3/Xbox 360
	DICE
	EA Games

16+

Out Now

1-2

Battlefield: Bad Company may not have been the hit game EA had hoped it would be. But, it also wasn't the game fans of past Battlefield games had wanted. Instead of focusing on the intense multiplayer action the franchise had become known for, Bad Company instead delivered a fairly standard single player focused game with limited multiplayer appeal. So with this year's follow-up EA and DICE have addressed some of the issues raised by fans and delivered an improved single player and multiplayer experience.

The game still features a pretty extensive single player campaign, however now there’s a solid multiplayer component for you to dive into, I’ll start this review by talking about the single player mode first. The game once again places you in the role of Private Preston Marlowe, who is still in “Bad Company” along with all the other crazy characters we saw in the original Bad Company. This time instead of the rather silly treasure hunting story of the original game you and your squad are tasked with tracking down a new secret super weapon being developed by the Russians. As you would expect the story is entirely more serious and as a result is a whole lot more interesting with the campaign much more likely to hold your attention. The slapstick humour we saw in the first game still surfaces on occasion, and is still not very funny but on the whole things in the story department are much better.

Surprisingly Bad Company 2 doesn’t seem to have been subjected to the usual marketing hype and has almost slipped in under the radar. Which is a shame as the improvements don’t stop at the story, with the best coming in the most important area of the game, the actual shooter action.

The single player campaign is made up of everything you would expect from a modern military shooter. But for Battlefield: Bad company 2 things have really been tightened up, Enemy A.I still poses a real challenge, if not more so than in the original game, of course as a result death will become a rather common occurrence. The games shooter mechanics have seen improvements, aiming is now more precise, which really helps in the many battles the game throws you into, especially since the odds are seriously stacked against you and your squad.

Anyone who has played the original Bad Company knows you were pretty much a one man army thanks to poor squad A.I. However, this is no longer the case, thanks to vast improvements in their fighting ability they can often prove to be quite useful during the course of a mission. Vehicle controls have also seen improvements and are far more responsive, however on some levels the use of vehicles can feel a little tacked on due to the fact the sequences in which they are used are often relatively short, making this aspect of play feel somewhat underdeveloped. Despite the obvious improvements this isn’t the only problem with the single player campaign. Each of the games missions seems to have been split into segments to allow for cut-scenes that of course propel the story forward, but this does seem to have a negative affect on the flow of the game often leaving it feeling like its stuttering its way through.

Despite these slight niggling weaknesses with the games story, the modern military shooter isn’t just about the single player campaign and we just have to look at recent Call of Duty games to see that a good multiplayer component can really make a game. Of course the Battlefield franchise has its roots in multiplayer action and it’s what the games do best. Thankfully Battlefield: Bad Company 2 can also be included in that statement. Yes folks the multiplayer action in Bad Company 2 is classic Battlefield. The game doesn’t feature that many game types, (four in total) or in all honesty that many maps but the action it offers is fantastic. The flawless shooter mechanics combined with state of the art military vehicles really give Bad Company 2 an edge, delivering an intense and highly addictive multiplayer experience which could quite easily end Modern Warfare’s dominance in the field, it’s that superb. Running around one minute getting into fire fights, than mounting a gun on a tank or flanking an enemy from the water really makes for some of the greatest multiplayer action I’ve played in for a long time and that’s before I’ve even mentioned being able to reign down fire on your opposition from a helicopter. Whilst being able to use vehicles in multiplayer matches makes games more interesting, what really adds a new dimension to Bad Company 2 is being able to destroy the game environment. Imagine the scene, a sniper is hiding in the attic of a building eliminating your team mates, you can’t get a shot at him as he’s protected from all sides by the buildings walls. In most online shooters the only way to deal with such players would be by trying to find a way into the well defended building in order to take him out. However, in Battlefield Bad Company 2 you can simply blow the wall away exposing or even taking him out at the same time, fantastic!. Of course, as is the norm now for multiplayer first person shooters, the game features points based ranking up system that rewards prolonged play. As you would expect this gives you access to new ranks, weapons and gadgets to use on the battlefield, but instead of being a clone of the Call of Duty system, like seen in PS3 shooter MAG, its more unique. For instance you can unlock new gadgets, equipment and weapons without actually going up a rank, as this is unlocked separately. There are even medals to earn for completing in game objectives which give you bonus points towards your next rank. It’s fair to say that the multiplayer aspect really makes Bad Company 2 the game it is and despite the lack of countless game types online battles are more often then not very interesting to participate in.

With all this action going on in game you maybe forgiven for thinking that the games graphics are going to suffer. But they don’t it looks fantastic, character models are brilliant as is animation and the games maps are expansive and feature huge amounts of detail. That coupled with the entertaining rag-doll physics really makes the game a joy to look at. As with its predecessor sound in the game is also of the highest standard and once again the noises of the various weapons are highly realistic, so much so it really helps immerse you in the action. Voice acting in the single player campaign has improved, but also the various shouts and screams in online matches really help portray the feeling of being on a real battlefield.

Despite many improvements the single player campaign in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 still doesn’t serve up a truly great playing experience, it's perfectly playable, solid and even quite enjoyable but just lacks something special. However, the games weaknesses in this department like so many other great shooters can be overlooked by an absolutely brilliant multiplayer experience that is simply unmissable, if you like intense online action you could be in worse company, than Bad Company.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 - The Verdict

9/10	Positives + Improved squad A.I + Classic Battlefield multiplayer action + Destructable environments are brilliant Negatives - Single player campaign lacks fludity



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