Battlefield: Bad Company Review

Written by: Darren Cartledge Posted: 11th August 2008

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Does Bad Company live up to its name or is it actually any good.

Battlefield: Bad Company Details:

	Action
	PlayStation 3/Xbox 360
	EA Games
	EA Games

16+

Out Now

N/A

The Battlefield franchise may have already made an appearance on the Xbox 360, however with Bad Company Digital Illusions, first person shooter gets its first dedicated outing on the current generation of consoles, so does it keep good company with other great shooters or live up to it’s name?

Unlike with previous Battlefield games Bad Company has been designed mainly as a single player game. However the series multiplayer roots are quite evident from the games story which is a little lacking In depth shall we say!

In the single player campaign you take up the role of Preston Marlowe who was given the choice of either going to jail or joining the army, obviously he choose the latter and was placed in “Bad Company” the unit the army puts all the troublemakers in. Bad Company is so lowly thought of that they are often sent into highly dangerous situations first in order to make it safer for regular troops. It’s in one of these situations that our band of tearaways discover they up against mercenaries that are paid in nothing other then solid gold bars, as you can guess their thoughts soon stray from their mission objectives to how they can acquire this gold.

The single player campaigns story may not be the best, but for the most part the playing experience it offers is good. The action is pretty intense which at times can leave you feeling a little overwhelmed especially when tackling mission in which you aren’t accompanied by a squad.

Mission objectives are fairly varied but are pretty much what you would expect to find in any first person shooter with you having to take out various enemy positions, free captured troops, take out anti-aircraft guns and make sure friendly armour reaches its destination safely, it’s all pretty standard stuff.

The games levels are pretty large and often have several routes through which adds to the replay value of the single player campaign, they are also set in pretty varied locations such as fuel depots, golf courses and palace grounds to name but a few. However, the interior layout of buildings is used over in various different levels, which sadly gives the game an all too familiar feel at times.

The games AI offers a pretty good challenge and you will often find yourself coming under fire from various different positions by troops, artillery and various different enemy vehicles such as tanks and armoured personnel carriers. Enemy troops are pretty clued up to taking cover behind objects and ducking when you fire at them, however they are easily confused when you come in close to them but at a distance they are pretty deadly.

Unfortunately your squad mate’s intelligence doesn’t seem to match enemy AI and you will often find your team mates more of a hindrance then anything else. They will often get themselves into trouble and fail to back you up adequately. Also whenever you die and you are placed back at one of the checkpoints in the current level, your team will often retreat back to your position instead of continuing to fight, allowing enemy troops to advance on your position. It can become a little frustrating and spoil the enjoyment of the single player campaign, especially when you reach a position in which the enemy is well entrenched and reinforced

As with other Battlefield games Bad Company puts a different range of vehicles at your disposal throughout the game, these include tanks, armoured personnel carriers, jeeps and buggies, boats, trucks and helicopters. For the most part in vehicle action enhances the gameplay, however the controls of some of the vehicles can feel a little sluggish most notably when flying helicopters the game seems to drop in pace.

One of the big selling points for EA was the games environmental destruction system, which I must say is brilliant. It allows you to shoot down trees that are in your line of fire and make your own entrances into buildings causing maximum damage. Even the ground isn’t spared this brutality when coming under fire from artillery leaving huge craters in roads and fields. Practically everything you can see in the game can be shot or blown up and it really adds a new level of realism to the game, as building walls crumble in a realistic way.

Of course no Battlefield game would be complete without multiplayer play and Bad Company is no exception. The games online mode is a team based affair with one team playing as attackers and the other defenders. The attackers have to blow up the defending team’s gold crates whilst the defenders obviously have to stop them.

The online mode features several different classes to play as, each with a range of different weapons and special abilities, as you play the game you earn experience points which allow you to unlock new abilities and weapons for the various different classes.

Battlefield: Bad Company’s online mode is pretty solid and provides an intense and enjoyable playing experience that is pretty different from those that are offered by other shooters, mainly due to the ability to take out a wall or building that a rival player is hiding behind, it all makes for some very interesting multiplayer battles.

Visually the game offers a mix of good and bad. At times it can be a very good looking game, with excellent damage effects, stunning scenery with excellent lighting and shadows. However, at time it can look damn ugly with very plain building interiors and some dodgy character models and animation. The two major consoles both play the game solidly and differences between the two are nearly unnoticeable.

Sound design in Bad Company is excellent, with the exceptions of some dodgy voice acting. Weapons fire is some of the best I’ve ever heard in a game, it’s loud and echo’s around the games environment and really immerses you in the intense action of the game.

Battlefield: Bad Company may not feature all the same online modes as rival games and it’s single player story maybe a little weak but it does offer a pretty intense and good playing experience for those who prefer to get stuck in the action rather then get immersed in a games story, so despite it’s title it’s a pretty good game.