I was a huge fan of the original Bad Company. It was a welcome change from Call of Duty and just different enough to renew my interest in war based first person shooters. Every once in a while I seem to get the Modern Warfare burn and it seems to line up with the release of a Battlefield title.
The original Bad Company’s main focus, like most of today’s games was obviously on the multiplayer. The story, while fun, was very short. It proved to be a nice distraction from multiplayer as I remember beating it at least twice in an attempt to get more achievements. I loved all of the characters… Preston, Sweetwater, Haggard and Sarge all added their own one liners and witty comments and each had their own specialty. Needless to say I was very excited to resume my role as a member of Bad Company who always seem to be a day a way from being able to retire.
The story, while still short is once again a lot of fun. Thankfully the writers seemed to tone back the “cheese factor” a little bit in this one. In the original Bad Company their was joke piled upon joke and while most of them were good it took away from the serious tone of a war based game and gave it more of a Seinfeld with automatic weapons feel from time to time. The jokes are still there but they are generally just used to lighten the mood after a long gun battle. Speaking of the story, without giving much away to those who either haven’t touched single player because they can’t stop playing multiplayer or haven’t bought the game yet, I found it to be more interesting then the first.
The game starts off back in 1944 as a group of commandos infiltrate an island in the Sea of Japan and rescue a scientist who warns them about a secret weapon named “Aurora”. By the time they get near Aurora it’s too late. The weapon goes off and the commandos all die in secrecy as the U.S. covers up the mission. Fast forward to present day and now Russia might have their hands on this weapon and it is your job, as Bad Company, to find out what is going on. With mission in jungles, the desert and the Arctic Bad Company 2 will give you a little taste of everything and it is all beautiful. The destruction system is second to none, although spotty in parts, the vehicles are fun to drive and the guns are abundant.
Switching over to Multiplayer, but staying with the theme of the last sentence I want to touch on the destruction system. If you are used to playing the Call of Duty series of games do yourself a favor and play Bad Company 1 or 2 for a little bit. Nothing is quite as fun as sending an RPG into a room full of three enemies and taking them all out. I have noticed in the 30 plus hours I have put into BC2 online that there are many times where the larger ammo doesn’t seem to hit like it had in BC1. Buildings don’t always show damage from tank fire for example. It isn’t that often however and is hardly a reason to complain (unless you are 4 and 10 at the time and just need something to whine about).
Without admitting too much of a lack of gaming skills, the helicopter is still one of the most frustrating vehicles in all of gaming to try and control. I rarely go into one and will only do so when someone else is piloting the vehicle. While it may be frustrating for people like me, and I know you are out there (I see you crash all the time), it is also one of the most dominating if you get a squad of guys in one that know what they are doing. The other vehicles – tanks, ATV’s, boats, jet ski’s, jeeps, etc. are all a blast to drive and provide a quick way to get from point A to point B.
The modes are what you would expect although each offer a nice break from the run and gun of Team Death Match on Modern Warfare 2. In Rush mode you are either defending or attacking. If you are on the attacking team it is your job to get to the other teams M-COM stations and blow them sky high. When you do, the map opens up wider (or longer) and it’s on to the next set. If you happen to be on defense then your job is to take out the assaulting team until they are out of reinforcements (which replenish after successfully taking out M-COM stations). One of my favorite things about Rush mode is that I have been a part of some games that seem to take over a half hour and really allow for some heavy leveling up. The other mode is Conquest which is identical to Domination in MW2 although in Conquest you battle until the other team runs out of reinforcements. They also offer Squad Deathmatch and Squad Rush where you can take your team against other squads and see who comes out on top. Smaller amounts of players, much more personal level.
The leveling seems slower then it did before, but it really makes you work to get to that next level. The best players online are at level 35 rather then fourth prestige. Unlocking new guns is always rewarding and collecting the enemies dog tags after a knife kill gives you that warm, fuzzy feeling. The only thing I don’t love about playing Battlefield games online is that if you aren’t in a squad, either by choice or just a lack of available squads, then it is a ton of running and dying, running and then dying again. It can get quite frustrating and waste a ton of time, but the easy solution is to join a squad and if you can’t, back out and find a game that you can. It is ten times easier and quicker to just spawn on a squad mate who is already in the heat of the battle.
I have taken some mild cheap shots at Modern Warfare throughout this review, please understand that I am a fan of the series, they are amazing games. I just can’t take playing it online anymore. It is nothing but glitching, cheating kids that have nothing in their lives other then being ninth prestige and cheating to get their none the less. It has stopped being fun and they need to find a way to fix it. Bad Company 2 could end up the same, but it isn’t that way right now and that is a welcome change in my gaming life.
The sights, the sounds (best in gaming), the stats… Battlefield Bad Company 2 has it all and is my current addiction. I can’t get enough of it. Give it a try if you never have played a Bad Company game. Maybe you are burned on Modern Warfare 2 or maybe you are just looking for a new game, whatever the case, this is a must play game for all FPS fans. The ending sets us up for an obvious third installment and I for one can hardly wait.
FINAL SCORE – 92/100
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