Game Review: Battlefield Bad Company 2

This is my first game review, so lets see how it goes...

Genre: FPS (first person shooter)

Platform: Available for XBox 360, PS3 and Pc - this review is for the pc version

Company: EA Games (the Official Game Site)

The short of it...

Excellent gameplay in both multiplayer and single modes, both are immersive and beautiful with a nice learning curve. The multiplayer mode, however, is hampered by connectivity issues and freeze glitches, and as a sniper there's very little room for error.

The long of it...

To be honest, my very first impression was not the best. Having installed this on the windows partition of my mbp I was treated to a series of crash issues. Mainly a screen freeze almost immediately once I'd logged into a multiplayer server (sometimes recoverable, most of the time requiring a total restart). This led to almost an entire day trolling forums, discovering the game has a wide variety of glitches, freezes and problems, many of which seemed to have no straight fix. Eventually, an updated audiocard driver seemed to fix the issue and I could begin to play properly...

"I'll teach YOU to insult my hat!!"

The single-player was immediately immersive, and well recommended with a decent pair of headphones. Infact, use some for the game as a whole. The credits roll like you're part of a movie, and the darkness fades as you find yourself controlling a small rib containing you and your squad, moving across a choppy dark sea. I felt myself catching my breath at certain moments, like when our boat passed silently beneath two (thankfully) unaware sentries. The atmospheric graphics meant you really felt you were travelling across misty midnight waters, with some nice touches when water splashes on the screen. Infact, there are many moments when you have to pause during the game to simply appreciate the scenery - even when the scenery is a convoy of tanks and men marching through the misty morning haze over the long jungle grass, metres from where you're crouching.

The music really helps too, atmospheric as opposed to intrusive. I was impressed that my hesitant first steps were met by an impatient gesture from one of my team-mates... They all have well-played characters and there's also some nice humour, which really makes you care about what happens to them, and helps you feel you are part of their team. They also give you encouragement ~ "nice shot Wyatt" ~ especially in the beginning, which is actually really nice ^_^ Although I haven't yet completed the single-player game, the story is very engaging and the difficulty has a reasonably progression. Regenerating health is a much welcomed, if unrealistic, touch.

The hunter becomes the hunted...

The multiplayer is the crowing achievement of this game, giving an addictive layer to the top of the Battlefield cake. Though the server browser and filtration system is never explained particularly, it's not hard to pick up. Servers range in size from 16 to 24 to 36, with several different game styles available, such as conquest (capture the flag) and rush (more objective based). It also incorporates a nice levelling system for your character. You can play any class - recon (sniper) or assault for example - and all points you get will go to an overall point tally which results in a ranking system. If you play as a particular class consistently, however, you'll gain specific points towards improving your soldier at that class, unlocking more equipment and skills. So, better guns, better scopes, more vehicle damage etc. A wide variety of 'pins' are available, for helping out team-mates, kills and match wins for example, also add to the fun, and your points. This really gives you a goal to play for. The different game styles and objectives liven up dull maps, as the 12 available is a large number but gets alittle same-ish after a while.

There are some problems with multiplayer play, though. The atmospheric effects do tend to get in the way - for example wind-blown snow makes some levels pretty much impossible to use sniper rifles on. There is also a tendency, once you've played the maps for a while, to be able to predict exactly where the attacks will come from, and where the snipers will be sitting - which may limit replayability. On the whole though, I'm pretty addicted so far. There's something about getting into a good squad, with a team that knows what it's doing. This game really does encourage proper teamwork - especially in the rush and squad modes.

The interface...

The interface is happily uncluttered. On the bottom left there's a small minimap - which thankfully won't magically display your enemies unless you throw some recon motion mines around. On the bottom right there's just an ammo-tracking number. That's it. This is fantastic... and really lets you concentrate on the gameplay. It notably doesn't include a health bar ... if there's blood splatters on your screen you're in trouble - and that's about it. I think that's brilliant - so much easier to get into the game.

For both the single and the multiplayer games, the action is intense. The music acts to enhance not distract, and your ears ring with radio chatter and the echoing booms of distant bombs and gunfire. It makes you really feel you've accomplished something when, with the surrounding hail of gunfire and explosions, you keep your head and secure your objectives. Intese and rewarding gameplay.

The gameplay is fantastically immersive, I really can't stress that enough - though I think I may need to find a new word. I was sometimes actually afraid, especially taking into account the world materials system which works really well! That building over there - you can demolish it, and anybody inside.... So hiding behind a wall when a tank's firing at you won't save you for long - and it's features like that which really make you appreciate the brilliance of this game. And, you know, also make you run away occasionally.