All you really need to know about Bad Company 2 is that it’s a Battlefield game, and if you played the first Bad Company, which was a console exclusive, then you’ll have an even better idea as to what to expect. Bad Company 2 basically feels like one massive update to it’s predecessor, but don’t take that as a bad point – the game is more refined in areas it needed to be in the multiplayer side of things, though it does feel a little lacklustre when you play the single-player that BC2 has to offer. But it’s a Battlefield game, so multiplayer is really the only important part, right?
When you load up the single-player, you’ll be introduced, or reunited, with Bad Company. These are some of the freshest game characters i’ve seen in a video game in many years, purely because they’re just so real in such a different way. They’re not your typical army veterans you might come to expect from your typical modern day era shooter. The voicework really does make you believe that these guys are just thrust into situations they’re never really prepared for, because they’re just regular guys. This is where I get to one of my downsides about the game. Unlike the first game, there isn’t really any ‘downtime’ with Haggard, Sweetwater, and Sarge. They used to be all about cracking wise and talking about anything they could that wasn’t the conflict ahead, and though that exists now, it really is splintered in comparison. The only tangent I can really remember them going off on was a discussion about their favourite scene in Predator. Other than that, they do a fairly poor job of fighting alongside you, and they simply lag behind you moving from point A to point B. So do yourself a favour and sit around in between combat scenarios to really enjoy that Bad Company banter.
Welcome back to Bad Company. Hello there, Preston Marlowe.
There appears to be no mention of the story from the first Bad Company, in which company managed to escape with a truckload of gold. Now, if it wasn’t for me sitting here thinking hard about the events of the first game, I probably wouldn’t have remembered that because, seriously – the original game may as well have not included single-player, because it’s like it never happened. This time around, you’re sent back into the fray as Preston Marlowe once more to recover a weapon that dates back to World War Two (and you’re even given a prequel mission set in the past to set all of this up appropriately). You’ll go to Alaska, Bolivia, and to the United States, but as the game is so short, you really feel like you’re just being thrown around to meet the different environment criteria – snow, sand, jungle, and good old urban warfare.
All that can really be said about the rest of the single-player is that it is really quite linear, especially in comparison to it’s predecessor. For example, you’ll go up a hill following a fairly straight path, shooting your way through numerous gun-toting hostiles along the way, and probably use the destructible environments to your advantage along the way. After all, the game really likes its explosions purely because it knows it delivers such good destruction, thanks to DICEs’ Frostbite engine.
Your favourite dysfunctional soldiers are back.
Now, onto the good stuff. What you really care about. The multiplayer. It’s what the Battlefield series is known for. It has Conquest mode as standard this time around, and Rush mode even makes a return (an attack and defend gametype), as well as two new modes. Squad Deathmatch focuses on, you guessed it, squad combat, and it pits four squads (consisting of four players each) against each other – the first to fifty kills wins. Oh, and there’s usually a light tank up for grabs in the centre of the map, too. As much as the game likes to think this is a big ticket to success for whichever squad gets a hold of it first, in my experience, it’s only a mere diversion. When I had the tank, it was destroyed pretty quickly. When they had the tank, me and my squad gave it the same treatment. Squad Rush is similar to Rush mode, but for only eight players in two teams of four. It has the same attacker meets defender aspect to it, but these matches are a lot more contained, and the attackers only have twenty tickets. Admittedly, i’ve only played this mode once or twice, purely because i’m playing the PC version, and the PC users just can’t get enough of Conquest or Rush, it seems.
The general setup for the multiplayer has remained largely unchanged – there are four classes, there are unlockable weapons and equipment, and there are more vehicles the larger the maps get. There are awards, which vary from regular round-to-round awards, to awards that take a lot more time, such as getting a bronze star with every weapon in the game. The way you unlock these weapons depends on which category they fall into. The Assault class gets assault rifles, the Engineer gets sub-machine guns and rocket launchers, the Medic gets light machine guns, and the Recon class gets sniper rifles. Weapon unlocks specific to each class are unlocked by simply playing that class more, and getting points while you do it. As Assault, throw out ammo crates for your team. As an Engineer, repair vehicles and blow up enemy vehicles with your rocket launcher or mines. As a Medic, throw out med-packs and revive your fellow comrades. Finally, as Recon, plant C4 charges on the back of enemy vehicles, objectives, and throw a motion mine down to help spot enemies. You’ll get attachments and upgrades too, which can change that class to suit the way you play a little more, such as increasing bullet damage and/or increasing ammo capacity. In addition, there are universal weapon unlocks that can be used with all classes, and they’re unlocked by ranking up as opposed to scoring points in a particular fashion. The majority of these non-class specific unlocks are shotguns, with a few rifles to mix it up a little, as well as pistols for your secondary weapon slot.
Damn, this game looks great...
Other than that, there’s not much to say other than what i’ve already said a few times – it’s a Battlefield game. If you like team-orientated and objective based first person shooter combat (what a mouthful), then you’ll like Bad Company 2. It feels huge like a Battlefield game, and plays like one, despite some clear differences between other Battlefield games outside the Bad Company series. Whereas the first Bad Company felt like something to keep the console users busy while the PC players had their continuous fill of Battlefield 2 and alike, the sequel changes that. Now it’s actually on the PC as opposed to being a console exclusive, I can look at Bad Company 2 and see it as a ‘real’ Battlefield game. On a side-note, it’s good to be playing a new game in the series on the platform that the series was born on. So again, if you like Battlefield, this is right up your street. If, however, you were a big fan of the original Bad Company’s story mode, then you will be left feeling disappointed after your very brief experience with it’s sequel’s.
