The game starts with the player controlling
Private Thomas Wyatt in 1944. You and a group of soldiers
infiltrate an IJN-controlled island in the Sea of Japan. Wyatt's squad
secures a Japanese scientist who was working on a secret weapon code
named "Aurora". They escape the island on a submarine but as
they do, Wyatt and the commandos witness the firing of the Aurora and
perish from the attack.
Flash forward to the present day, Privates Preston
Marlowe (you), Terrance Sweetwater, George Haggard, and Sergeant
Redford fight behind enemy lines in Russia in attempt to secure a
device related to the Aurora.
Despite escaping Russian soldiers and completing
(what they believe is) their final mission, the device is considered
a fake. Impressed with their previous activities, Army General
Braidwood assigns them to a special operation of stopping the Aurora.
Now while the storyline may sound interesting on
the surface,
sadly, reality is a different kettle of fish with the narrative kind of
boring - more often than not getting in the way of some of the
seriously awesome action.
The awesomeness in question is made possible
thanks largely to the huge number of destructible buildings and
environments. It makes players think about how they are going to tackle
certain challenges.
Take for instance a sniper bunkered down in a
building : now there are multiple ways of dealing with this problem,
but, the one I enjoyed the most was simply blowing the building up with
a rocket launcher or grenade launcher.
This can also work against you, because enemies
can also blow stuff up with equal ease and destroy any cover that you
are behind. Just a word of warning, if a building cops enough
damage it collapses, in turn killing everyone in side.
War is a nasty business...
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has some really well
polished graphics too. Rendering for the buildings and the little
villas are great, also the addition of particle effects works well too,
adding a genuine touch of realism to the game.
As well as great graphics, Battlefield: Bad
Company 2 has some spot on mechanics. The guns reacts and feels great,
with some pretty sweet sound effects to boot.
The vehicles also handle smoothly and are easy to
use, however, my only complaint is while driving a jeep it appears as
if the vehicle is steering itself, because of the lack of arms holding
onto the steering wheel.
The instant-respawns and med kit injections of the
last Bad Company have been replaced by the standard checkpoints and
regenerative health bar system, which makes the game play feel
more realistic.
In terms of AI squad mates, Battlefield: Bad
Company 2 gives you some some solid soldiers that are actually useful.
Unlike most games where your team mates are there to fill in the story
line and get in your way, Bravo Team actually push forward
and attack while you can get into a better position or take a
breather from heavy fire. This helps to keep the game moving forward.
While the game looks good and the mechanics work
well, the overall single player campaign leaves you feeling a
little underwhelmed, with gameplay over in a short six hours. However,
the collectible weapon and satellite system does give the game
some pretty decent replay value.
Single player mode aside, it is the multiplayer
mode that acts as the true saviour of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 - and
I'm guessing - the reason why most people would buy the game.
There are four different multiplayer modes to
choose from, with ten unique landscapes to battle on.
Multiplayer modes include:
Rush - Defend or destroy pairs of M-COM stations for as long
as reinforcements hold out. A M-COM station can also be destroyed when
a building is collapsing down on it.
Conquest - Capture
and hold flags for as long as possible against all corners. Vehicles
unlock as control points are held. Gain bonus points for inflicting
casualties on the opposition.
Squad
Rush - Rush played tight, as two squads go head-to-head
over two single M-COM stations. Blow the stations or bury all enemy
reinforcements to win.
Squad Deathmatch - Four squads and one Infantry Fighting
Vehicle roam the map. Nail the other squads before they nail you. First
squad to 50 kills wins.
One thing that will keep players online is the
reward system that the multiplayer mode utilises.
Gaining experience points allows players to unlock
and use different weapons and gadgets, some only usable by a given
class and some available to any class that a player uses. There are
also unlockable items that can modify the game's firearms, such as
ACOGs, reflex sights, underbarreled 40mm grenade launchers, smoke
grenades, or 12 gauge slugs. Players can also customise their soldiers
with ceramic body armor, lightweight combat gear, and Bandoliers for
extra ammunition.
In all, a pretty solid shooter with a short single
player campaign, which can be over-looked by the in depth and
addictive multiplayer mode.
Rush - Defend or destroy pairs of M-COM stations for as long
as reinforcements hold out. A M-COM station can also be destroyed when
a building is collapsing down on it.
