Review: Battlefield: Bad Company 2

I’ll put this out there right now – I love the multiplayer. It hasn’t been since Counterstrike that I played a online multiplayer this much. Folks, that was about nine years ago. If you haven’t read my post about it, the tactics in the game are what I love. It’s not straight deathmatch where you go for the most kills (even though that is availale). You have objectives, and if you do them, you’re rewarded for it. Classes have advantages/disadvantages. Assault ain’t gonna’ destroy a tank, and Recon (using a sniper rifle) is terrible for close-range combat. Medics may have the highest bullet count, but their accuracy is terrible. Engineers can repair and destroy tanks (one-hit kills with anti-tank mines) but their guns are shit.

But, I don’t include multiplayer in my reviews because eventually, the multiplayer won’t be playable. I mean, having played Army of 2: The 40th day, there were only a couple hundred people on when I tried multiplayer. Yikes. So the single-player is ultimately what matters in my reviews because that’s what you’re left with when everyone has moved on. So is single-player as good as the multiplayer?

• The ability to destroy buildings may be in older games, but this was my first experience with it. Knock out all four sides of a building, and it collapses. I love the concept that your cover isn’t impenetrable. If someone knows you’re behind a wall, a simple grenade or rocket will take care of that.
• The AI in the game understands that, too. If they know you’re behind cover, they will destroy your cover. The difficulty in the game (even at its hardest) doesn’t feel as cheap as Modern Warfare 2 on Veteran. While they will immediately see you and can destroy your cover, you aren’t given a tiny window to kill them or be killed.
• My blogging brother (who I call that because we often comment on each others’ reviews) didn’t like the dialogue, but I liked the companionship that the four characters had. Modern Warfare lacked that – I never really felt like I was part of a team (save for a few spots) but having a consistent team was nice.
• It was also nice that they were useful. They didn’t just do blind fire, they actually were able to take out enemies that had me pinned down. I guess – overall – the AI in this game wasn’t too bad.
• One key thing to realize is that once you get a feel that exploration is open, then the game becomes much easier. You’re not limited to one path – many times there are alternate paths and buildings that you can run into. Helps to provide a temporary cover considering it can be gone in no time.
• There are lots of weapons – but there are also variations of them as well. But you have plenty to choose from. There’s a decent amount of stationery weapons as well.

• The storyline has been done a bit too much. Save America from Russians … I wonder how the Russians feel knowing that every big shooter these days involve them trying to attack the United States.
• At some points in the game, their requirements are a bit too much. I remember  being on a moving helicopter a I had to shoot someone in another moving helicopter. If I didn’t do it quickly enough, I die – and this was even on normal mode.
• Outside of the vast landscapes you travel to, the graphics aren’t anything to write home about. Modern Warfare was able to run at a smooth 60fps in 1080p – I’m not sure why people still shoot for 30fps. Some say there isn’t a difference – but the difference is actually in how smooth the animations are. Even though it is a small difference, it is noticeable.
• I would have liked more air attacks … you have one UAV attack and that’s it. I would have liked to see more advanced gadgets since this is taking place in the present day. And while there’s an abundance of vehicles in multiplayer, there’s not that much in single-player.

Positive Points: 6 |  Negative Points: 4 |  Final Review: +2