Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Review

With the release of Bad Company in 2008, DICE has probably made their most important advancement (out of many) to the Battlefield series. The introduction of the Frostbite engine, and really, their first true commercial success on the consoles. But there has been a shadow overcasting the Battlefield series since its very inception. A shadow, in the shape, of a Great White shark.

No, no...I mean the Call of Duty / Medal of Honor series. (Which we will henceforth call COD/MOH)

So is the new Battlefield: Bad Company 2 really the COD killer that some claim? Or is there really room in this world for both series to exist symbiotically? Its really hard to talk about one without talking about the other. So hit the jump, read our review, and see where we stand.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (PS3, 360, PC)
Developer: EA Digital Illusions CE
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Released: March 2, 2010

The Battlefield series has been around for a long time. In 2002, with the release of Battlefield 1942, developer DICE brought an award winning combination to PCs. Solid FPS gun-play and usable vehicles, set in large scale battles for territorial control literally set the FPS world on fire...on the PC anyway. Each subsequent iteration of the Battlefield series brought more and more improvements to both the gameplay and the atmosphere surrounding it. Battlefield: Vietnam displayed a greatly improved sound design, even incorporating iconic 60's war-time music into the vehicles which set the tone of the Vietnam-era game perfectly. Battlefield 2142 introduced weapon unlocks and other subtle RPG elements. And finally Battlefield 2 (released just before Battlefield 2142) brought the series into the modern era and, subsequently, also brought the first version of the game to the consoles (Battlefield 2: Modern Combat)

Other, more seemingly serious and focused FPS experiences have always seemed to slightly overshadow the Battlefield series. The first Bad Company did well, but not as well as it could have with COD/MOH releases occurring just around the same time.

The truth of the matter is that the Battlefield series and COD/MOH couldn't be more different. Not only do they each offer a much difference experience (in terms of both single and multiplayer) but they also speak to different audiences. Battlefield has always been about providing a much more outrageous, large scale, tone to the battlefield experience than COD/MOH ever bothered to achieve. It also provides much more focus on team-effort and team support. Though COD/MOH can be a very engaging game, the multiplayer component of those games does resemble a modern-war halo. A particularly clean, one-on-one, run and gun affair who's concentration on kill counts rather than territorial control creates a much more lone-gunman feel to the gameplay. Battlefield has also been able to do something else. With the use of the Frostbite Engine (which allows for complete building and terrain destruction) and their world-class sound design, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is now a much more frantic, visceral and gritty experience than any COD/MOH game currently on the market.

But this is an overarching comparison. To really get down to it we need to get to the nitty gritty.

When I started up Bad Company 2 I honestly didn't expect very much from the single player portion of the game. Most of the marketing has focused on the multiplayer and I figured that the single player would be nothing more than some interesting filler to get me geared up to shoot some people online. Imagine my surprise when what I found was an extremely competent, exciting, and at times, funny and engaging experience.

The story is fairly common fair, like most of these titles but it does its job and goes something like this: After a short stint playing a level set in WWII Japan (surely added during the Battlefield 1942 development for XBLA) you are put into the shoes of Preston Marlowe, a member of the Bad Company squad. This collection of 4 gritty individuals, each with their own large and entertaining personalities, are tasked with trying to track down a Machiavellian plot involving high ranking government officials and a mysterious super-weapon. People get shot, lots of things blow up, alliances are made and backs are stabbed. Thankfully the twists in the story come rare and at a good pacing to keep things fresh and moving along.

The best thing about the single player, hands down, is the character interaction between the members of Bad Company. They get along and banter in very natural ways which exemplify a group of guys who have been through the thick and thin, sometimes can't stand each other, but are always watching each others backs. My only complaint is that Bad Company 2 throws you into the middle of this group with no real individual introductions. If you haven't played the original Bad Company, or hadn't in a very long time, it might take you some time to really appreciate the different personality traits. Personally, I found the characters here much more enjoyable than the ones presented in the COD series who are presented in a much more serious light, and who have personalities that I certainly would not call entertaining. Intense, yes, but not very enjoyable.

In a very big way, the levity of the characters in BC2 really act as an umbrella over the entire single-player experience which, in total, is quite the lighthearted affair throughout. Sure there are moments of loss, moments of deception, but the character levity, compared to the instances of over-the-top combat offered by the Frostbite engine, add an almost comical effect to the single player as a whole. Because of this, BC2 and COD are very much diametrically opposed. The COD/MOH series want their single player experience to evoke feelings of “Band of Brothers” and “Saving Private Ryan” whereas BC2 really wants you to feel like Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Commando” or “Red Dawn” and also takes some jabs at Call of Duty in the process.

Each is a subjective experience and its going to be up to the player to decide what kind they prefer having.

Levels in BC2 are fairly straightforward run and gun affairs but the Frostbite engine does provide much more replay value in these levels than I've found in other titles. Your options for getting from point A to point B can change depending on whats in your way and how you want to destroy it. The world of BC2 is anything but stagnant but I found that this has created a bit of a catch 22. If your enemy is behind a fence, destroy the fence. If they are in a house, blow a hole in the wall of the house to get to them. Sounds great, sure. But you are subjected to the same rules and your enemies will not hesitate to use the same tactics to get to you as well. Combine this with the fact that even sturdy cover never seems to completely conceal you (the very top of your head pokes out from almost everything) and BC2 will be hitting you with some very cheap deaths on Normal difficulty. Unfortunately the game also does a very poor job of letting you know where you are being hit from. There are on-screen indicators of damage direction but they just never seem to be clear enough, or last long enough. Often times I would be left dying over and over, never really knowing what it was that was killing me at all.

BC2 does incorporate a form of jelly-vision (really the norm now) but I found it nowhere as bothersome as the COD version. On the other hand, in COD I always knew what was killing me...the damage indicators and highly scripted AI were to thank for that...so perhaps this one is a bit of a wash. Ultimately my advice for playing BC2 single player is to put that shit on Easy and have a good time with it.

Though Bad Company 2's set pieces aren't nearly as iconic or epic as COD/MOH they do vary considerably as the story progresses and really show off the different level styles that DICE has toyed with over the life of the Battlefield series. Jungle areas reminiscent of Battlefield: Vietnam are there, the opening sequence is taken directly from Battlefield: 1942/1943, desert levels as seen in Battlefield: Modern Combat. They are all there and have been given a fantastic graphic overhaul that looks spectacular on an HDTV. The jungle levels in particular where my favorite in terms of graphical flair. Add in some great shooting, fully destructive environments, and some of the best driving/shooting sequences I've played in a video game, and BC2 offers a single player experience that rivals that of the COD/MOH series. And while the single player of BC2 seems like a more lighthearted affair, the multiplayer is something very different. Take out the comedy and add in the hard, scream and blood filled, grittiness of battle and you begin to get a taste of what BC2 multiplayer has to offer.

We all know the deal. In terms of COD and BC2 we may play the single player to completion...maybe even twice...but it is the multiplayer that is the hour eating monster we really put down 60 dollars to ride. I'll just come straight out and say it. Bad Company 2 multiplayer is the best FPS multiplayer experience I have ever had. From Team Fortress to CounterStrike to Call of Duty , I have never had a multiplayer experience so visceral, so exciting and so varied as the one offered by BC2. The various classes are fitted in some fantastically niche' ways that one always feels like they are an important gear in an ever churning war machine. All classes have both offensive, defensive and support tools available at their disposal with almost every play style imaginable being represented.

Unlike COD/MOH almost every aspect of the multiplayer experience, from the way you gain experience to the objectives themselves, are geared toward team cooperative gameplay that makes the player feel like they are fighting with an army rather than around one. Kill count is rendered almost meaningless in BC2, especially when fighting on the offensive side, and everything is gained or lost by the acquisition of objectives. Not only does this serve as an extremely satisfying gameplay experience but you will find yourself actually getting attached the people who work well with your play style. At the moment I have about 6 people on XBLA who I only met because we play BC2 well together.

Once again, besides the cooperative nature of the play, the Frostbite engine takes center stage offering some of those Battlefield Moments that have become iconic of the series in recent years. Helicopters crashing into houses, demolishing the building and killing everyone inside, armored cars flying through the air after hitting a series of land mines, UAV's being flown into buildings to spread death to everyone inside. Battles are a frantic affair of fire and explosions and I've found myself sometimes getting killed because I was busy at looking at some amazing event of battle unfold around me. Quite simply, COD/MOH with their stagnant worlds offer none of this and really its a shame since it goes so far to create a very realistic fighting environment. Now, of course, DICE will be doing the multiplayer for the new MOH game and that WILL include use of the Frostbite engine.

But no experience is perfect. One of the glaring problems with BC2 multiplayer is the lack of any cardinal points on the mini-map to direct squad members to. It would be nice to be guarding a flag and be able to yell “2 Assault incoming EAST!” but since the map turns with player facing east is a completely relative term, and you are forced to try to use some nondescript level landmark to associate with direction. Its a terrible shortcoming when squad teamwork and communication is key to winning some battles. I'm actually surprised that this was overlooked at all. To get around this the squad must make sure that everyone spots when they can and keep their head on a swivel to catch those markings when they pop up. Not nearly the best way to go about it...but it works when nothing else does.

Another major difference between BC2 and COD really also really lies in the feel of the game itself. In BC2 everything from the banter of the other MP characters, to the sway and aiming / reloading animations of the guns, imparts the feeling of a grunt soldier being thrown into the meat grinder. COD just feels like you are playing a much more refined character... because you are. Your COD character is supposed to be a highly trained, special forces, behind enemy lines sort. And the feel of the gameplay truly mimics that. They are two very experiences in terms of feel but both do a spectacular job of relaying it to the player.

I would be remiss in my duty if I was not to personally get down and fellate those at DICE responsible for the sound design of this game. Playing BC2 in full 5.1 surround sound at a good volume is truly something to behold. These people understand that a huge portion of our multi-media experiences have to do with sound and they use that knowledge to bring us the best sound design I've ever experienced in a modern shooter. Buy the game, shoot a gun outdoors and then shoot it within a building and tell me you're not impressed. Have a bomb explode near you and tell me you aren't awed. Have an RPG wisp past your head and tell me you haven't pee'd your pants a little.

Bad Company 2 is now the seminal multiplayer experience with Call of Duty being a close second to those that prefer a more kill/count oriented, less gritty experience. DICE has truly raised the bar for multiplayer experience, teamwork, and have offered a highly entertaining single player experience along with it. In terms of multiplayer, COD truly has their work cut out for them. In terms of single player, DICE is not far behind.

Score – 90

-Joseph-