I think its fair to say that for a majority of the next-gen era Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare, 1 & 2, is top of the food chain in terms of multiplayer games. When Infinity Wards first edition hit in November 2007 it caught gamers by surprise, nobody expected such an immersive, innovative and long lasting multiplayer experience. It raised the bar for not only First-Person Shooters online, but online gaming as a whole. When Modern Warfare 2 hit last November it had a huge amount of hype and expectation behind it and this was definitely evident on release day as it was one of the biggest selling mediums ever. Although it has its many reported flaws, Modern Warfare 2 raised the bar slightly more higher again.
With all this success and popularity by the Modern Warfare series, people were starting to wonder if a game would ever come out within the next few years that would challenge the giant. Then slowly but surely as more trailers and info became available for EA’s Dice Battlefield Bad Company 2, people started to think that this could be that game, the game that would offer a similar online experience but offer something different gameplay wise, a game that not only become an option for gamers who don’t play Modern Warfare, but start to steal away some of Modern Warfares most passionate fans.
Well now that a Multiplayer Demo of Battlefield Bad Company2 is availible to download, i had the opportunity to get my impressions and here it is:
First impressions. The presentation is nice, smooth and very slick, very user-friendly. Joining a game doesnt take too long. Choose your spawn point and your class, the options are Assault, Medic, Engineer and Recon. Hand grenades and sidearms are standard for all classes, but each class also has an exclusive primary weapon and a pair of gadgets on loadout unique to that class. Also, as you would expect, Assault class has the strongest weapon, so if you were any other class and came up against an Assault class you will lose in an one on one, which makes sense.
I spawn in the only map available on the demo. A snowy environment similar to the pic up above. To be honest my first impressions of the graphics were slight disappointment, not that it was bad, far from it, but i was expecting a slightly better looking game. But this is the case with me when i play most games, i always let my expectations get way too high and very few games can reach them, with the exception of Uncharted 2. Also this is only a Demo afterall, usually the full game has that added layer of polish.
As you get into the gameplay you will notice a different button layout than Bad Company 1, only slight differences but good changes nonetheless. For example L2 is now the Grenade button while R2 is now the knife, no longer triangle, which is the change weapon button. You will also notice how different the game is from its main rival, Modern Warfare 2. Not worse or better, just different. People who constantly play Modern Warfare might be discouraged by this, but some determination to get use to the new style is very rewarding in the end.
The game objective is pretty straightforward. You are either a defender or attacker. Defenders must defend their many bases and kill the attackers, whose role is obviously to destroy the bases, by planting a bomb in them. Of course you, as defenders, have some time to diffuse the bomb before it detonates. Defenders win by defending the bases for the whole game and the attackers win by destroying all the bases. Thats it in a nutshell.
There is also the aspect of vehicles in this game, Tank, Truck, Helicopter and Quad. They all have their advantages and disvantages. The quad is fast but very vunerable. The tank is powerful but slow. The helicopter is probably the most powerful vehicle and with some practice can be devstating, but it can be taking down by a tank or a well guided rocket from a rocket launcher. As a whole they really add to the gameplay.
Now, the actual gameplay itself. In all my many experiences so far, it has been a blast. There is a certain fun element to the game thats missing from Modern Warfare 2, sometimes Modern Warfare 2 can get very hectic, whereas in Bad Company2 there is a more laid back approach, although this in no way means its an easy game. Also there is no “Ah C’mon” moments where you feel cheated, the gameplay is very balanced. Tactics and teamwork really pay off, especially with the different roles of each class and the clever way Dice implemented the progression so you are encouraged to stick to one class. Although sometimes it can be a bit messy, players running around with no real agenda, but when it works it works. A team with the right balance of medics, Recons etc… will dominate a team of unbalanced classes. But when two perfectly blanced teams, who work together and know what they’re doing come head to head, then this game is a truly unique experience. For example, one game, we were the attackers and were pushing for the last few bases. We had the defenders cornered around there remaining bases. I was in a tank with two other players and we were causing havoc. We had an engineer behind us to repair the tank whenever it got damaged. We had a medic to heal him, and we were, as a small unit, providing cover for the remaining assualt players who were attcking the bases. It worked like a charm and we won the game. Its because of experiences like these that we crave online games and Bad Company 2 is more than capable to provide them. There is also the exciting ability to destroy almost anything. So basically there is nowhere to hide. This really provides an extra dimension to the gameplay and the pleasure of destroying a building then, after it makes a few creaks and groans, it collapses into a pile of rubble, its priceless and im sure it will never get old. Another thing that wont get old is spawning in the game via a parachute and slowly falling down while watching the chaos below, it really is breathtaking at times.
So far ive only mentioned my pleasure in playing the game and all the good things, but as you know there has to be flaws, no game is perfect and Bad Company does have its little nuisances. There is the HUD (Heads Up Display), it takes a while to get used to it and figure out where everything is. Likewise with the map, it really does take time to really use it to your advantage. There is also the fact that you have to hold down Select for a few seconds to see the scores, this might sound pedantic, but it really does matter when you are in the middle of a battle, it would be much better if it was more quickly accessed. Now, although i have very rarely experienced the next problem, it is a well reported one. That is, players who just sit around at the vehicles waiting for them to respawn and have no interest in the objective or working as a team. Unfortunately this, and the other problem of players going solo and not interested in helping anyone but instead all they care about is getting a high score, is an unavoidable problem and more of the gamers fault than the games fault. As Modern Warfare 2 fans know too well, selfish and naive gamers can ruin many an online experience.
Conclusion
I feel the flaws are very minor and are somewhat insignificent when compared to the good points of the game. Even though it is the one game-type and one map we have to play in the demo, its only really starting to get slightly repetitive and boring now, which is surprising and great credit must go to Dice for this. I have been playing it almost everyday since release and i still have great fun playing it. Its pretty much what i expected and has been a great experience that leaves you wanting more.
Will it outshine the giant that is Modern Warfare 2? I dont know, all i know is that it will be just another great game to play and I really cant wait for the full game which releases 5th March for Europe, 2nd March for the US.
Thanks for reading.
