Battlefield: Bad Company 2 – Review & Game Analysis

By Mike Norton

XBL Gamertag: oO PROTOMIKE Oo

Developer: EA Digital Illusions CE

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Engine: Frostbite Engine

Platform: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Genre: First-person shooter, action

The original Bad Company had its problems – I don’t think anyone, even the developers can't deny that but what it did do successfully was lay down a platform of interesting, personable characters who could be dropped into any environment and breathe life into what could otherwise be a formulaic FPS game.

It’s the characters that make the game and the familiar four protagonists are back once more, but not with the riches of Nazi gold in mind, this time the stakes are raised as B Company are charged with finding a devastating new weapon that could start WWIII.

While I don’t want to draw too many comparisons to Infinity Wards’ Modern Warfare 2, the two games do run several parallels. DICE obviously knew that comparisons were going to be made and rather than turn their noses up or pretend that there were no similarities, they have tackled the issue head on and thrown in some beautifully timed digs to the ribcage of Modern Warfare 2. As the squad weighs up the pros and cons of taking on the mission or passing it on to someone else, Haggard, the good ol’ Texan boy for whom every month is Movember, jokes “They’ll just call in some pussy Special Ops team with heartbeat sensors on their guns.” - That mad me laugh out loud. On another occasion as the guys prepare to travel by ATV’s through the jungle, one brings up the subject of snowmobiles. “Snowmobiles are for sissies” quips Haggard.

It’s this kind of witty dialogue throughout the game that endears the characters to you as they crack jokes, freak out and hassle one another, not just in the cut-scenes but even during the heaviest firefights.

The 13 mission single player campaign takes you to several areas of the globe, all with very different conditions. From the misty jungles of Bolivia and rolling grassy hills to freezing blizzard conditions and dusty urban settlements – you’ll encounter environmental obstacles that make you think about how you tackle the situation at hand. In one stormy jungle level you’ll need to time your sniper shots with the thunder so as not to draw attention from the surrounding camp. In virtual whiteout conditions in the "Snowblind" mission, you'll need to sprint from building to building to find warmth because spending too long outside causes the screen to ice up, your vision to go blurred and your aim shake uncontrollably as you quickly freeze to death.

Just as in the original you can alter your surroundings dramatically with almost everything being destructible in some way. Chip away at enemies' cover or bring down a whole building on top of them, the choice is yours. But of course they can, and regularly do, bring the same fate to you. Once you are seen flanking an enemy position be prepared for a barrage of grenade launchers to destroy whatever you're taking cover in or behind.

I loved the single player campaign. It’s well paced and it kept me highly engaged for the two extended sessions it took me to finish the game. But that’s only half of what Bad Company 2 has to offer – it’s the multi-player that will keep this disc in your console for many weeks to come. In one word – it’s fantastic.

Teamwork rules the roost in all the online multi-player modes. The game encourages it by rewarding all involved. Ranking and unlocks are directly tied to points and they are dished out equally whether you fought at the coalface and got the most kills or you played a support role, handing out health packs, reviving fallen team-mates or fixing and destroying vehicles. Sure, engineers can still join in the slaughter, and there’s still a place for lone wolf-type assaults but a well organized team can sway an entire battle. The game-play dynamic from the single player campaign flows directly over into multi-player in terms of the fully destructible surroundings and selection of weapons and vehicles. It makes for a wildly unpredictable experience which just doesn’t get boring.

DICE have put a lot of work into making the multi-player experience a seamless joy to behold and for once it’s the single player campaign that almost seems like the afterthought. I was planning on putting a serious investment of time into Mass Effect 2 in the coming weeks but now Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has got its hooks into me I don’t think any games; especially Modern Warfare 2 will be gracing my console for quite some time.

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