Dont tar this game with the BF2 brush, it has much more to offer, but still unfortunately drags a few BF2 bugs along..
The first thing I love about this game is the nice new menu. In BF2 if you wanted to bind a key to one that’s being used, you’re roughly told "TOUGH". You have to wade through the menu and find the conflicting key and they remove or change it, go back and re add your key. Thankfully this has been removed. It now sensibly gives you the option to overwrite or keep. Great stuff.
Also another big improvement is the server browser. This now gives you a basic and advanced mode. Basic, I think is pretty pointless as most gamers will jump to advanced. In basic you’re treated to the list or servers and a coloured icon for its ping. Green, orange or red. In advanced you can see the actual ping. Much better.
The game itself, once you jump into it, reminds you of BF2, obviously.
It’s using the same engine for a start. And unfortunately the chat system, and font remains the awful same. But a lot has also changed. Everything from the commander menu, squad menu to the way you interact with the world has been improved. In BF2 the commander screen was a confusing mess, but now it seems simpler and allows you to get the job done right. Another thing I am pleased about is the UAV. This time around it doesn’t highlight enemies within a huge radius, now it’s smaller. Also air born vehicles don’t have chaffs. This time they just have a shield you raise at the right moment. I like the fact the air born vehicles are limited. Because nothing annoyed me more than an ace player, owning the field in a fighter jet. This time around they are almost more vulnerable in the air, as they can’t travel as fast as BF2.
The reward and ranking system has also had an overhaul. This time, it’s a lot easier and faster to level up. While playing for the first 3 hours I managed to increase my rank by 2. Not bad. The unlock system is also a lot more complicated but worth it. You now have only 4 classes to choose from, but each can unlock a wealth of upgrades. In fact you’re spoilt for choice and it’s hard to find the right one. There are lots of clever gadgets and gizmos to help you along that people didn’t know existed. For example as a sniper, you can get the upgrade of a portable cloaking device. Just press and hold fire and your character practically turn invisible, well almost. To others you are a blur. There are so many tools:
Remote bomb disarmer
Faster reload
more health
Portable gun turrets
A floating turret to protect you
Portable spawn beacon
Device to track enemy vehicles nearby
Etc etc. And that’s just the tip. I never thought I would like this game as much as I do. In fact I think it’s much better than BF2. The only problems are the people. You join servers where people just muck about, either not joining squads, having a squad each or no teamwork what so ever. But that just depends on where you go.
That’s it really. It’s a great game and I would recommend it to anyone who loves BF2. The only small problem I have with it is that it’s so much better than BF2; I don’t think I will ever play it again.
FiN