BC 2 is an exciting sequel with realistic shooting, destructible environments and superior multiplayer modes.
THE GOOD
-Amusing commandos to fight with (campaign mode)
-Stellar online play with squad respawning
-Lots of destruction
-Useful classes (multiplayer mode)
-Plenty of cool weapons and vehicles
-Incredible sound
-Good graphics
THE BAD
-Glitches with shots registering
-Mediocre EA servers
OVERVIEW
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 isn't your run-of-the-mill first person shooter. There are many things that Electronic Arts (EA) did really well to make it one of the better shooters on the market. BC2 offers both single player story and multiplayer online modes. The setting of the story takes place in modern times but first jumps to World War II. The date is 1944 and a group of American soldiers infiltrate a Japanese base and capture the main scientist who was working on a secret weapon known as Aurora. Just when the men think that their mission was a success, the Aurora weapon was unleashed and devastated the entire area including the ill-fated commandos.
The story quickly jumps forward to present day as you take control of Private Preston Marlowe. Marlowe is an army soldier under the direct command of his squad leader Sergeant Samuel Redford. Rounding out this four man team are Privates Terrence Sweetwater and George Haggard. These four comrades may seem like "bad company" in the beginning but later prove to be great friends. You're tasked with going behind Russian lines to secure a device similar to the Aurora bomb. The story starts off pretty slow but eventually picks up in pace and excitement towards the end. Your comrades however, offer great dialog from beginning to end. There's plenty of funny banter that goes on between the four main characters but the funniest scenes are witnessed between your hippie helicopter pilot known as Ghost Rider and dirty-mouthed Haggard. Also, for those Call of Duty: Modern Warfare fans out there, you'll get a kick out of the subtle mockery displayed in a few short conversations throughout the game.
GAMEPLAY
Like I said before the story doesn't start to pick up towards the end of the game unfortunately but the four main characters are pure gold and very entertaining. This is good because they don't fight very well. The AI has its moments but for the most part you'll be doing most of the heavy lifting. I've witnessed a few times where my fellow teammates would just stand there and take shots to the face and not retaliate.
Each mission in the campaign mode is broken up into smaller tasks and the action never skips a beat. There are many enemies to shoot and collectable weapons to find. Whether you're sniping enemies in a thunderstorm or driving a tank through the desert, there is plenty of excitement to go around that keeps the fighting fresh. Plus, Bad Company 2 is filled to the brim with realistic weapons and easily controlled vehicles giving you many different ways to complete your mission.
Playing through the story is fun but this game really excels online. The cornerstone for the multiplayer action is the squad. You'll be playing on a team of up to 12 people but you're broken up into a group of four. This system works really well when playing with friends because when you die you have the option to respawn next to other living members in your squad. Not only does this build teamwork but you end up doing a lot more fighting together which is a nice touch.
Another great feature about the online play is that there are four unique class characters to choose from. The four specialty classes include: medic, assault, engineering and recon. Each soldier-type plays completely different and success on the battlefield will require the use of them all. A nice thing about the individual scoring system is that you are awarded points for not only killing your opponent but performing unique capabilities. For example, an engineer can rack up points just for repairing damaged vehicles. This gives credit for those mundane but necessary tasks and is a main reason why the leveling system works so well. As you play through the game you'll gain overall and class specific experience which both leads to unlocking new weapons and abilities.
Bad Company 2 offers four exciting game modes: Rush, Conquest, Squad Deathmatch and Squad Rush. The squad based games are fun but nothing compared to the full Rush and Conquest modes. In Rush, there is an attacking and defending team. The attackers are trying to push back the enemy lines by destroying two M-COM stations at a time. The defender's goal is to try and stop this from happening. The attacker's respawn count is limited while the defenders respawn infinitely. The game ends when either the attackers run out of respawns or the defenders lose all their M-COM stations. Conquest works a bit differently in that there are three territories to capture. The goal here is to control and hold each of the areas for a longer period of time than your opponent.
The level design is really well done for both single and multiplayer modes. On top of that, you can destroy just about anything in this game. Not only is destroying buildings and other barriers fun but it's very strategic. For example, if there's an annoying sniper perched on the roof of a three story building mowing you and your friends down, just blow it up with a couple rocket propelled grenades. There are even some cases where you can topple a building to destroy an M-COM station in the Rush variant.
For the most part the controls work well. The button layout has many similarities to other top selling shooters out there making it easy for FPS veterans to get familiar quickly. All-in-all except for running and using your knife, which is a little awkward, everything else works just fine.
BC2 does many things right but there are a couple setbacks to bring up. Unfortunately, I've noticed that not all my bullets that successfully hit a target register correctly; it's like playing with a few blanks in the ammo clip. This has happened to me many times in both the single player and multiplayer and can be extremely frustrating especially in dire situations. Another minor annoyance is the crowded EA servers at peak playing times. There have been a handful of times where I wasn't able to connect to the EA server and thus not being able to play online.
GRAPHICS & SOUND
The level design offers many memorable moments in the game play. That and the fact that almost everything is destructible ensures that you have a completely different battle every time you play. The graphics are pretty good for the most part; not great, but work just fine.
The sound effects are absolutely stunning. The gunfire and building destruction add to the realistic feel. I especially enjoyed the sound of an empty bullet shell being ejected and landing on the ground. This kind of intricate detail goes a long way. The voice acting is also another stand out and there are a few hilarious one-liners heard throughout the game.
CONCLUSION
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is a fun, realistic first person shooter. The campaign story starts off slow but picks up in intensity towards the end, while the online mode really excels at keeping a fast pace war-like feel. There are a couple annoying technical issues but for the most part this is a solid game. I would recommend it to all FPS fans out there. The game may be titled "Bad Company" but whether you're playing with the computer, friends or random people, it'll definitely turn them into "Great Company".