Reloading! Cover me damn it!...Oh, $%*@!!! TANK!!!
DICE has come a long way from their beginnigns (Bf:1942) yet they haven't delivered a credible SP campaign just yet to compete with the most recent FPS offerings... Yet, Bfbc2 MP portion more then makes up for campaigns shortcomings and still raises the bar for FPS's of this and the next generation.
Campaign is mundane average and overall lackluster. Also its seriously short, clocking in at around 5 to 6 hours. Easy even on the hardest difficulty, and rather an ummemorable experience. It's made palatable by the dialogue, characters, and sound design. You wont necessarily get attached to the squad of misfits that accompany you during the campaign, but you'll definitely stand around once in awhile to hear your team banter. (one such conversation has the squad bickering over scenes from the movie "The Predator" and is quite humorous)
One huge shortcoming is in a game based on a 4 man squad no 4 player Co-op seemed odd. (Co-op was later released as DLC for $15 but no Co-op campaign seemed lazy on the devs part.)
Now where the game really shines is in its MP, MP is DICE's bread and butter. Large scale combat and vehicle warfare are what put the series on the map and possibly why 99% of their community play. MP is a fine tuned and balanced experience overall. A couple caveats; the game has a steep learning curve. It favors the core crowd so casual players may want to stick with a more casual FPS... Learn quick or die trying and die you will.
MP will get frustrating as you rush objectives only to be unsupported by teammates. Its like rushing a machinegun nest in WWII. You might make it, but chances are... your not.
The bits and pieces that make up the game are thought out and well executed. The game's mechanics try going for an authentic feel but not an overtly real all out combat simulator. Things like having to compensate for bullet drop or leading on a target is part of the deep mechanics and adds depth to the gameplay.
The sound is another fined tuned and above average piece of the game. Sound design borders on audiophile sound fidelity. Firearms sounding as real as a trip to the range. Gunshots indoors bounce off walls and echo, while outside they convey a sharp booming report. Each weapon has its own distinct chatter and distinguishing between them is easy. You instantly know the implement of your doom was say a large .50cal rifle, AK, or auto shotgun. The sound definitely adds majority of the immerison and is above average in the this genre.
The graphics are good but lack polish. They can suffer from excessive tearing to the point of distraction. As well as some sevre aliasing. V-sync and some form of AA could have helped greatly.
The lighting and particle effects (smoke, dust, etc.) are very polished however. Smoke mixed with a variety of mist wafting about clouding ones sight gives you a sense of realism as it hinders your vision and adds dilema to firefights or while simply traversing a map.
Textures are good enough to walk up to zoom and you'd be happy with their presentation but thier definitely not high res/detailed.
Facial modeling and animations leave a little to be desired though and the overall graphcial presentation is just good enough, not truly great.
Much has been accomplished with this series in terms of scale, combat, destruction and a variety of gameplay. Even after porting this once PC exclusive to consoles the series is still a great hardcore MP FPS.