Written by Citizen Alpha Tuesday, 23 March 2010 01:29

I should probably start this with a disclaimer that I’ve got a bit of a gaming preference for modern first person shooters. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is a game that’s right up my alley when it comes to games I love to play.  That being said, I played through the single player campaign and thoroughly enjoyed myself and picked up a few lessons along the way.

First let me say this, Bad Company 2, like most of the Battlefield games has a heavy emphasis on multiplayer and thus far I’ve only experienced the single player game.  One of the things I always love to do with first person shooters that have a multiplayer mode is play through the single player game start to finish before I attempt to throw myself into the multiplayer fray.  BC2’s single player game is relatively short.  I think I made it from start to finish in about 6-8 hours.

The game’s plot is pretty basic, easy to follow, action movie faire.  I’m afraid most people don’t play these games for the complex stories so the game didn’t really deliver at all in terms of mind bending plot.  Predictable plot twist here and cookie cutter villain there made for a pretty uneventful story however the game was definitely going for a cinematic scope feel which oddly enough managed to do it thanks to the lush environments.  You don’t really need much excuse to kill people and blow things up and because of this game’s high fun factor you’ll take any reason.  Sun shining? Let’s kill people.

The game bounces around from open battlefields, vehicle, and on rail shooting missions that keeps the action high and never once left me confused.  I’ve heard complaints that BC2 doesn’t capture much in terms of realism.  One guy shouldn’t be able to operate a tank, fight on foot, and hack satellites but for the sake of moving things along and having fun I personally don’t care.  If I wanted realism I’d go outside.  One of the things that BC2 did a great job of realistically capturing was the destructible environments.  I remember playing through Modern Warfare 2, the favela mission and thinking, “These rounds would go through these shacks like butter”.  BC2 addresses this issue.

Bad Company 2’s destructible environments behave exactly how they should and its reaction to each weapon is so very cool to see.  Combine the detail of the environments with their mortality and you get a living, breathing, battlefield you’ll find yourself quickly immersed in.  This type of environment is definitely where I’d like to see all FPS games move into the future.  Aside from environment, the computers AI can make or break a game like this and thankfully you’re squadmates aren’t prone to anything abnormally stupid.  They’re not all that bright but they do provide a nice distraction during a fray allowing you to flank or maneuver.  Occasionally they’ll cross your line of fire but other then that they do a pretty decent job.

The enemy AI is fairly slick too.  They’ll get behind cover and do a nice job about using that destructible environment to their advantage.  The biggest hiccup with this game has to do with it’s over use of particle effects.  Damn near every level I found myself blindly firing into a sandstorm, a blizzard, or a fog.  This wouldn’t be so irritating if it affected the enemy AI however the seemed to have no issue dicing me up despite the blind environment.  This is a common pitfall of any FPS games and BC2 sadly didn’t help.  I can’t wait to sink my teeth into the multiplayer mode and there’s a thread going here if you guys are interested in hooking up and playing.  I would recommend this game to anyone that’s a fan of the genre because it’s definitely a ton of fun and a step forward in gaming.

Battlefield Bad Company 2 Tips

Cover redefined

I’ve stressed the importance of cover in my tips for new FPS players before and cover is still just as important in BC2 however highly disposable.  You’re definitely going to need a run and gun Rambo attitude to stay alive in this game because most cover doesn’t last more then a few seconds under fire.  Pay careful attention to what the enemy is shooting by listening and adjust your time spent behind a piece of cover accordingly.

Head on swivel

Normally in single player games the AI is predicable enough where I don’t get shot from behind to often.  However thanks to the environments I’ve found I’ve had to change my mindset a bit.  Just because you’ve deemed a particular direction safe from fire doesn’t mean that cover is going to be there in a few seconds.  I remember running into a building and firing out a window only to start getting shot while taking cover next to the window.  Puzzled I couldn’t figure out how they were hitting me because there was nothing coming through the wall.  Comically I looked around and building I was in was nothing but that window anymore.

Things fall down

Just before a building collapses you’ll hear a distinct structural groan.  If you hear that, and you’re in a building, you’ve got about a half second before you’re completely screwed.  Jump out the window.  Shoot out a door.  Do whatever it takes because anywhere is better than being in that building.  Here’s one thing I did pick up that saved me quite a few times: when theirs enemy armor in the area, stay out of any structures because they don’t last long at all.  On a final note, don’t hug any wall and keep a bit of a cushion between you and your cover because it may just fall on you.

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