Tech Olive

After the first installment and its exclusive debut on the Xbox 360, EA DICE has deemed PC gamers worthy of receiving the second installment of the Bad Company series. It’s still a bit confusing as to why there was never a PC port of Bad Company, but we’ll take what we can get. With its sights firmly set on Modern Warfare 2, let’s see if Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is even worth our time.

Now, having never played the first game in the series, due to it not coming out on PC, I assumed that Bad Company 2 would at least make a small effort of catching PC gamers up on the back story of the characters or at the very least, let them in on a few of the many inside jokes you’ll come across. I was wrong. The game offers no back story, description or any manner of information as to the soldiers’ past together. Granted, this isn’t terrible, but it’s still annoying that the developers assumed that everyone has played the original game in the series. Another large annoyance was the amount of in-engine cutscenes. While this would normally be welcomed, the developers decided to fade the screen to black, then fade back in to show the IN-ENGINE cutscene, then fade out again to let the battle continue. Normally, this wouldn’t be a big deal, but you’ll find this happens several times per hour, terribly breaking the game’s momentum.

In the first few hours of the game, BC2 makes a lot of references and even directly copies environments and/or events from other games (mainly the CoD series) and that plays well into the game’s satirical nature. As the game progresses, it matures a bit and falls into a groove that it can call its own, but still manages to keep a humorous undertone with hilarious chats that your squad will have during missions. BC2 does a great job of making the battlefield environment very engaging. This is largely thanks to the game’s highly destructible environments and makes the battles much more intense when your cover can start crumbling at any moment. However, despite the great environments, the overall movement and weapons-handling tend to feel a bit clunky and detached.

BC2 trades random, spawning-behind-you AI enemies for scripted battle events, and I much prefer this to the constant flank-attacks from Modern Warfare 2‘s terrible AI spawn points. BC2 may feel a bit recycled in repeated playthroughs, but you’ll have a lot less frustration of getting killed from behind for the tenth time. Unfortunately, that’s mostly where the good points of the game’s AI end. Never will the enemy AI actually try to flank you or shift cover very much. Granted, they will utilize their cover efficiently (most of the time), but they’re more content to just sit back there and spam rockets and grenades at you, which are highly effective. Also, it doesn’t help that the mass amounts of dust and smoke on the battlefields create many points where there is zero-visibility. This wouldn’t be a bad thing at all if the enemies didn’t have heat-seeking bullets. No matter how thick the smoke, snow, sand or dust, enemies will have no trouble whatsoever shooting your face off.

One of my largest disappointments with BC2 that outweighs even the hacking enemy AI, is the game’s complete lack of any inspired stealth aspects. The game makes a few efforts at offering some stealth gameplay, but these only succeed in wetting your appetite and leave you wanting more. And don’t even think about trying to treat a normal mission as a stealth mission. You can choose a silenced weapon and get a few silent kills, but then your squad will just run in with guns blazing. When it all comes down to it, you’ll find that the campaign should keep you busy for about 4-7 hours depending on your choice of difficulty and at the end of it all, you’re left with a frustrating cliffhanger that just about guarantees a third game in the series.

Scores

- Graphics: 10
BC2 offers fantastic graphics, modeling, explosions and particle effects. The game’s destructible buildings may not be anything new, but they certainly make destruction all the more fun and beautiful. Just make sure you have a PC that can handle the beating.

- Storyline: 6
From what I know about the original game’s storyline, it sounded very playful and was a nice break from the norm of war games. Unfortunately, while BC2 does follow the same characters, the storyline has regressed into the all-to-familiar “us against the world” mindset that leads you through a typical battle to stop the enemy’s super-weapon from firing.

- Gameplay: 8
With great visuals and effects, the game really pulls you into the battle while also offering a large arsenal of weapons and several vehicles. The game lets you enter battles on your own terms, however, the momentum-breaking cutscenes and all-too-accurate enemy AI tends to lead to some frustrating battles.

- Controls: 8
For the most part, BC2 utilizes a standard FPS control scheme that any gamer knows and is accustomed to. However, changing weapons seems to be a bit odd at times, which will leave you getting shot as you fumble around trying to get the weapon you want. A complete lack of  a prone position almost completely kills any and all sniping opportunities.

- Lasting Appeal: 10
Throughout the singleplayer, there are a collections of unlockables and challenges, but for fans of the Battlefield series, this game is a must-buy with its dedicated and massive online community.

Overall: 8 Olives