Battlefield Bad Company 2 - Xbox 360

Apart from a couple of mis-steps (Battlefield Vietnam), Battlefield’s production team, DICE, have been instrumental in developing one of the the best series’ of online shooters of this generation, and Bad Company 2 (BC2) is no exception.

Picking up from the brilliant performance of Battlefield Bad Company, BC2 offers gamers more explosions, more levels, more hectic online gameplay and, most importantly, more fun.

Unlike its intellectual equal – Modern Warfare 2 – BC2 has an innate sense of fun to it.

Whether bombing around on a quad-bike online or bombing your way through a set-piece battle in the singleplayer campaign, the game is just great fun to play and the improved graphics, gameplay, sound and variety more than eclipses the series’ fine pedigree.

Firstly, the single player campaign.

The story follows the four no-hopers from the previous game: Sarge, the veteran, Sweetwater, the ‘intellectual’, Haggard, the demo man and ‘new guy’ Marlowe, as the four feckless troopers unravel a plot which revolves around a World War 2 era superweapon devised by the Japanese, which now threatens the modern world.

Starting off with a nicely-executed mission set in 1944 (making clever use of the weapons encoded in BF1942), the campaign is a brilliant rollercoaster ride through modern combat areas. There’s stealthy missions in the snow, tank battles in the desert and everything in between.

While the plot itself isn’t the best-written, or even very well explained, it stands up to casual scrutiny and as you’re going to be spending most of your time choosing what to blow up next it doesn’t really matter very much.

Each of the voice actors from the previous game returns and the squad’s banter is still a joy to listen to, though the slightly darker tone of the storyline this time round takes a lot of the comedy factor away – no gold-plated HinD gunships this time boys.

But, while a little repetitive at points, the singleplayer is an enjoyable blast, especially as DICE’s Frostbite engine is still brilliant fun to play with – don’t even try to hide behind cover for too long.

Of course this being a Battlefield game the main component inside the box is the multiplayer, and once again DICE does not disappoint.

As well as the familiar Conquest game mode, DICE have bought back Bad Company’s Gold Rush, now renamed simply Rush – a fast-paced attack/defend game where unlimited defenders have to stop a limited number of attackers destroying strategic positions, either with demolitions charges, conventional weaponry or by dropping a building on the site – a process made all the easier by DICE’s Destruction 2.0 software.

This allows the gamer to destroy entire buildings, not just blow out the walls as in the Bad Company, and can completely change the layout of a battlefield in an instant (especially if you’re in the building at the time.)

There are also smaller game modes for the console of the game: Squad Rush and Squad Deathmatch are 4v4 games designed to have a faster pace than their bigger counterparts, and are fun in their own way, even if you prefer the action and intensity of the bigger battles.

The selection of weapons and vehicles on offer is massive, with the vehicles varying from map to map.

There’s mass tank battles in a sand-filled harbour, snowy sharpshooting near an oil pipeline and dogfighting in the clouds with one of the many helicopters awaiting a pilot (a shame that so many ‘pilots’ get in and take off with no one in the side-seat, and then fly the chopper into the floor. You know who you are.)

Like previous games, BC2 uses a ‘class’ selection system to keep the gameplay going, and playing as a certain class, capturing objectives and killing enemies unlocks new guns, equipment and specialities for each class.

While this process does lend itself to a little too much ‘grinding’ for my liking, you do unlock new items pretty quickly, provided that you get in on the action, but I still don’t see the point of forcing you to hack away with the medic class until you unlock your first-aid kit, surely that’s the point of the medic from the off?

The environment has also been tweaked a little since the last game, and the game has become a little more realistic for it. Weapons can take an age to reload, most sniper rifles require you to come out of the sight-view to reload and the bullets themselves dip in flight, so learning to lead your target at a distance is essential.

The game has also tweaked the spawning mechanic. While you can respawn at any number of set points, you can still join a squad with your friends, or matchmake for a random squad, and spawn right next to the living squad member – provided they stay alive.

While perhaps not all that realistic, this mechanic keeps the game fluid and exciting, as well as allowing some sneaky play – why not send one guy around the back of the enemy position, then respawn on him and attack from the rear?

Graphically the game is brilliant to look at, and immersive in its design. The singleplayer is filled with cool effects, from fog and smoke to hazy sunshine, and there’s very little graphical drop-in or texture issues.

The multiplayer also runs very smoothly. Though occasional graphical bugs can mar the experience, these are minor at best and don’t detract from the fun of the battle.

The sound effects are worthy of particular note as well. Whether you’re in the middle of the battle or sniping from afar, the game takes pains to make the battle sound just right: tank cannons thunder their fire off in the distance, the distinctive sound of a ricochet sounds that a sniper’s sights are on you, and the boom of explosions drags you into the battle – it’s just brilliant.

Battlefield Bad Company 2 is a game that provides exactly what its audience want. It’s big, brash and fun to play, offering a good 8-10 hours of singleplayer and a huge variety of multiplayer options to boot. While the singleplayer plot is a little contrived, the game as a whole is well thought out and executed perfectly, and now that the server issues that marred the game seem to have passed (did you not expect a lot of people to buy and play the game, DICE?) there’s a lot of fun to be had.

I’ll see you on the battlefield.

Score: 9/10

Good Stuff:
Great multiplayer
Lots of variety
Great graphics and sound

Not So Good Stuff:
Predictable and contrived plot
‘Grinding’ to unlock items in multiplayer
Laggy server issues

Topics up for discussion were:

Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Alien vs Predator
Bioshock 2
Heavy Rain

And more…

Developed by EA Digital Illusions CE, the game is expected to build upon what was established in its predecessor. Set in the mountainous regions along the borders of Russia, the sequel will feature destructible environments and will allow players to go through missions using a variety of tactics.

Compared to the rather meagre offerings from the MCM Expo last week, Eurogamer was a relative feast for the gaming senses, ranging from the hilarity of ‘new’ Super Mario Brothers Wii to the relative sobriety of Heavy Rain, all in the halls and vaults of the surprisingly massive Old Billingsgate building on the shores of the Thames.

Here’s my highlights from the Expo, but more details are covered in our Game On Podcast: Eurogamer Special, so listen to that too if you get a moment!

Here’s my take on the day’s best offerings:

Battlefield: Bad Company 2
A massive booth set up on the main floor of the building was running BC2 games throughout the day, and with my shiny press pass I was one of the first gamers to get my hands on EA’s hotly-tipped squad shooter. Playing similarly to its predecessor, BC2’s graphics had clearly had an overhaul, and a variety of new vehicles and weapons were on offer.

I jumped on to a quad bike at one point, then hijacked a tank and drove through a building – needless to say EA’s Frostbite graphics engine is still up to the task of simulating dozens of buildings exploding in sequence, so expect more of the falling bricks and mortar of the previous titles.

The enhanced radar and tighter controls were a welcome improvement on the last game, but it remains to be seen wether EA can improve the laggy gaming typically associated with playing Battlefield games online.

Aliens Vs Predator
I missed the last game in this series, and having seen the movies I was hoping Rebellion wouldn’t be using those terrible insults to SciFi as any point of reference for this new game – luckily I was right.

Playing in a booth off the main showfloor, AvP was showing off a deathmatch mode, pitching Colonial Marines (armed with traditional guns and a flashlight) against the deadly aliens (who can clamber over every surface in the game and even cling on to the roof) and the stealthy Predators (who come with the familiar red-tinted heads up display and a wicked pair of claws ideal for ripping the enemy to shreds).

Though the action suffered from a fair few graphical bugs, the game was a blast to play, with each of the three combatants offering their own variety of advantages and disadvantages.

It’s early days for the game though, so wether the high speed of the alien and the Marine’s overpowered pistol-whip will be in the final build is up for debate, but either way, I’ll be keeping an eye on this one.

God of War 3
Ex-servant of the Gods, Kratos, returns in the blood-drenched conclusion to the venerable Playstation series.

Screens in the over-18’s section of the expo (watched over by a suitably massive bouncer) were showing the game in all its brutality, with Kratos in fine form tearing enemies to bits with his familiar chain blades, as well as some funky new magical powers, an improved bow and pair of rather nifty wings.

Also making a return are the massive bosses so beloved by fans of the series, and I can promise that the boss battles are just as spectacular as before – I saw Kratos rip the horn off a demon and stab it through the head with the bony protrusion – It doesn’t get much better than that!

Mass Effect 2
Not much to say here which hasn’t already been discussed.

Sadly BioWare didn’t have any new songs to sing, showing the same game scenes released in earlier months. I was happy to see the improved combat system in full swing, with Spectre agent Commander Shepard gunning down robots and organics in equal measure, pausing now and then to hold a conversation with his target. The wheel of conversation choices I loved so much in the last game (with the added bonus of being able to interupt your partner in mid flow!) also makes a return.

Graphically the game’s had an overhaul, and the ever-annoying pop-in textures seems to have been done away with, hopefully along with the game’s notoriously long elevator loading times…

The Saboteur
Tucked away in the basement was a preview build of Pandemic’s World War 2 shooter. A quick play of this revealed a control scheme familiar to anyone who’s played Star Wars: Battlefront or Mercenaries 2, and the previous game’s open-world action makes a welcome return in this game.

I played my way through a factory level, slaughtering Nazi’s left and right and taking in the interesting colour scheme the developers have implemented, as killing Nazis gradually restores the colour saturation to the area, bringing the world back to life, as it were.
However, the main character’s terrible Irish accent didn’t help the proceedings.

‘New’ Super Mario Bros. Wii
Since this one was Colin’s game of the expo, I’m going to let him write this bit, as though I enjoyed the new Super Mario Bros. I was rubbish at it…

“For me, the game that surprised me most at Eurogamer was Super Mario Brothers Wii. While not really a game that I have paid much attention to, I was vaguely aware that it was due to come out this side of Christmas.

Upon taking the wii-mote from the friendly PR lady I was immediately taken with how familiar the game was. For me, it was almost like hooking up with an old friend.”

“Nintendo have very wisely stuck with the familiar 2D layout, giving the game the retro feel that will appeal to gamers of all ages. Those who fondly remember playing Super Mario Brothers on the NES back in the 80s will feel at home playing this game.

The level we played was 4-player co-op, and was immense fun. I was controlling Luigi and Andy was a toadstool. Needless to say, naturally, I used and abused the opportunity to jump on Andy’s head, several times.

It’s not often I get excited at the release of a Wii game, but this one has perked my interest.”

Left 4 Dead 2
This was the game of the show for me, and the new mode on show – Scavenge – only continued to keep me excited for the return of Valve’s venerable zombie blaster.

Graphically the game hasn’t really changed much, though the textures have clearly had an overhaul.

New weapons were on show though, ranging from a katana and frying pan for melee combat to a whole variety of rifles and pistols. Good thing too, as Valve also bought the new special infected into play, with the Charger – a massive hillbilly who can send survivors flying, and the Jockey – who clambers on to survivors and can steer them off cliffs and into fire (all while screaming horribly) being two particular favourites of mine.

The new mode, Scavenge, pitted the survivors against waves of the infected, while they worked to collect petrol cans and get them back to the safe zone.

This looked a total blast on versus mode, and the relatively short rounds seemed ideal for combating the familiar rage-quitters which mar the Left for Dead versus’ online experience.

I really can’t wait for this one, so watch this space.

So those were the highlights of the expo for me, but to hear more about what Colin and I got up to, along with a whole bunch of hear-say and other whispers of a pair of deranged gaming journos, have a listen to our special podcast.