Bravo, Team- Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Review

2008’s Battlefield: Bad Company represented a pivotal moment for Stockholm-based developer DICE. While still offering the trademark multiplayer competitive elements the franchise was known for, it was the first entry in the series to offer a robust single-player game. While some initially assumed the campaign might be an incidental conceit to appease console owners, once the title was released many players found themselves unexpectedly satisfied by the experience. By combining the Battlefield franchise’s vigorous vehicular combat and intense firefights with an agreeable roster of endearing personalities, DICE had forged a gratifying FPS which resounded with a wide swath of gamers.

Nearly two years later, the boys of Bravo Company are back, with a new enemy, and a decidedly ‘Mature’ rating. Much like a sequel to an action film, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 offers an intensified experience that does little to expand our understanding of the game’s protagonists. Sargent Redford still evokes the John McClane/Roger Murtaugh trope with his, ‘I’m too old for this shit’ retirement-imminent mindset, while Haggard remains the pyrotechnic-loving simpleton. Like most summer movie franchises, this will probably matter little to those seeking escapism through a steady stream of ballistic barrages.

What the wisecracking soldiers lack in complexity, they make up for in utility. From skulking through sniper saturated compounds, racing though RPG saturated alleyways, to defending a fallen satellite from enemy attackers, the boys of Bad Company show an invigorating amount of gameplay variety.  While the title’s waypoints are fairly linear, the game does encourage players to scour each zone for a salubrious amount of unlockable weaponry. Although your teammates rarely drop hostiles, their imprecision is an advantage; it signals were aggressors are without turning the game into pushover territory.

Bad Company 2’s recreation of contemporary weaponry is to be commended; it unequivocally surpasses all console peers, and will delight any firearm aficionado. Each rifle has a distinct personality articulated through vibration, firing speed, accuracy, sound as well as graphical display. SCAR-L’s fire with an assured, low-recoil precision while the game’s Barrett .50 cal (M95) delivers a satisfying wallop to distant foes. The game’s explosive loadout is gratifyingly embellished as M203 rounds and fuel barrels detonate with building-obliterating energy; it’s often difficult to resist the complete destruction of the game’s landscape.

Regrettably, a few quirks may prohibit players from becoming fully immersed in Bad Company 2’s single player campaign. Most noticeable is the title’s enemy triggers- following your squadmates ‘All Clear’ signal once a region is purged of adversaries, a few advancing steps will activate a new surge of foes. When used sporadically, this game mechanic can ratchet up the tension, yet with Bad Company 2 the technique is employed with such disarming frequency, that players will be able to reliably predict the trigger points. Likewise, players may observe a handful of improbable occurrences on the game’s battlegrounds; I’ve seen pistols transform in RPGs and tracer rounds penetrate thick concrete walls.

Some might consider the game’s thirteen single player missions a protracted tutorial for Battlefield’s rich multiplayer component. All the vehicular proficiency, ordnance aptitude and destructive propensity garnered in the central campaign will be useful in the game’s four rousing competitive modes. Here, the title strips sway any hand-holding advantages such as aim-assistance, requiring players to fight for every frag. Like the previous entries in the Battlefield series, players select from a variety of classes- ranging from assault, recon, engineer, and medic, each with an individualized loadout designed for their designated tasks in the combat zone. Each successful act, from eliminating enemies to healing allies, rewards players with a generous amount of experience, which is used to unlock a treasure trove of equipment and parks. New additions, from the ability to observe and mark hostiles with a button press, or in the case of enemy armor- a tracer dart, catapult the cooperative elements of Bad Company 2.

Although Conquest mode returns, tasking players with controlling specific territories, the real highlight of the multiplayer arena is the Rush variant.  Here, attackers are required to destroy a series of crates embedded into defensive territory. A Team Rush deviation divides the standard twelve-on-twelve action into tight, four-man squads, requiring players to maintain a strict cooperative strategy in they want to be successful.

Visually, the game’s outdoor environments are typically meticulously rendered. The game’s lush forests rival the amount of foliage seen in the Crysis series, each displaying a variety of verdant flora. Likewise, Bad Company 2’s mountainous pathways are accented by lifelike gusts of sand, which realistically obscure the arid, winding trails. The title’s only graphical misgiving is the austere simplicity of the game’s indoor environment’s; most dwelling look woefully similar, and are drawn with only modestly detailed textures. From the staccato drone of helicopters to the characteristic ring of shell casings hitting the ground, Bad Company’s audio is flawless. The title’s sound designers deserve recognition for their achievement, as each sound effect- from the echoing clap of a sniper rifle to the whine of a chain gun is strikingly portrayed.