Recently I had the chance to sit down and test out some Battlefield: Bad Company 2 multiplayer and after only a short time with it I found myself completely engrossed in the game. Its predecessor took the Battlefield franchise to a new level by adding the ability to basically destroy any building using all the weapons at your disposal. Bad Company 2 looks to improve on that and from what I played it looks like DICE is on the right track. I only got to play the multiplayer portion of the game and although it feels very similar to the original Bad Company I was able to notice the improvements right away. From the graphics to controls to the destruction, almost every aspect of the title has improved.

Aesthetically Bad Company 2 is a slight improvement from its predecessor. Maps look more crisp with more detail and the vehicles and weapons also feature the same detailed improvement. With the size of the maps it’s a shock that everything looks so good. The way buildings and walls blow up is much more realistic in Bad Company 2. The audio quality remains pretty much with same with weapons seeming to sound a bit better. I felt that the weapons all sounded the same in the last Battlefield title and this time around that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Being able to blow a hole through a wall to create an attacking point or a shortcut through the map was an obvious focal point for Bad Company but the sequel takes it to another level. Finding cover is more difficult than ever because of the ability of the weapons and vehicles to simply shred through walls. Vehicles are much more powerful than they were in the previous title. You can take down an entire building using the tanks or helicopters basically taking away any vantage point the enemy has on you. The ability to create new sight lines from buildings or to take cover away from your enemy seems to completely change the battle but at times I saw too many people blowing up walls for no reason other than the explosions look cool. The level of destruction is incredibly realistic which creates a more realistic battlefield, no pun intended, but my concern still is the destruction can be too overwhelming taking away sniper spots and basically making everyone play the engineer class to blow up everything. However, the maps seem to be much bigger this time around allowing you to snipe from pretty far away or take the long way around to flank the enemy. Since the maps are bigger there are more vehicles at your disposal.

Bad Company 2 features some of the same vehicles you would expect to see in a Battlefield title (Hummers, Tanks and Jeeps) but also features some new vehicles including an ATV and a new helicopter capable of transporting a full squad. The vehicles feel much better than they have in the past, it drives much smoother and it’s much easier to control the weapons as well. The new UH-60 transport helicopter can support up to 5 people equipped with dual miniguns that can be controlled on either side of the helicopter. As good as this sounds, you’ll want to make sure you have a good pilot because there will be the new BMD-AA Mobile Anti-Aircraft vehicle waiting for you if you get too close to the enemy base. As great as some of the vehicles are my favorite was the ATV. It’s a great way to quickly get behind enemy lines or catch up with teammates if you spawn too far away from them. The ATV controls amazingly well and is probably the fastest vehicle in the game. Although it doesn’t have any offensive capabilities, it’s the best way to quickly get around the map especially if you are looking for a good sniper spot.

Control wise the game feels a bit tighter. I always felt like the previous Bad Company title suffered from some of the same control problems that Killzone 2 suffered from. It felt like when you turned quickly your gun would lag just a bit. Pulling up the iron sight felt like it was pretty slow as well. Both of these issues seemed to have been addressed. The controls are very fluid and is much closer to that of the Call of Duty series. Before I started playing I was told that the weapons are more powerful this year to make the game more realistic and I could tell right away that it’s definitely easier to take people down. I’m fine with the change because I often felt like I had to unload an entire clip into someone in order to take them out.

Overall I had an excellent multiplayer experience with Bad Company 2. It took some time to get used to using vehicles again but the controls have been tweaked so that anyone can easily pick up and play the game. I only got a chance to check out the Rush mode but there will be more multiplayer modes when the game releases. The new squad system, which allows you to spawn on any of your squad mates, creates a much more team based game. In the previous title I spent too much time running from a spawn point and I was always away from the battle, but in Bad Company 2 I was always right in the middle of the action. I’m definitely looking forward to see how this game will play online during the beta but from what I played so far, I have very high hopes for the title. Be sure to check back with us as we will be giving you our beta impressions and here are some nice little videos, courtesy of the Battlefield Blog, which show off some of the destruction and mayhem in Bad Company 2.

       

Tags: Battlefield: Bad Company 2, DICE, EA, Preview

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 3:51 pm and is filed under PlayStation 3, Previews, Videos, Xbox 360. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.