Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (Xbox 360)

Rated by Balian, England on 9th March 2010

First and foremost apart from the first few levels of the campaign that i have played and sampled, my opinion/review of this game comes entirely from playing online. Apart from Battlefield modern combat 2 on the original xbox i have had no prior experience of this gaming franchise as i have never been a 'PC Gamer'. Having not owned Bad company 1 i was a little reluctant to invest in this title as there is currently a wide variety of games that have my interest. However after 11 hours of online gaming already i am happy to say that i was right to take this gamble. First of all the graphics are good, although not mind blowing, but still impressive and the sound effects are very realistic such as the firing of your gun or the distant sound of an incoming chopper which gives the impression that you are really there. Add to this the realism of how your character moves and shoots this was a very good start for me. Now to the combat: At first i approached this game as a normal first person shooter with my usual sprint in, throw a grenade and shoot whatever i can hit. This tactic did not work for this game as countless times i was either at the recieving end of a well placed enemy or occasionly even a tank towering over me around the corner. This was made harder with all of the effective war vehicles that meant that a quick trigger finger with a rifle or a camper with a rifle grenade isnt always good enough. This led to me adopting a new stratedy of actually using my squad members to gain objectives and to get kills. With the easy point and click system which helps you to organise your squad easily and effectively i was able to now stick with my squad members which was far more efficent for gaining objectives and subsequenly getting those most sought after kills to improve my K/D ratio and look good in front of everyone. So is it worth it? I think so but this game will take a little time to get used to and a little patience as you wont always be the best. With the availability of many war vehicles such as attack helicopters and the realistic gunfights it all leads to a very enjoyable online experience that will leave you wanting more. This game is so much better when playing with your friends as you can form a squad and can communicate your strategies easily and efficently. Overall i would give this game a 9/10 for the multiplayer experience online and if i can pry myself away from it maybe i will be able to enjoy the single palyer experience which im sure will be great.

Rated by Mark, UK on 6th April 2010

Battlefield Bad Company 2 Review Single Player:- Gameplay: BC2 has a very solid and memorable single player campaign that is quite different from the original game in numerous ways. Firstly, the SP maps are considerably more linear than BC1's expansive maps, with only a handful of open 'arenas' per mission. Whilst I was initially skeptical of a BC game with increased linearity, the change generally increases tension and ensures the player remains focussed and immersed. In contrast, while I enjoyed the open world sand box of the original, I did often find motivation to complete the mission lacking or get bored of dying and having to drive a long distance as the checkpoints were occasionally unevenly spread. The missions in BC2 are varied, usually just hard enough to be a challenge but not too hard as to be a challenge, with the usually excellent AI putting up a good fight. The campaign itself is a decent length unlike another recent competitor, and the storyline is more interesting, easier to follow, and makes more sense than said competitor. But even with a good story and focussed gameplay, this game wouldn't be complete without the old squad, Haggard, Sweetwater, Redford, Preston and a couple of amusing new characters along the way. These guys complete the game. Haggard and Sweets' banter is always amusing with Redfords harsh put downs always bringing a smile. The conversations they have while idle are as funny if not funnier than some of the scripted material, for example one conversation between the squad about 50 Cent is particularly funny. In my opinion, no other FPS game of recent times quite mixes the humour, storyline and ferocity of combat quite as well as BC2. When I completed BC1 for the first time I remember thinking that it was a good game that only just missed out on greatness due to a few small faults. DICE have however improved on and subsequently surpassed themselves with BC2, I'd therefore give BC2:SP ~9/10 Multiplayer: Invade nobody noticed there has been another game released recently that's been proclaimed the 'largest entertainment release in history' that has sold however many millions of copies and is also based on modern warfare. This game was good, it was pretty fast paced, poorly balanced with 'noobs' getting a lot of unnecessary kit and experienced players grabbing double barrelled shotguns and sprinting round and round the map one-shot-killing every player in their way, racking up a massive 'killstreak' and then nuking everything. I prestiged on this game and played nearly three days online before I realised that it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I'd been fooled by the massive hype and the number of friends that played. It wasn't about 'modern warfare' it was about a few tooled up players killing as many people as they could as fast as they could. Then along comes BC2. It had a tiny fraction of the publicity the other game had, and unless I missed something, hardly any of the over-hyped craziness either. I bought the game because of it's online, and because I hoped it would show the other game up as the singleminded and occasionally dull multiplayer experience it is. BC2's online multiplayer is like nothing I've had the pleasure of experiencing on the 360 before. The first map I saw was Valparaiso, a south American themed map with a low sun streaming through the jungle. At first glance I thought a developer had produced a game that graphically rivalled the great Crysis. A recently destroyed tank spewing black smoke at the entrance to a shanty town and a blackhawk circling above with it's gunners tearing houses apart. The gameplay itself ranges from brutally fast paced (some urban and CQ jungle maps) to a steady advance with snipers, machine gunners and heavy vehicles (desert and jungle maps). However, most maps combine these elements. Some start with an armoured vehicular assault by land sea or air, while others involved parachuting into forests at night, followed by blistering fights in streets and then a final infantry assault on an enemy postion. This is of course when playing Rush mode, first introduced in the original BC. This mode is usually fun and well balanced, with the occasional round where either due to an exceptionally good enemy team or a particularly weak allied team means the enemy start sniping you not long after spawn, however, this is a problem with all online games that are not scripted in any way. These situations however are few and far between and DICE seem to have made an effort to ensure camping does not occur too often. Conquest mode allows an all round battle, in contrast to Rushes headlong assault. It usually means every structure on the map will be levelled and a forest will turn to a patch of dirt by the time tanks mortar strike and rocket launcher carrying infantry have finished with it. By the end of the round, it really makes you feel like you've been in a battle, on a battlefield. And it doesn't stop there. As you progress through the ranks you gain new weapons and gadgets, be they vehicle improvements (armour, secondary weapons etc) or scopes, skills or extra ammo for your soldier, the game constantly rewards you for your efforts, whilst not giving new players previously mentioned unnecessary help or experienced players uber powerful unstoppable weapons. Finally, BC2:MP is far more diverse, better looking, entertaining and there is nothing quite like crushing a squad of enemies in a collapsing building. BC2:MP ~9.5/10. Conclusion: Great single player with Likeable characters. Superb graphics. Lengthy campaign (~10hrs on normal) Incredible multiplayer experience. Any fan of online fps should not miss this game.

Rated by Stanislavski, West Mids, UK on 12th March 2010

Firstly, let me say, that I am a huge COD fan! However, some time ago, a friend introduced me to Battlefield 2 on the pc. It blew my mind. I actually bought a pc, just to get the game!! It is still to this day, the best gaming experience I have EVER had. To me, varied gameplay is vital and Battlefield 2 Bad Company, almost has it all. COD (online) really does get a tad monotonous. Bad Company 2 is the closest yet, to Battlefield 2 on the pc. You don't HAVE to run around like a headless chicken on Bad Company. It can be as tactical or mindless, as you want it to be. My only minor criticism, would be, that the maps on Bat 2 for the pc, were far more expansive (often, it took a while just to get to a flag, even in a helicopter) This added realism to the game. Also, it would be good if the game had F15s. All in all, in my opinion the best FPS on the 360.

Rated by Mookster, UK on 26th May 2010

>>I didn't rate Call of duty Modern Warfare 2 very highly, but for those of you out there who had bought that game and loved it, it may be time to make room for this on your shelfs. We couldn't have known that mere months after the release of call of duty MW2 a better game was to be released. Now I say better game but it really depends on opinion so I can't really compare the two together. MW2 was, for many, the king of twitch gaming (finger on trigger, die every five seconds gaming) and this is the king of teamwork gaming. Before this there was really no teamwork based online but now, with BFBC2 out this could easily spark a flare in this online genre and we could see other game developers following this lead shortly. I don't know what the online for Halo Reach will be like, but I do know that the same people who worked on the online for this are also working on EA's Medal of Honor online. >>The campaign is the least attractive thing about this game. After playing through I thought that if they could make such great online then why not a campaign to top it? The campaign is enjoyable to play through, but after having a taste of that scrumptous online I found myself always wondering back onto the menu and playing a game of Rush. There isn't much to this game but I did think that because it only had the two things, campaign and online, that they would have put even ammounts of into each. But when taken an overall look upon, the campaign isn't really needed. It is fun but it feels like an afterthought, that really, without it, the game would still stand tall. But without the campaign it would lack a the certain Bad Company charm of the characters. They aren't as annoying as they were in the original and it is always enjoyable to listen in to some of the banter between them. Their AI still doesn't seem as good as the enemys though, something I did find in the original and I will often finish off some ememiesthen go ahead towards the next section, only to find that my men haven't budged. This isn't a constant problem, it occured often enough to make me wonder about the campaign. The ememies AI on the other hand is still top notch, which is a bit unfortunate as there are, sometimes, alot of people to handle. Put his together with not as good teammate AI and you may see the problem here. This isn't a major problem, it wasn't for me and it won't be for many others, but they could have at least fixed it. Those problems though are over ridden by the amazing visuals. Everywhere you go the landscapes are incredibly well done. And if you think of this with the Frostbite destruction engine, then you can have a hell of alot of fun. I didn't find the urge, as other people did, to stay around and destroy stuff, just make some tall buildings crumble really. But, of course, one of the great ways to cause damage is by using vehicles, and my gosh are there vehicles. I don't tend to side with a game or hate it and stay like that, but in this aspect the game has no flaws. THe vehicles range from: Quad bike, tanks, hummers, boats, helicopters and more. All are availble throughout online and campaign. >>Where the game is hard in online especially is staying alive. II can deal with some good AI ememies but when pitted against a load of real people online, things get pretty hard. That is why this game is so amazing. If you go alone, you will die. Stick together is what this game is saying, work as a team, if someone die, revive them, if a tank needs fixing fix it, if there is room in a tank take it. And it works like something i've never seen before. Teamwork is what his game is about and you'll get it from the moment you join an online game, so long as you are working as a team. But like I said before, dying is something that you have to adapt to and work around in BFBC2. You'll die alot at first, a hell of alot, but after a week of playing it you will have become good enough to avoid death that often. The best thing about BFBC2 is the fact that you are no use to your teammates dead. >>Online is a strange affair. If you are defending M-Coms in Rush, then the best thing to do is set up defensive positions, if you are attacking then grab a Hummer. Use tactics. Of course we can't assume everyone plays byt eh rules. There are a few gamers treating it like Call of duty, but they die quickly enough. But these gamers aside, the online is so fresh it is hard to describe. Of course it borrows alot from CoD. Specalisations remind you of perks, because, well they are. These Perks are quite the same, but with vehicle ones added on aswell, making more to have to unlock. >>The weapons here are actually very different from COD. The weapons themselves are different but you have access to all of them when you die. Choosing what weapons you want is a much better affair here than in MW2 as it gives you access to all of them, rather than just one you might do in Custom classes (which i'm glad to see BFBC2 hasn't taken off of MW2. I clouldn't face anymore classes). It is easy, fast and fun to do and everything can be changed for you. I nstead of having custom classes BFBC2 gives you all of the weapons, primary, sidearm gadget, then asks you what you would like to have as each. EG: you could choose to have an AK-47 like weapon as primary, M9 as secondary and an RPG as a gadget. And the next time you go onto online, it will be laid out just how you left it. So what BFBC2 have done, is let you do smaller versions of custom classes, but will all of the weapons there. It amy sound weird but if you buy this game you will understand what I am talking about. This works really well and makes playing with weaponds much easier than in the Call of duty series. >>Campers are something that bothered MW2 alot and something that needs to be sorted out. Luckily campers are not so much of an issue with BFBC2. I wouldn't say they are not an issue at all but are very much toned down to say the least. This is great and the main cause of death now is being shot by a man with a Assault rifle. >>Everything about online is amazingly well done and will leave you wanting more evertime you turn off you r console. It will often feel like a scripted campaign piece when you are going along in a tank with 2 other tanks in front of you. This gives a real sense of war rather than just some people shooting eachother like in call of duty. This game has a few faults, like mentioned above with the AI, but all of these occur in Campaign only and leave online with nothing but brilliantness. This game is the best in the Genre of Teamwork gaming, just as, not for me but for many, MW2 is the best in Twitch gaming. For me though World at war is the best in twitch gaming and MW2 comes second. I Love: The teamwork Classes made easier Reviving is a big thing in this game Vehicles Destruction I Hate: Not so good Teammate AI Campaign could have been better Worse than: Nothing in this Genre. Better than: Call of duty: Modern Wafare 2/Battlefield bad company I recommend: This VERDICT: An absolutely amazing game online, although the campaign feels like an after thought. Graphics: Amazing, very good. 9/10 Sound: Beats even MW2's. Stunning! 9.7/10 Campaign: Fun, but feels like a bit of a bore after trying out online. 7/10 Online: What makes the game, truly, truly amazing! 9.8/10

Rated by G, Belfast on 16th June 2010

Just to help balance up some of these negative reviews I'd like to state that BC2 multiplayer is a far superior game in every aspect to COD:MW2 multiplayer. I'm not choosing sides due to some daft allegiance to either game as have 10th prestige on COD:MW1, COD:WAW and almost there on MW2. Thats over 66 days wracked up online playing cod, so I feel I'm qualified to rebute some of the nonsense claims that BC2 ain't good. I'm not going to review each characteristic of this game as others have done so already. For a start. If you are used to COD there is a learning curve (as with any game) to playing BC2 online but it's fairly quick and very worth it. Just like COD, you may get owned in the beginning but you have to stick with it. It's the only way to improve. Pay attention to what others are doing around you. If it works for them it will work for you. Don't charge into every battle. It's not COD and that's why you will die quickly. It's funny people mention camping, as though COD isn't the worst game in the world for it already. In BC2 it is almost erradicated by destructible environments. Snipers cannot go prone, ARE EASIER TO SPOT and you can destroy their cover with RPG's, 40mm grenades from your assualt rifle, c4 or any of the many vehicles at hand. Also, the games weapons are well balanced across the board. Not like the magical UMP in MW2 which allows you to snipe across a map. There is an excellent choice of weapons and vehicles, which also add some of the finest comedy gaming moments you have ever seen. The game types are basic but perfect. You actually feel satisfaction when your team wins, instead of just counting your Kill:Death ratio at the end of each match. It can hurt when you lose, especially when both teams are trying their best. BC2'S maps are massive (not as big as BC1) and allow you to attack your foes from many different angels, whether by land, air or sea. The maps are also varied and beautifully rendered. DICE have created a well balanced game offering competitive play, teamwork, great maps, awesome weapons, vehicles and destructable scenery which should be an automatic inclusion in any war type release. IW's MW2 have created a game with little or no balance in weapons or gameplay (air drop chopper gunner anyone, nuke boosting, basic cheating etc etc). Small maps, no destruction, no vehicles or real incentive for teamwork. I love COD4 and WAW but am relieved BC2 was released because MW2 has too many things wrong with it and is the ultimate lesson in frustration. My advice. If CODMW2 is all you're good at then stick with it. If your into excellent war games and like a challenge get BC2. BTW: Single player not a scratch on the multiplayer.

Rated by Kyle Mellish, UK on 19th May 2010

Simply the best First player shooter that I can think of by far. Having played modern warfare 2 after this game I can safely say that surpases it in every expectation. The guns seem more solid, the battles infinetly more varied (with a huge selection of vehicles from Apatche's to quad bikes on large battlefields), and the more important aspect, infinetly more fun. Unlike COD, which is based around getting shot repeatedly without being able to retort until you climb to prestige levels, battlefield gives everyone a fair fighting chance. Yes levelling up can give you an advantage, but unlike COD this advantage does not end in ridiculous kill streaks from people that hide on rooftops sniping and bombing everyone. Yes this is an option in the game, but after getting a couple of kills your enemies will come in a tank and blow up you, or your house and probably the vehicle you drove to the house in for kicks. There is much more of a team feel to this game, points are gained for reviving, healing, re-arming or repairing your team members or vehicles. Couple this with a single player campaign of decent length with engaging characters and bright South American landscapes and you have a game to be reckoned with.

Rated by Soviet-Sniiper on 11th March 2010

This game dropped through my letterbox today and im struggling to put it down. im keeping this short.if i had to give an honest answer of this game i would say its the best game i have played in 10years. i like every1 else downloaded the demo.. but i didnt like it. so i was in two minds to get this but im really glad i did. its 5million times better than the demo, graphics are jaw dropping on and offline. i had a quick go on SP first and i love it the characters are still as funny as ever.after a few hours i tried MP and thats where this game comes alive. usually playing games i would stop to read my messages off friends, but not with this game i have just been well into this its unreal.well i could go on forever about how good this game is but i dont want to bore you. i just wanted to make this point.ifyour in doubts of this game. DONT BE!!! its amazing and will leave your jaw trailing on the floor for hours. i have bioshock2 on the way but i doubt it will get played anytime soon.this game is a 10/10 MUST BUY

Rated by Mr. F. C. Wood, Crewe England on 9th March 2010

When you look at the front cover of the game box, you see that the images soldiers, tanks and choppers all have mock gamertags above them, which suggests immediately that this first and foremost a multiplayer experience with a solo campaign tagged on. Not that the solo campaign is a poor afterthought by any means, it offers plenty of fun and fresh ideas that haven't been seen in a FPS before, such as the survival orientated section of the Andes mission where in between killing Russians, you have to keep ducking out of the snowstorm and find warmth in buildings before you freeze you to death. If you enjoyed the wide track roaming style of the first Bad Company solo game then you may feel a little alienated by the more linear and narrow track style of the missions and although I had the same initial feeling, I soon got into the game and found myself marvelling at the amazing sound design, beatiful surroundings, improved destructability and the well voiced banter of your likeable squadmates. It wasn't all perfect in my opinion though, as I found some of the save checkpoints a bit long winded and a few too many fade to black moments during play which tended to spoil the tension and pacing, but they are easily forgiven in my opinion. I treated the solo campaign as a fun warm up for the multiplayer, which is what earns this game its five stars. The maps are perfectly designed and almost fully destructable with plenty of vehicle options available to you. The different classes are perfectly balanced and the game rewards team play in a way that discourages lone wolf kill-streaking as selfish play wont earn you big points. I like the fact that you don't merely earn points for being the best shot or biggest killer, as points can be earned by the medic class for healing squadmates and the support class can gain points for fixing vehicles, which means you don't just have to be the best shot to help your team win, as long as you play your chosen role well. Put it all together and for me, this is the best multiplayer experience i've ever had and I just can't see myself going back to FPS games that don't offer the same destruction, class balance and vehicle play that Battlefield offers. Long live Battlefield!!

Rated by td90uk, Lancashire, UK on 7th March 2010

There is no other description for this game, it is absolutely fantastic. I hated the first Bad Company, it seemed to fake and un-serious. This one though has been made more serious, the graphics are some of the best I've seen (Modern Warfare 2's are a little better though) but this is unnoticable in the long run and being able to topple any building or structure makes the game more intense, realistic and gives you a better weapon for killing. You can blow walls out with grenades, when buildings topple they kill the occupants and you don't have any hiding places, because they can just be destroyed. Excellent for any of the four classes (Assault, Engineer, Medic and Recon). The Recon class is quite good, you get marksman rifles and ghillie suits to camouflage you, however, a lot of people like the Recon class so there are always sniper rifle bullets flying past you. Its excellent.

Rated by Dizzle, England Essex on 5th March 2010

REVISED 11/Mar/2010 Well i got this wednesday, and so ive had several hours at the games campaign (offline) mode. OFFLINE---------------- First thing first, the graphics and sound in this game, have got to be one the finest out there, even better than mw2. The landscapes are so impressive, they almost look photorealistic!! The snowscape and jungle levels are so beautiful to look at sometimes youre think your watching a movie rather than game!> (the gfx are reminiscent of uncharted imo) The sound is equally impressive, the weapons sound powerful and it almost gives you a sense of pleasure pressing the trigger. Explosions almost knock you out of your seat especially when you start toppling houses!! The actual game story is more like cod this time around, it seems more linear, and the story seems a bit more whole than , cods one minute your him than your him, sorta thing. The AI both enemy and friendlies are pretty good, the only thing that got me is sometimes your friendlies would go off onto an objective and start killing the enemy before i got there. This would happen when i would be searching an area for weapons or collectibles, and they would bugger off, and can be annoying but obviously not major. The checkpoints are spaced nicely but not too hard or too easy. The inclusion of regenerating health is much needed and so much better than finding health packs. The controls are nice and smooth, and dont feel clunky. The thing which i think stands out over mw2, is the destructible environments, its brilliant! See an enemy dug in, give the area some firepower, or topple whats around him on him. I seem to remember in the first BF, the enemy would still be standing there, even though the house came down on top of him. Now in this one, they will certainly die, just as long as you have the firepower. **i started on hard and would recommend any experienced fps gamer to start on. To me it offered a more realistic war setting, and increasing the length of the campaign and made covering crucial.** The enemy Ai are average for AI (hard level) i suppose, but i feel they could be little more like "cods veteran AI", but then again that was sometimes frustrating as hell, at least BF2 is enjoyable on its hard setting. Having said that on hard u do seem to get shot when u think no one can see you, its like "how the hell did u see me there!!". Theres not really much else to say about the campaign, apart from the collecting weapons, which is a nice feature to give u incentive to search, but the map almost indicates where the weapons are anyway. The small sections in the game, when your riding in a vehicle (shooting from a heli/tank etc) are very similar to cod, but when the environment is destructible, this seems more authentic and engaging then mw2!! ONLINE---------------- Ive played one game online, and this is not MW2 run n gun n jump style gameplay, you have to have teamwork and strategy to succeed, noobs beware lol!! I felt that as ive played more games online, i wanted to update my review one last time to give my full honest opinion. As i said above, this is no run n gun like m2, you have to stick in a team, no lone wolf rambo style gameplay here to survive long. Conquest mode i beleive is the core online mode, the battles/gunfights ive witnessed playing this mode is unbelievable. One instance me and a few of my squad in a house, were having a intense shootout with the enemy team in the house across the street. It was great and felt like a war movie, and felt realistic (not that ive been to war). We were just fighting for that little bit of ground to achieve our mission. None of that arcade garbage thats modern warfare, Battlefield is the proper modern warfare!!!! The explosions/firefights and tank battles to be had are jawdropping, this is seriously intense online. A few things that did bug me was the fact that there is no prone/lying position for your soldier (important for sniping imo). Also sometimes the knife swipe, is not so accurate. Ive had a few times when im dancing with an enemy just trying to knife eachother, you have to be almost on top of them to reach them. Also the sniper class is unbalanced and commonly used....!! Having said that with the small niggles, my final word online is bloody awesome, this is modern warfare how its meant to be. END OF! CONCLUSION---------------- Im sorry that ive compared it to MW so much, but i feel thats the best way to review this game, as it looks like DICE are trying to take CODS mantle! For me this game is slap bang between Operation:flashpoint and modern warfare 2. It has the accessibility of mw2 and has its fair share of set pieces and action, but it also shares that authenticity that OFP has, without a maybe too simulated feel. It is also in my opinion the best of them!! The way i look at it , MW2 is for children, battlefield 2 is for the adults. Dan