The Battlefield series has always stood out for its intense multiplayer engagements and its unique vehicular combat. Bad Company 2 is the first major Battlefield release on the PC since Battlefield 2142 back in 2006, and it also returns to the modern day setting of Battlefield 2. Gamers have quite a few military shooters to choose from, but this series continues to offer a leading-edge online experience.
Unlike earlier Battlefield games for the PC, BC2 has the same single-player campaign featured on the console versions of the game. PC users can play online with up to 32 players, which is more than on the consoles, but less than the 64 player limits of Battlefield 2142 and Battlefield 2.
Graphics and Sound
This series has always managed to deliver on spectacular visuals, and BC2 is no exception. Explosions are viseral, character models are more detailed than ever, and vehicles look authentic. There are desert maps in which you can almost taste the dust, and lush jungle maps where cover is abundant. You'll need a powerful graphics card to enjoy it at high settings, but on medium settings it runs quite nicely on cards that are several years old. The Dolby sound is an improvement on earlier Battlefield games, and even the voice acting works for the most part.
Destroying the Place
Remember when a flimsy wire fence on the field of battle would somehow stop your tank dead in its tracks? Well, thanks to the growing use of physics in games, it looks like those days maybe coming to an end. Rather than just the odd bridge or doorway being dynamic, as we have seen in earlier releases, large parts of the environment in BC2 can be destroyed. It still falls well short of reality, but it does extend to enough things to have a significant impact on gameplay. As often as not you can blow out a wall to reveal the shooter behind it, and some buildings can even be toppled. Falling debris and exploding fuel tanks present new dangers in the combat zone. It's the first time I've had to think about what types of cover a bullet may go right through while playing a shooter.
By the end of the match, most of the destructible elements will have been triggered, especially in Conquest mode, but it really adds a new level of immersion to the game. It's hard to go back to the relatively stagnant environments of other titles after playing BC2.
Classes
When you jump into an online game of BC2 you choose from one of 4 classes: Assault, Medic, Engineer, and Recon (essentially a sniper class). You can switch classes during a match, and each class features an extensive set of unlockable rewards, such as better weapons, quicker reload abilities, scopes, and other gadgets. There is also a general pool of unlockable bonuses available to all classes, as well as a lengthy list of titles. Rest assured that there's enough to keep players happily acquiring new perks for weeks, or even months.
Battlefield 2 was among the first games to offer unlockable items and they've proven to be extremely popular. They typically try to offer lateral progress that gives players more options without giving them overwhelming advantages. Nevertheless, the weapons you start out with in BC2 are noticeably inferior to the unlockable weapons, which puts new players at a disadvantage. I'd wager that there is still some balancing to be done in this regard. The remarkably lethal M60, in particular, has been the subject of much debate. Luckily, you can scavenge weapons dropped by dead enemies, and vehicles are open to everyone.
One gripe I have is the removal of the prone position. They may have wanted to make it more difficult to hide, but there are still plenty of things to peek out from behind, exposing only your head. The prone position should be essential for highly accurate snipering, and should make the game more difficult for snipers because they can't just pick everyone off fully upright.
Squads
Each team in BC2 can be broken up into 4 man squads that encourage cooperation in combat. You get extra points for helping squad mates and they can also be used as spawn points, which is handy when you want to return to the fight quickly.
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