Genre: Military First Person Shooter
Platform: PS3,Xbox360 (reviewed on Xbox360)
Score: 8 out of 10
The much anticipated Battlefield: Bad Company game was released days before I was due to go on a much-needed vacation. I devoted countless hours night after night to finishing the campaign. I even pulled the Ethernet cord from the back of my Xbox360 Elite as a last resort, so I wouldnt alert anyone to the fact that I was online. I know its a dishonest practice, but it is an extreme I have to take every once and awhile so I dont offend any of the gamers I play with on a regular basic. So long story short: I still had a couple of levels I had to beat to finish the campaign when I arrived home. So without further ado here is my review.
EA has taken the Battlefield Franchise to another level with the latest installment in the series. Some could describe Bad Company as a game that pushes the envelope to a whole other level. I describe it as a game that grabs the envelope, stashes a grenade in it, turns it sideways, and then shoves it straight where the sun dont shine. Yes, the game is that painfully amazing.
Battlefield: Bad Company takes place in a not so distant future where the United States and its Cold War counterpart Russia are at war. The main protagonist of the story, Preston Marlowe, has just been given an ultimatum: join Bad Company or sit in a cell. Lucky for us his choice was a no-brainer. So here we are in the beginning of the game, reporting to our commanding officer SGT. Samuel Redford. After receiving the luke-warm reception that I was already prepared for, we are introduced to the other two members of the illustrious B Company. A nerdy looking soldier with thick Drew Carey glasses holds out his hand: an awkward, skit-zee fellow named Terrance Sweetwater. Last but not least I am introduced to our final member Haggard: the comedian, pyro, and demo expert all wrapped into one. He is by far the most interesting one of the bunch, spouting off the wall comments whenever he deems it necessary. And then there is me. Im not quite sure what my role is in this unit. Maybe Im the glue that is meant to hold this band of misfits together, or maybe Im just the guy who is going to be the first one in the room that needs to be cleared. Either way its better than a jail cell.
Shortly after being reacquainted with my weapons my second family in my home away from home gives me the rundown on how the controls of the game function. I learn I can duck, run, shoot barrels: that will explode, and fix any vehicle with a simple cordless power drill. I have to take a moment and ask DICE how can you go up to a vehicle and grind the surface with the drill and expect it fixed? It was funny as hell, but definitely took away from the games believability. So I am nearing the end of the first mission when we stumble across this mercenaries body, Sweetwater starts telling stories of the Legionnaires: a hardcore mercenary group who supposedly receives their pay in the form of gold bars. This sparks what seemed to be Gold Fever in Haggard and after patting down the corpse of the dead mercenary he produces a piece of gold that is tucked away inside his uniform. An enemy transport truck that is passing by drops a gold brick at our feet furthering Bad Companys interest in the Legionnaires Gold. The mission we are sent on seems to change in an instant. We change our focus on fighting for the interest of the American Government, to fighting for our own reasons. The hunt for gold is on, and were on the front lines.
Much of the future story is centered on your pursuit of capturing this mountain of gold. You and the rest of the misfit company you are a part of travel through the countryside battling different units of Russian troops a long the way. As each mission passes you find yourself pushing deeper into unknown enemy territory, picking up the occasional gold bar and collectable weapon along the way. By the games halfway point you can expect to encounter more of the elite Legionnaires, countless numbers of infantry troops, tanks, and the occasional helicopter that is blasting everything that moves. The battles unfold in a moments notice. One moment you are standing in a safe building with four walls, the next youre standing in a pile of rubble getting shot from multiple angles At this point of the game it is safer to travel in something that has some armor on it than on foot, and there is no shortage of vehicles to commandeer.
A tank is always my first choice because of the giant cannon protruding from the front of it, but if there isnt a tank around a jeep with a mounted gun, troop transport, helicopter, golf cart, boat, or buggy can suffice your transportation needs. Each of the different vehicles is a blast to drive, except the troop transport: which is slower than a dog with no legs. Nearing the end of the story you will encounter some of the heaviest fighting of the game. Laser Designators used to call in friendly artillery strikes and the ability to use some cool looking binoculars to drop a tow missile from the sky that you can direct with the analog stick, comes in mighty handy in the later half of the game. These weapons of major destruction can be used to tip the scales of the battle at any given moment, if you posses them. Some of the epic battles that unfold dont even necessarily involve you. At one point in the game you approach a small town that stands in the way of your objective. While standing there you observe US tanks roll by and they start attacking your objective. Realizing that theyre after the same thing you and Bad Company take it upon yourselves to stop them in their tank treads. This isnt the most intelligent move youve ever made, but someone needs a monster truck, and there is gold to be had in those hills.
The multiplayer aspect of the game was a bit disappointing to this hardcore gamer. The lack of clan support, and ability to only run four man parties was almost inexcusable for a game in the next gen era of consoles. My online frustration only grew shortly after joining my first Gold Rush match. I found that the rumored squad leaders ability to communicate with the eight other players we joined was a lie. My squad mates and I tried to deal with the circumstances that we found ourselves in, but it just seemed like the online mode wasnt completely thought out. In some cases our four-man squad was split up for some reason and I found myself with a group of complete strangers who wouldnt utter a word to me. So how was I supposed to competitively compete with a group of gamers who didnt communicate among each other? And for that matter how are four people expected to relay that our gold was under attack? Especially when no one could hear us, and most of them were off mowing down trees halfway across the board. So the multiplayer ended up being about as useful as a sixth toe. DICE has already acknowledged that the online play is totally screwed up, and as this review is being written, they swear theyre working around the clock to fix the issues gamers had during their online experience with the game. I still have faith that Bad Company has the ability of becoming a force to be reckoned with on Xbox Live; well just have to see if they come through in the end.
Dices Battlefield: Bad Company was a refreshing take on the first person shooter genre. It was a game with serious graphics that said, Hey dont take me too seriously. Every cut scene had a lighthearted side to it no matter what the situation was. These short cinematic scenes usually had Sweetwater and Haggard horsing around with each other over a friendly game of rock paper scissors. This was just another affirmation that we as gamers werent supposed to raise an eyebrow and scrutinize Bad Company. We were just expected to blow up everything we could in our path while looking for gold. The game, the story, and everything else is straight forward, find the gold and have a blast doing it. While there were a few improvements I could have suggested to DICE before the game was released overall I was pretty impressed with the campaign and couldnt get enough of it. I found myself staying up late losing myself in the story and the game I sat before. A good game to me is one you lose yourself in. You start playing at eight at night and before you know it its eleven or twelve. Now if they could just improve the online play Id be hooked.
