Marlowe, Sarge, Sweetwater and Haggard team up once again to fight Ruskies across snowy mountains, sweltering jungles and urban landscapes to bring a much more definitive version of tactical combat than what was presented by Activision’s magnanimous shooter Modern Warfare 2 last year. However, in doing so, it relegates a lot of fun filled moments of destruction that were brought forward by the Frostbite engine in the game’s previous outing and paints a much more recognizable form of combat that most players have been accustomed to over the years.
The story of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is a satire of Modern Warfare 2’s story of patriotism and betrayal coupled with powerful weapons and an imminent Russian invasion. The objective of the game is clear right from the onset. Nothing is to be taken seriously apart from the incessant amount of decapitating enemies with the push of the trigger. The focus of the game lies in the combat mechanics which have been fine tuned to ensure that most encounters in the game are tight and focused instead of being leeway and random, an issue that was present in its prequel. Hence we get to wander around the environment with fewer vehicles and concentrate on the dynamics of gun combat. Bad Company 2 is built on an upgraded version of the original Frostbite engine and the nifty effects that the developers have added are quite evident in the game. The scale of destruction has been pushed to incorporate taking down entire structures. This allows bullets to pass through walls aiding in finishing off an enemy target which may be crouched for cover at an outpost. Basic ground cover, which include concrete walls are no longer safe havens, they are fully destructible and this feature builds the constant need for movement during combat. Barrels of inflammable liquid are strategically placed in the single player campaign to take down large number of foes by dismantling structures and squashing them to rubble.
Smoke and lighting effects are also done in a remarkable manner. There is one particular mission in the game which requires Marlowe to shift from one cabin to the next in a blizzard without freezing to death. Once the player steps out into the open the rendition of the blizzard is a visual treat. In addition to this Bad Company 2 has numerous moments where players will feel overwhelmed by the size of the map they inhabit. Unlike other shooters which use artificial means to block an environment and have fixed enemy respawns, Bad Company 2 makes places players in a sandbox environment allowing them to explore an area before taking down an enemy. This therefore requires quite a bit of strategy before entering into a combat arena strewn full of enemies. The multiple entry points allow players to decide upon their choice of assault and thus pounce upon enemies. These range from the stealthy approach by taking enemies from afar using a sniper rifle or rushing into the battlefield with guns blazing strategically. Notice our insistence on the word strategic even when speaking of guns blazing, the reason for doing so is because players are forced to pay attention to their surroundings before engaging into combat.
Destruction plays a vital role in choosing the approach players have while encountering their enemies, since cover can be peeled off piece by piece pop and shoot mechanics fail in combat. There is a constant need to move about in the environment so as to take an enemy down. Though most complain that the single player campaign does not feel epic, the game crafts moments those are tense and challenging. Placing players in an area over run by snipers with a standard assault rifle is perhaps one of the most satisfying missions witnessed in the year 2010. The tension of movement while the sniper’s gaze is upon you and getting a one up on him was perhaps one of the few high points in the game. Battlefield Bad Company 2 is constantly shifting environments so that the player’s gaze does not stay in a monotonous box for a long time and each arena is highly detailed and fun to engage in combat. Players are constantly moving from one precarious situation to another throughout the game these may range from a rescue mission set in the tumultuous times of the Second World War to pushing through heavy mortar fire with clouds of dust and concrete being thrown straight in your face. The action never seems to slow down even for an instant.
This gameplay mechanic gets carried forward into the multiplayer component of the game which allows players to plough through Rush, Conquest, Squad Deathmatch and Squad Rush (4 versus 4 combat). All of the game modes require a healthy deal of teamwork and strategy to compete. There are not too many times in the game where players will feel that a single person is overpowering and raising them into the ground. The combat mechanics are balanced and the destructible environments add a dimension of fun and depth to combat. Too bad they cannot be strategically used as displayed in the upcoming XBLA, PC game titled “Breach”. There are however areas where Bad Company 2 does falter. The enemy intelligence for starters is weak throughout the single player campaign of the game. The player’s opponents merrily gallivant around while he is free to take pot shots at them. It is only at higher difficulties of the game where the tension really starts to mount up and a healthy dose of strategy is required to finish them off. The other issue that plagues the game is the low level of destruction that is required to push through the game. The original Bad Company with its large maps allowed players to destroy environments to their heart’s content to move around in the game. Since the sequel focuses combat with tighter quarter’s, destruction somehow does not seem to be the primary focus of the entire experience. This toned down nature of outright fun sometimes does seem to disappoint. Destruction 2.0 for the Frostbite engine still does not compare to the grandeur that was seen in Red Faction Guerrilla’s engine which offered a much more robust variety when it came to destruction.
The Final Word: Battlefield Bad Company 2 improves in numerous ways than its predecessors and provides ample avenues for fun filled combat. It does offer a multitude of opportunities in combat as opposed to its current competitors in the market and is an overall worthy and balanced purchase till we get our hands on something juicer.
Gameplay: 9/10.
Graphics: 9.5/10.
Sound: 8.5/10.
Budget Pocket (Value for Money): 9/10.
Overall (Not an average): 8.5/10.