Battlefield Bad Company 2 – Review

The boys of Bad Company are back for another adventure and DICE has improved upon the original Bad Company title in almost every way. The game is absolutely beautiful and the campaign has pretty good variety ensuring players won’t get bored on the journey. The multiplayer is fantastic with a variety of different modes to keep players busy for a long time. Additionally, buying the game when it first comes out includes a special “Limited Edition” which gives a VIP code. This code entitles the player to upcoming downloadable maps at no additional cost.

While there is a great time to be had going through this game, it is definitely not perfect. There are way too many graphical glitches in the game. Killing an enemy near a wall or a similar type of object frequently caused them to fall through the wall and/or object, and it was possible to stand there and watch them glitch through the environment. There were also times when weapons would go through walls. There was a specific instance of being in cover trying to regain health when an AI partner stuck his weapon through a wall to shoot at the enemy. There was also a cinematic where one of the characters speaking didn’t have all of his hair – he wasn’t bald, the hair texture just wasn’t there. None of these things break the gameplay itself, however, it can briefly take players out of the experience that the developers are working so hard to immerse them in.

With the above being said there is a lot to really like in this game. The locales visited during the adventure range from a tropical location to a mountain range and more. There is one instance where players are caught in a blizzard and have to quickly rush from building to building before freezing to death. It is a fantastic segment which had a good bit of intensity, trying to prevent freezing to death while at the same time taking out enemies to avoid dying of lead poisoning. There are also times where players have to drive a vehicle, take the gunner’s seat while the AI drives, take out enemies from a helicopter and more. The variety in the gameplay helps to keep things fresh – nothing feels like it’s getting stale because there is usually something new around the corner, or at the very least a different way to do something familiar. The environmental destruction is also back and it looks better than ever; shooting some gas canisters placed near a building and watching the entire building crumble is a really satisfying feeling. The audio in the game is also really well done and the chatter within a squad is fantastic, with quite a few moments of genuine laughs. The game even takes some shots at Modern Warfare 2 while simultaneously borrowing some of its ideas. The length of the campaign falls in line with other shooter titles – it is a fairly short campaign which some people will be disappointed to hear. There are, however, a bunch of collectibles to find and some secondary objectives to complete, which could potentially add to the replayability of the campaign.

A lot of people will buy this title for the multiplayer and they won’t be disappointed. Following the tradition of the Battlefield series, the multiplayer in Bad Company 2 is fantastic. There are a few different modes to choose from depending on mood. Conquest mode focuses on the capture and control of flag points. Rush mode has the offensive team break through the enemy line to destroy M-COM stations, while the defensive team must prevent that from happening. Then, of course, there is Squad Deathmatch, which should be self-explanatory to anyone who has played a shooter. There is also a bunch to unlock in multiplayer mode, such as new weapons, gadgets and specialization equipment such as a red dot sight, each requiring a prerequisite score for the item – for example, the red dot sight requires 14,000 points in the assault class. Points are earned by playing games in multiplayer, with the winning team earning more points than the losing side. Multiplayer games ran smoothly with no lag experienced, games were quick to join, and respawn waits were short. The feature of choosing respawn points also adds a strategic element that helps get back into the heat of battle quickly after being taken out.

Overall Battlefield Bad Company 2 is a fantastic title. It does have its share of bugs and glitches, however, the package as a whole is fantastic. There is a lot of fun to be had going through the campaign, with good reason to go through it a second time to find everything missed on the initial run. The multiplayer should keep shooter fans busy for a very long time. The trophies/achievements are also done really well, and completionists will be kept busy for a while too. Shooter fans should definitely give this game a try. Fans of the original Battlefield Bad Company should really enjoy all of the improvements DICE made to this sequel, while newcomers will have a blast figuring out why this is such a beloved franchise.

Our rating: 8.5/10