Alright, I’ll start off by saying this: I have been a big, BIG fan of the Battlefield games ever since Battlefield: 1942 made its PC debut way back when. I love the format, its always been simplistic, yet complicated at the same time. There is a great many ways to play the game, switching classes, vehicles, tactics or you can just pick up the nearest M1 Garande or M16 and charge your ass in.
Battlefield: Bad Company has been probably my favorite multiplayer game on the Xbox 360 to date, I’ve had it since it came out and it rarely sits around gathering dust. The single player blew me away when I first purchased it, but when I took it online it reaches a whole new league. Its just fantastic. The graphics are beautiful, the varied gameplay experience was brilliant even though some things were slightly unbalanced in the multiplayer (the helicopter, for example) most of the time it was great fun. Plus the sound effects were just epic, the best of any shooter I have played. The music is dramatic, the voice acting is well played and the sounds of war add a real atmosphere with giant explosions, the far off crack of a sniper rifle and the pang of bullets as they rain down at your feet. Or into your head, either way.
So with all that in mind, imagine my excitement when tonight I got my grubby little paws on the Bad Company 2 demo and gave it a go. And guess what, its not as good. Not at all. Some of these things might be ironed out in the final game so this is based purely on the demo experience.
The very first thing I notice is the controls and the fact that I do not like them. They’re not bad, just highly unintuitive. In all the BF games on the 360, Y has been the button for using your knife. Not anymore, now that brings out a pistol. Fair enough, so where is my knife? Oh its on the button that should change my weapon but doesn’t. Great. So I have to use the fucking D-Pad to change my weapons? Meaning I have to move my left thumb away from the stick that keeps me moving (and in turn keeps me from getting riddled with bullets) to switch to my grenade launcher? Great again. Not only that, but on the weapon select window that pops up, it doesn’t tell you how to get back to your fucking gun. GREAT. I pressed left to select my grenade launcher, so I should press right to get back to the rifle, right? NOPE! That makes me throw an ammo box at my enemy.
In a Battlefield game the multiplayer is often hectic, with enemies on all sides and you have a split second to do what you need to do to survive. Having to fuck about with controls that make no sense is not fun. Plus the turning in it feels slow and heavy, like you are playing a fat guy.
My second gripe is, why is there no health bar? Or if there is, where the fuck is it? I DONT WANT A RED SCREEN TO INDICATE MY IMINENT DEATH THANKYOU. I want a fucking health bar. Just because Modern Warfare does it does not mean its a good thing. There are med kits, and your team can see your health, yet alas, I cannot. Why? It comes down to the one reason behind the faults of this game. Modern Warfare 2.
It has been pretty much admitted that this game is being put out there to compete with MW2 and lets face it, we’re not fucking stupid, we know this. The thing is, why couldn’t they compete by releasing a game that feels different to MW2? This feels exactly the same to play in my opinion. Seriously, alot of Bad Company 2 feels like Modern Warfare with vehicles. Something about the way the character moves, the idiotic and sudden jerking of the camera when anything at all happens within 50000000 miles of your location. Even the death cam is damn near identical to MW2.
For those of you who may not have guessed, I did not enjoy the Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer all that much. I found it boring, the perks system was just annoying and it simply, outright did not grab me. Its a great game, I don’t deny that at all, but I just dont find it that entertaining. So why the fuck is Battlefield trying so hard to be it, when Battlefield is an outstanding format in itself? Its a classic, it has fans dating back years and years before MW2 was even a blip in its daddy’s radar.
Right, here’s the shocker though. I’m going to buy Bad Company 2, and I will play it and more than likely I will enjoy it. Judging by the demo it will be a great game. The sound is great, the level destruction has only gotten better and the more balanced classes equal it out nicely. But it lacks that pedigree that the first Bad Company had. Even with all its new bells and whistles, its new campaign game, the first Bad Company FELT like a Battlefield, through and through. It was the prodigal son. This is the slightly nerdy cousin who plays too much Modern Warfare 2 and thinks thats all the world has to offer.
I genuinely hope I am eating these words come release date. I really do hope that someone can look at me and go “Ha! I told you so! Its just as good as the first one!” but I’m not holding my breath. Im just glad I got it on pre-order for £25.
Reverend Rover.
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