Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Review
- Posted March 16th, 2010 at 16:18 EDT by Steven Williamson
- 53 Comments
Review Score
- PSU Review Score
- 8.5
- Avg. user review score:
- 8.2
Summary
A polished entry in the Battlefield series, with a deep and engaging multiplayer component.
We like
- The outstanding audio and visual experience
- The action-paced single player campaign
- The deep multiplayer mode and maps
We dislike
- The predictable storyline
See PSU's review on Metacritic & GameRankings
To say that the PS3 is inundated with first person shooters would an understatement of epic proportions; it's absolutely suffocated by them. With 49 games in the genre already clogging up the shelves, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 represents the latest entry into that sea of shooters hoping to set itself apart from the crowd. Though no one can question developer DICE's excellent contributions to the Battlefield series, the Sweden-based developer has had a rough time translating its PC success to its console iterations. The original Bad Company underwhelmed both critically and commercially. However, with two years and two console games under its belt since, DICE has taken another swing at it, and though Bad Company 2 occasionally falters, it finally manages to deliver a performance on par with its PC counterparts.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 once again follows the Bad Company, a ragtag squad of soldiers delegated to some extremely dangerous missions. This time, the B Company is tasked with thwarting a Russian plot to obtain a weapon of devastating power, codenamed “Aurora”. The Bad Company's final mission takes them globe trotting from Alaska to Columbia, toppling terrorists every step of the way.
Though the outcome is predictable, it's with this group of soldiers that the game's single player campaign manages to really separate itself from its competitors. The banter exchanged between the heroic quartet really helps to bring them to life and give them personality. They'll crack jokes about each other’s sisters and argue about what the coolest superpowers are, but their sense of camaraderie shines through it all, and you really can't help but become attached to them. That makes it all the more trying and immersive for you as the player when the game throws them through some dire situations. The charismatic Bad Company provides a much welcomed relief from the monosyllabic meat-heads of most contemporary military shooters.
And that's a good thing, because it would be awfully hard to care about the storyline otherwise. The narrative is weaved together from some of the most tried and derivative action clichés, more fitting for a B-tier 1980's anti-Communist potboiler than a turn of the century military epic. If Modern Warfare 2 is a Tom Clancy production, then Bad Company 2 is decidedly a Sylvester Stallone-directed action flick.
The story does facilitate a good six or seven hours of heart pounding action sequences, though. DICE has adopted a more scripted experience for Bad Company 2, and it’s largely the better for it. Whether you're tearing through a lush forest on the side of a mountain in Chile with an ATV, protecting a satellite in the midst of treacherous blizzard in Bolivia, or escaping an enemy encampment on the back of a rickety truck in Russia, the game is absolutely unrelenting in its pacing. The action packed set pieces are really driven home by the fully destructible environments, made possible by the latest iteration of DICE's Frostbite engine. Wooden fences splinter, concrete walls crack and crumble into chunks, and entire villages are reduced to nothing by prolonged fire fights. The wanton destruction is more than just window dressing, and actually gives you some tactical advantages. Instead of fighting a caravan of armored ATCs head on, for example, you can simply destroy the bridge as they cross over it. This added layer of depth makes the whole campaign feel quite dynamic.
The enhanced destructibility is not the only perk of the upgraded Frostbite engine, either. While the original Bad Company was a mixed bag in the visual department, Bad Company 2 is a huge leap towards the better. The environments are incredibly varied, and each location is a real treat for the eyes. The tropical jungles of Bolivia define the word lush, while impressive particle effects bring desert sandstorms in Chile to life. It's not without a few niggles here and there, the game is marred by some screen tearing on occasion, but it's definitely one of the better looking multi-platform games to date.
The visuals are also beautifully complemented by a booming sound design, completing the cinematic feel. Explosions will shake your house, lightning strikes electrify the air and the sounds of bullets ricocheting will have you ducking for cover. The orchestral soundtrack rounds it off nicely, and the ... (continued on next page)
- Page 1
- Page 2
Email
Related Content
Comments
-
-
-
-
-
-
jaewest304
- 6:23pm EDT - March 16th, 2010
- 26
This game eats and s**ts MW2 out. This game has everything. Its better in every way possible in multiplayer aspect. The stories were both sub par for BFBC2 and MW2 IMO. I have die hard CoD fanboys for friends that have moved over to BFBC2 because it is just better.
-
Playstation_3
- 6:33pm EDT - March 16th, 2010
- 27
This game is far superior than MW2, it has frostbite 2 engine which means the enviroment is destructible, its realistic with realistic weapons, you can mix weapons and come up with an umbelivable amount of different classes, its squad based and has loads of maps on release date with plenty more maps coming out soon and all FREE. and hopefully they will add on new weapons to unlock aswell, as im rank 26 and have unlocked all the weapons im thirsty for more. In my opinion they have blew MW2 out of the water and have already got a massive following on the PC. Single player is abit of a let down but its the first time the Battlefield series has done single player has they tend to put all there interests in multiplayer game play.
-
-
-
Chadvick
- 9:14pm EDT - March 16th, 2010
- 30
This is a much better game than MW in my opinion... I agree with some of these other comments just because it's a COD game it automatically gets more than 9. This game deserves closer to the reader review at 9.3 if not 9.5. Its depth on multiplayer is amazing and for the people who even play single player on a game like this they have stepped it up in this one. This is a far more realistic shooter in comparison to COD from the various vehicles (not included in COD- what is war without vehicles??? lame) to the awesome physics of bullets to destruction. Strategy is key and teamwork is a must. The balanced classes surpasses every shooter i've played. As for this review being that the "predictable story line" is the only dislike that's a minimal aspect, I dont see this aspect taking out a 1.5/10 of the score??? If you buy a Battlefield game in general you should know that they concentrate on multiplayer gameplay.... kind of disappointing review especially since it's late? Just my 2 cents...
-
bigCman123
- 12:23am EDT - March 17th, 2010
- 31
I'm not picking this up anytime soon (GoW3 is the greatest action game ever made... It's GODLY) but I doubt that the storyline being predictable is worth taking so much off for... Who cares if it's predictable... I can easily predict that Kratos will kill all the gods and get it gloriously epic revenge, but that doesn't make it any less amazing... In these games, it's not what happens, it's how it happens that so awesome.
-
-
-
KCgonewiild
- 1:41am EDT - March 17th, 2010
- 34
psu n its lame reviews. i bet if bad company 2 had the name of COD it would of been ether a 9 or a 10.. and like #31 said who cares if its predictable.. btw GoW3 is also predictable im playing it right now so that means psu is probably gonna gieve it like a 8 or 7.5....
-
-
-
PSU_fail
- 5:12am EDT - March 17th, 2010
- 37
I still say MW2, and BF:BC2 are about equal to the other, a slight edge to BC2 for the larger maps, and inclusion of vehicles, hit detection is still irritating (as it has been my chief complaint throughoutthe BF series), graphically, I will still give MW2 the edge, screen tearing, grain, and sound are prominent issues in BC2. Both are equally fun in my book, I really would have trouble actually declaring which one is better. But I won't irritate you with: OMFG! BC2/MW2 is teh awesomez you moranz!!!
-
-
-
This will permanently ban this user and delete all associated comments. This action is irreversible, are you SURE you want to do this?!
