Review :: Battlefield Bad Company 2 (Single Player)

Battlefield: Bad Company wasn’t the perfect game, but it certainly had it’s qualities. The frostbite engine was (and still is) fantastic – putting that much destructibility in a game really hadn’t been seen before. The game definitely had it’s flaws and it just didn’t stack up when you compared it to Call Of Duty 4. It’s funny how things change, isn’t it?

With Bad Company 2, DICE have refined a lot of what made the original so good and have smoothed out a lot of the kinks that stopped it being as good as it could’ve been. The first noticeable difference comes in the visuals. As is to be expected with any sequel, they have been improved. In fact, they’ve improved a lot. I know a lot of people had a problem with the lack of realism in the first game. Bad Company didn’t look as ‘gritty’ and realistic as it’s counterpart coming out of Infinity Ward was. It’s safe to say that the majority of those people will be disappointed again. That’s not to say that the game doesn’t look good though. I, for one, really like the visual style DICE have employed. It makes a change from seeing the same boring grey and brown colour palette used in the Call Of Duty’s and MAG’s of the world. Whilst I wouldn’t describe the visuals in Bad Company 2 breathtaking (I don’t think I could even say it looks better than Modern Warfare 2), but it certainly looks great and isn’t going to disappoint any graphics whores out there.

Some might say it’s lacking in the graphics department, but gameplay-wise it’s far superior to any other shooter available on the market today. DICE have managed to strike an almost perfect balance between the ‘point and shoot’ gameplay of Modern Warfare 2 and the more complex style used in a game like MAG. It certainly feels fast paced, but not overly so and it isn’t always a matter of painting a guy with your crosshair and pressing the trigger. I like this, but it’s definitely going to be another point of contention for shooter fans. One thing I particularly enjoy is the implementation of the Coriolis effect. Now this only really applies when it comes to using a sniper rifle, but the feeling you get when you hit a headshot whilst a guy is on the move is pretty damn good. This means sniping feels like it should – I’d assume it’s hard to master. This can be said for all the guns in the game, they all feel as they should. A definite improvement over the previous game.

For many, this game will be purely about the multiplayer and I can certainly see why. However, the campaign mode is one of the best I’ve played in any first person shooter. Sure, it doesn’t take itself too seriously, but that’s what I like about it. When a shooter tries to take on a serious, dramatic story it often doesn’t work. Here the story definitely isn’t to be taken seriously, but the characters are interesting and pretty damn funny at times. Just stopping and listening to the B-Company banter is something anyone playing this game needs to do. The story is incredibly campy and nonesensical at times, but the character’s motivations, however stereotypical they might be (seriously, I expected Sarge to say “I’m too old for this s*** on more than one occasion) were good and I was genuinely rooting for my squad of rejects.

Bad Company 2′s single player experience is great. I really enjoyed my time with it and I’d certainly say it’s one of the best campaign modes to be found in a shooter today. The gameplay is fantastic, the environments really varied and the characters funny and interesting. You wouldn’t be disapointed if you were just wanting to play a good single player first person shooter. That said, the multiplayer is certainly where it’ll be at for many.

9/10

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