Battlefield: Bad Company 2

I just bought this game a couple days ago and I'm loving it. I still prefer Modern Warfare 2, but I'll explain this.

I jumped into the multiplayer first and I was completely confused. BFBC2 has an interesting system, with both similarities and differences to Call of Duty. There are a handful of different classes, but each one is limited to their own specific set of weapons. I.E. Engineers use SMGs, Medics use LMGs, Assault uses ARs, and Recon uses Snipers. Each of these classes has their own specific unlocks that include Gadgets like Medkits, Defibrillator, gun-mounted grenade launchers, RPGs, and called-in mortar strikes. As well, there are specializations which include weapon sights, and ammo and Gadget upgrades. Each of these categories has has some choices that are class-specific and some that are general. To unlock them, you simply have to play (good) with whatever class you want to get upgrades for. Pretty sweet!

The actual gameplay is vastly different from CoD. The maps are huge, and there is about the same number of players as CoD. While you do get experience from killing other players, you can get much more by playing as a team and completing objectives. The radar is a little confusing, but if you see any enemy, you can mark them as a target which reveals them to nearby teammates. If they kill him while he is marked, you get a share of the experience. Score! Healing and reviving teammates is also an asset to your experience bar, as well as the team.

While playing the multiplayer, it feels a lot more relaxed than CoD. There seems to be very few problems with spawn killing and just ridiculous spawn points although with BFBC2, the size of the maps may cause a couple straight minutes of running. The sheer size of the map helps disperse combat as well, so you don't have to deal with hordes of enemies coming from every angle (unless they choose to coordinate to attack a specific point :p)

Overall, the multiplayer is very different in style, and similarly, very good in its own way. I love CoD, but I get pretty angry at some of the absurd situations I get into when playing online. BFBC2 is much slower paced and I personaly think its great if you want to take a break from CoD.

As for the single player, I'm still working on it so the plot might just jump out and slap me in the face soon. So far, BFBC2 doesn't hold a candle to Modern Warfare 2. It's still pretty decent, but it feels like I'm just running through jungles or deserts, or whatever blowing up buildings and shooting like a retard. CoD has a vastly superior story before and honestly, I think it would be hard to top. The difficulty settings seem a little lax to me - I'm playing in Hard mode but the computer enemies are very, very forgiving. I guess they dont have weapons training in third world countries. Ha. Ha. Meh. I'll make an update whenever I finish the campaign.



Edit: so after a day of owning the game, and flipping between campaign, multiplayer, and some borderland, I have to say the campaign is pretty disappointing. Still good, but so short (on hard) and none of the levels really captivated my attention. I would still recommend the multiplayer because it's so fun. I've been working on the Assault and Medic classes - I use engineer whenever the enemy team is going overboard with vehicles. I have zero desire to use a sniper. Pick this game up if you are a fan of shooters, you'll enjoy the online experience.