Battlefield Bad Company 2 is the best online multi-player game on Xbox Live I have played in years. I know that seems like a strong statement considering all of the critically and publicly acclaimed games that have came out on the Xbox 360 in the years since it’s launch. But no other game since the Ghost Recon series on the original Xbox has given me such entertaining moments as this game.
When Bad Company 2 was first announced, I didn’t doubt that many would look forward to playing the game on Xbox Live. The first Bad Company certainly had a lot of fans and it’s pedigree as a continuation of the Battlefield series didn’t hurt either. But the first Bad Company didn’t have that special something that Bad Company 2 has achieved. Bad Company was a fun game, but it’s flaws showed through and it seemed a little frustrating to play online. The lack of game modes and overall polish from the out of the box experience didn’t help it win over too many fans of the Battlefield series.
The developers of Bad Company (DICE) took the fans advice and Bad Company 2 adds more game types, huge maps, more weapon unlocks, more vehicles and a ranking system to the game. Now even though all of this added stuff is great, it’s not what makes this game one of the best on Xbox Live. One of the things I really love about the game is the team aspect and all the crazy moments that happen when you play this game with friends
For instance, aceattorney and I have participated in some matches dominating the field by being stealthily mobile and COMMUNICATING. Something that lacks in many other games where the lone wolf mentality comes into play. Yes, in other games you can use team work, but in Bad Company 2 it’s a key to surviving and it’s also a heck of a lot of fun. While ace and I were playing we’d jump in a tank….BOOM, enemies dead. And because one or both of us were engineers, we were able to keep our kill streak fest going for a while. Hopping in a chopper, we’d rain hell from the sky, landing and healing so we could continue the assault. And while “trying” to fly the chopper we’d inevitably crash and even when we’d die, we always had a good laugh.
Those moments when we would get our butt kicked still made us come back for more, something other online games do not quite accomplish as the frustration levels rise and we reach for the off button on our 360 . It’s the small and big moments in the game, the ebb and flow of the action that seem to get us into a rhythm of gaming pleasure. When facing adversity you try and out-think the enemy, coming up with a plan of attack, trying to pick which class and load out will help win the fight. And it’s also fun when quirky moments occur as well, even when the game has flaws.
One evening I was playing a game of squad deathmatch in which the people on other side had quit, leaving only our team in the game server. We waited hopefully that someone would enter so we could finish the match, we were winning after all. While waiting we decided to see what we could do with the destruction 2.o engine and proceeded to level every building, tree and bush in the map. After a long, long time people finally joined our squad and another enemy team appeared. As we finished up the match it was funny to see that the map looked nothing like it does during a normal match, it was a wasteland. Hilarity ensued as we ran around the barren map, looking for cover that wasn’t there in the smoldering ashes. The map we had created added a whole new dimensionality to the game. Moments like this can just not be had in any other games on Xbox Live today. And even though it would have seemed like the match was a bust, our crazy patience and curiosity fueled destruction paid off in a unique way.
I think games like Bad Company 2, while not perfect, certainly attain a level of fun through their added level of technology and from the developers willingness to give fans of the Battlefield series what they wanted. A playground to soldier in and all of the toys and tools needed to get the job done. And while I know that the game may not be every ones cup o’ joe, I’m enjoying the game immensely and I hope anyone out there who likes virtual battle plays this game and has a great time too.
(Destruction 2.0…as in…OH S*#%!)
