Packs more punch than any Battlefield game ever released!
So, in this latest installment of Battlefield series, you play a role of a common soldier (didn't expect that, eh? ;-)) in a harsh futuristic battlefield shrouded in snow and ice. It is the year 2142 and the world has just entered a new ice age, which proved apocalyptic for the entire human civilisation. With huge mountains of ice coming down from the north pole, Russians (along with some other nations) form a coalition and begin their push south towards Africa in a desperate attempt to survive. Of course, European Union doesn't like that one bit, and a third world war breaks out. Well, that's about it for the story. Altou pretty simple, it sounds cool and keeps the atmosphere up through an entire game.
As you probably guessed, you will do most of your fighting in a frozen landscapes and urban centers, altou there are maps set in the deserts of Africa as well. Ah, the maps... Now, that's the key to this game's success. They are much smaller then in the previous Battlefield games, and crowded with more cover spots, gun positions, even buildings you can enter and open fire on your enemies from a balcony or a window. Big deal, you might think... Well, my dear friend, you might be right. Why? Simply because smaller, more detailed maps mean you spend more time kicking butts with some serious firepower, and less time running around and looking for someone whose butt you might kick.
I also have to mention that this time the weapons pack a lot more punch, so it takes a lot less to actually kill someone. Meaning? You have to be more fast and more accurate, and use cover wisely if you want to prevail. Altou everyone wears futuristic heavy armor, it doesn't take 2 minutes of constant fire to kill the enemy. Depending on your enemies' health and your weapon's firepower, it takes no more than one or two well-placed bursts to send someone to kingdom come and beyond. About damn time, if you ask me! One of the main reason why I hated Battlefield 2 was the fact that it took me about 50 rounds from SAW machine gun to take down a stupidest infantryman that didn't even wear body armor.
Ah, yes, the weapons. Oh joy, oh joy! They all look cool, futuristic and powerful! And sound just awesome! When you squeeze a trigger in this game, you feel like something important just happened. Add to that a cool effects of ground and the nearby walls bursting into pieces when hit, and you got yourself a real eye candy. You can even see the bullet holes all around you. AWE-SOME!!! This time, there are even weapons and grenades you can unlock as your rank goes up in multiplayer game, which gives you all the more reasons to fight. I was shamelessly robbed of multiplayer due to my slow internet connection, so I had to use patches to unlock all those goodies in singleplayer game. *sniff*
Aaaaanyway, another cool thing about this game are walkers. Yes, the big futuristic robot walkers that pack more firepower than God. They look powerful, feel powerful and can turn the tide of battle if used properly. They're also fun to drive. I did mention that, did I? Well, they do have their weaknesses. They need an infantry support in order to stay in one piece (unless you want to be sent to hell by EMP grenades and rocket launchers). Yes, the enemies are really smart and will organize effectively in order to kill a walker. One might throw a few EMP grenades, while other will hit you with rockets and bombs as you are temporarily crippled by the EMP.
So you have to gang up as well. It's always best to join a squad and attack in wolf packs, than act as one-man-band. Well, except if you're a sniper, and you upgrade yourself to a commando. Then you can run around in your stealth suit and blow stuff up to prepare ground for your buddies. Who are just about as smart as the enemy, so don't expect much babysitting here. All this stuff makes singleplayer really cool and enjoyable. Not to mention tanks, jeeps, APCs, artillery strikes, gunships, etc., etc.
What really stunned me about this game is it's visual design. Yes, it uses the same old Battlefield 2 engine. Yes, it takes a lot of horsepower to run it with maximum graphic settings turned on. But the game ran pretty smoothly for me, and the atmosphere is so tense, so great I didn't care about anti-aliasing, dynamic shadows and other crap. The war-torn, frozen Belgrade (my favorite map, by the way) looks so gloomy it's simply breath-taking. For the first time, maps look like an artist designed them. Huge, tall buildings enshrouded in mist, snow and rain falling from the sky, gloomy and empty parks with barren trees - it all makes it look like every drop of blood has been drained from this tortured, dark world. A true dark, war-like atmosphere.
Altou not all maps are as dark as Belgrade, or Berlin, they all have that desperate, tense atmosphere like something tragic is about to happen. And that's what I love about them.
So why not 10? Or at least 9.5? Well, for one thing, straight-from-the-box version of this game has only 5 maps. That's simply embarrassing! Altou great, 5 maps are simply not enough! And you also get only 4 classes to play with, compared to 7 in the Battlefield 2. Altou you can customize them in multiplayer, I really don't understand why can't you customize them in singleplayer as well. Creating a singleplayer character as well as multiplayer character should be allowed in this type of game. Ah well...
All in all, this is without a doubt the best Battlefield game so far. Buy it and enjoy it!