Though many say the key element of the game, which is to deliver a feel of the future, is not too plain as people say, the whole picture is indeed not dull. You may see that there is a lack of spark for it to feel like it's the future, but the future is unpredictable and yet unexplainable and to see how people say it's not realistic is very ignorant and unappreciative of them.
To discuss the elements of gameplay, you will find that throughout the game there's going to be many glitches and exploits. Which is a disgrace, even for a multiplayer; and to fill in the bricks, the lack of bug fixes for the game is disappointing. Many bugs, like the private glitch, affect how you see the game, and i have no problem with that. Furthermore, the game overall may not be a disappointment to you or others, but it really saddens me that a high-traffic multiplayer has as many bugs as this.
To go on with the gameplay elements, there really isnt another option for multiplayer games after you've become addicted to any of the battlefield games. The populated servers and vast gameplay is unprecedented. The new titan mode is a great addition, it builds on the futuristic set, and sets a trademark for many things to come for the series. The goal of titan mode is to capture silos around the map and program them to shoot the other titan until it blows up. When the shield is down, the silos will still effect gameplay, but you can attack the silos with your infantry. The close quarters combat on the titans is pretty new the battlefield series, the abnormal hitboxes will effect you greatly so you better learn them or your toast. Your best bet is to aim high with a combat medic's primary weapon such as the Baur or Voss.
There's also another gameplay mode, conquest. Its fun at first, then it gets boring. The base camping is too easy, unless you are outnumbered. You just need numbers to win conquest, and you can tell if someone is capturing your spot because the flags lower, so you can easily throw a grenade and get a message on the bottom of the screen confirming your 'nade ownage. The vehicles of the game dont really press the issue of futuristic combat. Other than the hovering tank, there really isnt anything that couldnt be achieved today. In the Northern Strike Booster pack, there is more vehicles with a better feel of the future, but you cant put your finger on what doesnt feel right. You will also see that the on-foot gameplay in 2142 is really different than other games, it suits the environments and atmosphere almost like a glove. The bad part is, the vehicle noobs will get annoying, very annoying. There's some parts when you go "WTF" because these people act like noobs...The close quarter combat on 2142 is pretty cool, but it feels a bit loose if you ask me. The close quarters confrontations are the complete opposite of a game like Halo, the gunning feels like you are shooting someone from Half-life or something. The lack of at least a little bit of blood effects make the game look a bit childish at points when you see this is actually a FPS. But overall, the gameplay is very addicting.
Whats an FPS without good weapons anyways? Well, nothing really...and if you can do the math, 2142 is something. If you don't get it, 2142 has some spectacularly cool weapons you can unlock. The Baur and Voss are always fun to kill recon and engineer players with. The snipers are fun also, i rarely snipe, but when i do, i usually kill a guy or so. The engineer kit is pretty cool, you have to rely on the engineer players to win the battle; the walkers can lose a control point or so for you, and ultimately the round. Engineers will blow up the walkers so your team can destroy the infantry and eventually you can win. It's really cool how EA made some cool guns. They aren't really cool, but i like them. They suit the game pretty good as well.
The vehicles are basically the coolest part of the game. The titans, walkers, goliaths, speeders, bandits or ocelots, tanks, air transports, gunships, and anti-aircraft guns will never get boring, and if they do, it will be slowly slowly. It can be fun having walker battles, because it relies on who is th better shooter, and who gets the first shot. But overuse of these vehicles will make people like me vote to kick you =P< br/>
To discuss the graphical achievements in 2142, the game really has some nice textures. The bad news is that it doesnt look like a modern game. The aging BF2 engine isnt optimized to the specs that high-end PC owners would like. The vast environments with a bunch of trees looks nice, but im thinking they couldve made some more detailed textures in some areas of maps. Maybe more war-torn environments, with more of a graphical benchmark to achieve, since the game did come out late 2006. You can easily achieve 100+ FPS on a rig with 2 7900s, E6400 Core 2 processor, and 2 gigs of RAM. I dont get any frame drops with these on max settings. Oh yeah, im playing on 1600x1050 resolution...there's definitely something else DICe shouldve done with the features in the environments.
With a SB X-Fi card, any game couldnt achieve more of an intense audio feeling than 2142. The game is optimized for the EAX feature that X-Fi carries. You definitely need surround sound for this game, there could be so many things going on at the same time that you wont be able to desipher where its coming from and youll lack the response you need to keep you alive as long as you can. A battle for a control point can get intense at times, with up to 30 people in the area for about a minute where the amount is decimated. Don't let yourself become a statistic.
Overall, battlefield 2142 is an outstanding multiplayer shooter with the letdowns in graphics department; is very disappointing with the rediculous amount of bugs; and the sound is great with the high-intensity battles you will participate in. You definitely might have to wait for once again another patch before playing this avidly like we all have been, meaning, every hour of the day is spent on this game. But, nonetheless, 2142 should be a game you own. Its value is amazing, with the ability to be played for over 300 hours easily.