If nothing else, Battlefield Bad Company 2 blows Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 out of the water.
User Rating: 9.5 | Battlefield: Bad Company 2 PC
Although Modern Warfare 2 sold 14 million copies worldwide, the game was a disappoint to PC gamers due to its console-limited multiplayer. The single player wasn't exactly great either with its manufactured Michael Bay moments. So it was up to EA and DICE to save the day with Battlefield Bad Company 2 and although it only sold 5 million copies, this is the better game for the PC. The original Bad Company was only released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 but the sequel is arriving on Windows for the first time. The single player is largely straightforward, with you playing as part of Bad Company to take down a Russian colonel who has obtained a super weapon left over from the days of World War II. The story isn't as dumb as Modern Warfare 2 and takes you through some varied locales from rain forests to snowy fields. It tries a little too hard with the comedic solider caricatures but the characters are kooky enough to make you smile. With 13 missions, it should take you around 8 to 10 hours to finish. The real heart of Battlefield is multiplayer and it supports dedicated servers with up to 32 players, up from 24 for the consoles. The classic mode, Conquest, is back with 16 players on each side fighting over flags and whittling down the other team's points. This is by far my favorite mode and play it quite often. Next there's squad deathmatch where 4 squads shoot it out until one of them gets 50 kills to win. This mode is limited to 24 players. The other two modes I don't really spend time with but they are Rush and Squad Rush. They're the same concept and were shown off in the beta with players defending stations until the attackers lose all points or if they manage to destroy all the stations. There are four classes to play and they are assault, medic, recon, and engineer. Since I'm not exactly great at racking up kills, I play mainly as the medic and as you gain more points either by killing or healing, you unlock new weapons, gadgets, and specializations to enhance your character. Maps are small but they feature a wide-range of destructibility thanks to the new Frostbite Engine. This engine looks amazing with detailed textures and lighting effects but its the particles that really take the cake with dust and snow floating in the air, obscuring your vision like in a real battlefield. I don't believe Modern Warfare 2 has that! It supports Dx9, 10 and 11 but it can be a system hog so make sure your PC is up to snuff. Generally, I average around 40 frames per second on all max settings with no AA on my system, which has an Intel C2D 2.66 GHz, 4 GB RAM, and a GeForce GTS 250 1 GB VRAM. Sound is excellent as well and you better make sure you don't wake up the neighbors. Explosions rock the screen while assault rifle fire can be heard in the distance. If you have surround sound, it is a truly immersive experience. Battlefield Bad Company 2 has a few console limitations but DICE didn't take the easy route and do a lazy port. They looked at the strengths of our platform and made sure our version played to these strengths. Excellent visuals, fun single player, and addictive multiplayer make this game a must own for Battlefield fans and those who shunned Modern Warfare 2.
