Simply the greatest modern warfare experience you'll ever...experience.
The game follows the same members of Bad Company from the last game. Marlowe, Sweet Water, Haggard, and Sarge. Although the story in this game makes a tangent line with the first one, it's still not bad. The only thing stopping this game from achieving a perfect 10, is that there's no coop mode. I understand that some parts of the campaign are designed for only one person, but it would have been nice if they made a separate campaign of the story arc made for 2 or more people. In the end, it doesn't make that big of a difference, but it still would have made the game that much more enjoyable. The games use of mood is astounding. It can be extremely humorous, or creepy and dead serious. There are some parts of the game that actually creep you out just a little bit.
The environments in single player are a little less destructible to prevent players just blasting short cuts everywhere, but you can still lay waste to many things along the way, so it's all good. Too much sniper fire in the main road? Shoot the side of a house with a grenade launcher, and go around. Your knife can also be used to destroy fences and doors in your way. Walls and doors break realistically and are very satisfying to destroy. The games multiplayer is where it truly shines. Many people will tell you, that this game is by far better than Modern Warfare 2. In my opinion, I do think it is better. The multiplayer in this game isn't a spam fest. It takes a fair amount of skill to shoot and control recoil. You also have to compensate for distance and bullet drop. It's not just point and click, bullet goes there instantly. Grenade launchers are a common weapon, but for the most part they aren't as easy to use as they are in other games, you most likely won't get more than one kill per shot. There are multiple attachments and perks to unlock. There are over 60 weapons/gadgets you can use on the go, and about 5 or so additional weapon turrets that are mounted in some positions around the map. Teamwork is highly rewarded in this game. A team is divided into multiple squads, although your voice communication is only heard by members of your squad, you can still type to the rest of your team. One unique mechanism in this game is the ability to 'spot' enemies. You can press a designated key while aiming over an enemy vehicle/unit and it will appear for everyone to see on their HUD and map for a few seconds. This is very useful for giving your engineers a heads up when enemy vehicles are rolling in, and spotting targets for your sniper.
Working with any teammate will give you experience in your class. For example, an assault class may drop an ammo box next to a teammate, and receive 10 exp for his assault kit every time someone gets resupplied by that box. However, if he resupplies a squad member, he gets an additional 10 exp for everything he does. Instead of getting 10 exp for a resupply, he would get 20. The same applies for repairing vehicles, reviving/healing teammates, assisting in an enemy kill, following squad orders (you get points by attacking/defending wherever the squad leader chooses), and you even get points if someone kills an enemy you spotted. There is a hardcore mode, similar to MW's hardcore mode, and beyond that there are 4 game modes. This game is most definitely one that can be strategic. For example, there may be a wooden bridge connecting one base to another. This would normally allow vehicles to transport across the two bases, but a simple C4 charge will take out that bridge and force vehicles to take a longer route. You may also be chasing an enemy soldier into a house. As you run in, you think you've cornered him, only to discover that he's escaped through a large gaping hole in the middle of the living room, likely made by a 40mm attachment.
Bad Company 2 is very balanced and each kit has its own use. The community definitely uses some weapons more often than others, but you'll have an incentive to use every kit at one point or another. Engineers can keep vehicles alive exponentially longer, as well as easily take apart enemy ones. They also carry silenced sub-machine guns for low-profile, close quarter kills. Snipers can lay down motion sensors and call in mortar strikes. They can attach spotting scopes to scout for the team, or even a 12X scope, for maximum accuracy at longer ranges. Assaults can provide an infinite supply of ammo to their teammates, which allows other classes to use their equipment more often. They also have a variety of 40mm attachments to select from. And finally, medics prevent teammates from dying and can even reverse the process thanks to defibrillators.
Summary of Pros VS Cons
Pros
-The physics are excellent, environments are nearly entirely destructible. Trees, fences, entire buildings, concrete blocks, almost anything will realistically break into a cloud of debris and dust.
-Shooting is enjoyable and requires some skill.
-It's balanced for the most part.
-Definitely rewarded for teamwork, even the best players will probably struggle if they try to be a lone wolf.
-Requires strategy and some planning
-More fun than MW series.
-Game modes help keep it fresh.
-Plenty of guns, gadgets, vehicles, and perks.
-Good use of mood
-Characters in campaign are memorable, despite it being somewhat short.
-Sound is phenomenal -Visuals are astounding
-First game that made my heart race due to intensity of explosions. :)
Cons
-No co-op campaign :(
-One of the harder games to run on the PC. It's not as hard as Crysis, but it's up there. Older computers will definitely struggle, and you'll need a mid-high end graphics card to keep frame rates consistently smooth. Supposedly a quad core also helps, as the game is very CPU intensive.
-Hit reg is messed up sometimes. Overall: This is by far the greatest modern warfare based FPS I've ever played. If you enjoy playing intense teamwork based fire fights with vehicles, explosions, destructible environments, tons of customizable guns, amazing gadgets, massive maps, and more, then you'd be doing yourself a huge favor by picking one up. All versions are enjoyable, with PC typically being the best choice if your computer is strong enough to handle it.