War: what is it good for? Well, in the case of 2008’s FPS Battlefield: Bad Company, war presented the perfect opportunity for four expendable soldiers to abandon their official duties in favour of stealing gold from a foreign military. While on paper this makes for an intriguing shooter, Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment’s title lacked substance, remembered as a mediocre single player adventure with a somewhat underdeveloped multiplayer element. Eighteen months later, the Swedish developer has returned to blast the mighty Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 off its towering pedestal with high-calibre sequel Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

Once again assuming the role of unlikely hero Private Preston Marlowe, players accompany wisecracking technician Sweetwater, explosion-obsessed Haggard and hardened war veteran ‘Sarge’ on a mission to save the world. The United States government has discovered that the Russians are searching for a secret apocalyptic weapon developed by the Japanese during World War II, and it’s up to the rogue misfits of B Company to prevent warmonger Colonel Kirilenko from getting his hands on this devastating WMD. In spite of the serious nature of the protagonists’ obligation in BF:BC2, the witty camaraderie present in the first game has been faithfully preserved. As the cinematic cut-scenes that intermittently interrupt the action illustrate, there’s always time in between fire fights to make jokes, exchange a few whimsical one-liners, and indirectly belittle the use of heartbeat monitors in modern warfare (interpret that as you please, Infinity Ward).

The outlandish single player campaign consists of 13 missions spanning an assortment of exotic locations, from swampy sweltering jungles and coastal industrial complexes to idyllic riverside settlements and isolated snowy precipices. Each locale lends itself to some diverse and challenging scenarios; in one instance, you’ll be sniping enemy troops under the cover of a torrential rainstorm, timing your shots with the claps of thunder booming above you, whereas in another you’re forced to descend the heavily-patrolled Alaskan mountains in sub-arctic temperatures, darting between heated cabins to deter impending hypothermia. B:BC2’s solo experience is built entirely from memorable moments like these. Whether you’re openly engaging the enemy guns blazing or conducting carefully orchestrated infiltrations, the excitement is constant from start to finish. Regrettably, however, DICE has overlooked the game’s co-op potential. Although your well-armed AI buddies are competent and amusing enough as companions, the option to replace some or all of them with human counterparts would’ve been a nice feature.

Before embarking on this entertaining escapade, players should note that B:BC2 is definitely a thinking person’s FPS, due mainly to its adherence to realism. For example, bullets lose velocity over long distances and drop with gravity, which makes sniping a precise and difficult art. Nearby explosions will deafen and disorient you as the upturned dust and debris obscures your vision. Carelessly storming the opposition brandishing an XM8 LMG, its trigger firmly pressed, will in most cases result in an abrupt and deserved death, yet cowering inside a building from an onslaught of Russian troops will only serve you well until an RPG projectile punches its way through the wall to expose your position. The enemy is extremely cunning, and you’ll need more than a full clip and a Rambo mentality to survive.

Thankfully, despite the noticeable linearity of most objectives, the beautifully-constructed expansive environments do provide many methods of approach to help you avoid catching a bullet in the brain. Stealthy types will no doubt opt for identifying discreet flanking routes, whereas some might prefer to dig-in and lure the enemy into their line of fire. That being said, most players will want to take advantage of DICE’s remarkably realistic destruction engine as much as possible when dispatching foes. By my own admission, nothing is more satisfying than propelling an under-barrel 40mm grenade at a camped-up sniper and watching the building he’s occupying fall like a house of cards.

But as much as B:BC2’s single player should be praised as an engaging and compelling war romp in its own right, it makes an accessible and exhilarating tutorial preparing you for the title’s online multiplayer component – which is, in a word, phenomenal. There are four competitive game modes to choose from. Battlefield fans will naturally gravitate towards the familiar Rush mode, where attacking and defending teams of up to 12 players a side fight to destroy or defend strategically placed M-Com stations spread across the map. Attackers succeed by pushing forward and blowing up all eight stations, though the defending team will emerge victorious if they manage to deplete the attacking team’s spawn tickets. If that doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, there’s Squad Rush, a four-a-side compact variant of Rush Standard involving just one M-Com station, Conquest, an equivalent to the well-known domination gameplay paradigm, and Squad Deathmatch, a frantic skirmish between four teams of four gunning for the highest kill count.

Prior to spawning, players can choose from four distinct classes which fall into the categories of Assault, Engineer, Medic and Recon. Each kit consists of predetermined primary and secondary weapons in addition to specialized tools and gadgets exclusive to each kit. As you rank up, your inventory will swell with upgrades and weapons appropriate to your specialization, of which the latter can be customized with anything from ACOG sights and deep penetration bullets to smoke grenade launchers and under-barrel shotguns. If guns begin to bore you, each enormous map features a selection of air, land and sea vehicles ready to wreak havoc with, from fast-moving quad bikes and Humvees to M1A2 tanks and machinegun-mounted ATVs.

The important thing to keep in mind is, whatever you do, however you play, literally everything you contribute to the battle will earn you experience points thanks to a balanced and charitable XP award system. If you’d rather spend your time providing much-needed ammunition to teammates or defibrillating downed squad members over repairing damaged vehicles or killing anything that moves, you’ll still have no trouble climbing the ranks at a decent pace. Put simply, what we have here is an addictive, versatile and rewarding multiplayer that promises longevity and screams brilliance.

Many may think that Modern Warfare 2 is visually more polished, that its campaign is comparable to a Hollywood blockbuster, and that its multiplayer is richer, deeper and longer lasting. True, these are all fair statements, but the moment I witnessed a helicopter pilot eject from the seat of his burning UH-60 Black Hawk before it plummeted into an enemy stronghold, swallowing up its occupants in flames and rubble as a cacophony of explosions echoed across the valley towards me, I agreed wholeheartedly with DICE’s assertion: Battlefield: Bad Company 2 ‘defines modern warfare’. Buy it.

9/10

Filed under: B, C, Games, Modern Warfare 2, Review