Review | Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Format: Xbox360/PS3/PC | Genre: FPS | Publisher: EA | Developer: DICE | Release date: 05/03/10 | RRP: £34.99-£49.99

“Snowmobiles are for sissies.” This is a sentence spoken by the protagonists of Battlefield: Bad Company 2, one of a few that stands up and points a finger at Modern Warfare and the Call of Duty franchise as a whole. Such bravado could be seen as cockiness or childish name-calling, but these jibes are rooted in the competitive aspect of our industry. More to the point, whether DICE are showing off or not, Bad Company 2 is a better game than Activision and Infinity Ward’s sequel.

Face it: Modern Warfare 2 is a polished but forgettable rollercoaster ride of ludicrous set-pieces. Bad Company 2 is not. Bad Company 2 is for the purists, people who want their action and drama served with a slice of comedy and a side of camaraderie. This game stands taller because it isn’t just a game about shooting dudes in the face; it also has a heart. The writing is dynamic and full of action, the voice acting superb. It’s a game to be enjoyed for everything it has to offer.

Taking over the rag tag heroes of the first game, B Company stumble across parts of a doomsday project and become swept up in a plot that twists and turns wonderfully from start to end. The story is heightened by its cast, the special ops version of the Raggy Dolls. Haggard is still a brash sonofabitch, Sweetwater is ever the techy nerd, the Sarge still wants his retirement and Marlowe is forever stuck in between them all. It’s a brilliant group dynamic throughout.

The dichotomy of this group of individuals is akin to TV series 24, or any action movie: a group of heroes who just want to go home and settle down, only to be dragged back into the danger. As an audience, we love rooting for these people. They aren’t the elites of the army with “pussy-ass heartbeat detectors.” These are hard working men who were built for living, not dying. Journeying with them is endearing. You’re not just playing to see the game completed; you’re playing because you want these men to be rewarded.

BUT YOU DO SHOOT DUDES IN THE FACE, RIGHT?
Bad Company 2 offers plenty of rewards as you explore. Weapons discarded by enemies become collectibles through the game, and picking them up adds to your ever-growing stash of guns. These can be selected at loadouts across the game, but they aren’t just the same guns with different skins. Each firearm has a different aim, kick-back, rate of fire and damage statistic. It adds to the depth, as you play around with each weapon and begin to find your favourites.

Expertly, these loadout boxes are always placed in the best areas; if you’re having trouble taking down a particular group of enemies, then you can run back a few yards and select different guns for the task. It’s a helpful addition, as Bad Company 2 enjoys throwing everything it has at you and watching you squirm. There are spectacular moments littered throughout, moments at which you genuinely suspect you may not come out the other side.

But for each of these epic battles you are once again rewarded, usually with respite to enjoy your surroundings or revel in the world that DICE have created. Travelling from dense jungles to open deserts and stopping at snowy mountain tops along the way, Bad Company 2 forever impresses with its breadth of locations. A highlight is the mountain top, which brings with it a change of pace to the action. As you make your way down to rendezvous with your team, you must navigate through houses and huts, finding fires for warmth. Not doing so will see your vision frost up, and the jangling of your gun from trembling hands becomes unbearable.

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