[Game Review] Battlefield: Bad Company (XBox 360)

System: XBox 360 (Also on PS3)
Developer: DICE Studios
Pulbisher: Electronic Arts
Genre: FPS

In a time dominated by Call of Duty, Battlefield: Bad Company brings something to the First Person Shooter table. With the launch of its sequel only hours away, I figured I would give you folks a taste of what was, and of what can be expected. Bad Company delivers in many areas that other FPS games don’t, namely, environment. When you get in the game, I urge you, take a look around at a building or tree and SHOOT at it.

Trees come down, windows break, grenades will BLOW UP WALLS! Artillery and tank rounds will leave smoldering craters where people once were and buildings will crumble. The game brings a fantastic sense of realism on the virtual battlefield by allowing both the player and AI to change the playing field at almost any time. This leads up to one of my major gripes about Bad Company, namely in the single player area, and that is AI.

Now, your team of oddball soldiers who are made up of a few should be convicts and a Sergeant who wants to get out early seems great, and are GREAT in cutscenes. The problem was that most of the great realism brought about by environments is lost by the Uber-AI soldiers. Stealth seems to be out of the question. Fire a round into a soldier and every other soldier within a three-mile radius will have their sights on you. Your three man team spouts off a lot of funny, spur-of-the-moment commentary as you engage in fire fights, but they tend to get caught up in just standing in a field or staring into space with the rocket launcher as a tank runs over your face.

This is my one major gripe with Bad Company. Some people may consider the weapon system one but I actually enjoy it. Bad Company gives guns a bit differently than its Infinity Ward counter parts. You get a main weapon, grenade, or pistol depending on what type of gun you acquire. AR’s tend to have mounted grenade launchers while shotguns and LMG’s sport traditional pin activated grenades. Sniper rifles come with a close range pistol or revolver for those hard to reach places.

Single player sports a fun story with a slew of 60’s esque surf rock guitar riffs or classical ensembles as you and Bad Company mange to invade a neutral country and trek across several fictional Russian satellites in search of a mercenary leader with an oil tanker full of gold bars. Sound’s a bit goofy? Well it is, but it’s fun.

As a “hand picked” squad of should-be convicts, and the wannabe outdoorsman Sergeant that leads you, you will come across what I thought were several funny interactions and cut scenes.  Sadly apart from said cut scenes your squad will encounter moments of horrendous worthlessness and you would almost rather be playing MW2 and getting beaten by some eleven year old who’s had waaaayyy too much Mountain Dew.

Multiplayer works very similar to the other Battleflied games (and a lot like Call of Duty) with a ranking system and unlock system, as well as a handful of unique goodies that EA was giving out. You get CLASSES! A medic, Engineer, Recon, and Assault class. Each is fairly self-explanatory and has unique strengths and weaknesses easily combated by TEAM WORK! Multiplayer is greatly improved by getting some buddies to form a four man squad with you, and then going out an blowing the ever loving crap out of everything. Did I mention there’s vehicles? Tanks, helicopters, boats, jeeps, not to mention golf carts as well as a slew of artillery and fixed turrets. These handful of goodies give the multiplayer experience a lot more in that you can roll up with a tank for cover, or have someone provide air support in a bird while you try and secure an objective or capture a flag.

Final Words:

In summary, Battlefield:  Bad Company is a fun shooter whether played alone or with friends. The sometimes frustrating AI can get you while you’re down, but the good looking and destructible environments often make up for the flaws in the AI. Multiplayer is a blast and offers a more strategic take on the FPS genre that DICE Studios has always been known for. Though dated (originally released in ’08) and the highly anticipated sequel hours away, Bad Company is a must for people looking for a fun take on shooters, or people who just want to blow shit up with grenades and rockets!

Pros

  • Destructible environments!
  • Great graphics
  • Lots of ambient noise and fantastic sounds give combat scenes a realistic touch

Cons

  • Often bad AI
  • Some missions tend to drag out and can put you in frusterating situations (due in part to AI)
  • Weapon systems (for some)

Overall: 8.0/10 (Great)

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