Battlefield 2 Review (no fat)

Game Description

The revolutionary Battlefield 1942 struck gold when in was released a couple of years ago. The game broke records and brought a much needed balance between simulation and arcade. The sheer size of the game, the multiplayer mode and the multitude of vehicles that could be operated were astonishing. The producers had struck a great balance between simulation and action and so the Battlefield 1942 was widely accepted amongst the gaming community. Not long after the release of the wonder game mods appeared and add-ons were released further expanding the gameplay, but it seems that that just was not enough. Now you’re standing in front of the full fledged sequel, Battlefield 2 is a game that keen on setting new records and pushing this series one more step up the ladder.

Battlefield 2 Gameplay

The system is the same as in the first game, the fun has returned once again but it is bigger and better this time. Battlefield 2’s system sounds very simple: put 64 players into a controlled battlefield scenario, give them tanks, airplanes, ships, whatever vehicle possible, and let them wipe each other out. Many times the atmosphere is that of chaos, the player running with a pack of explosives while enemy helicopters fly above and ship artillery is firing from kilometers away, while his teammates drive around in tanks and jeeps looking for kills; don’t let that fool you though, because in this sequel producers sought order within the chaos.

The game has now moved from the WWII scenario to a more futuristic location, close to our days, staging a conflict between China, USA and an unnamed fictional organization in the Middle East. It boasts only one gameplay mode, the cooperative one…a kind of “king of the hill” with strategic points on the map, you either have to annihilate all that you see before you or control all these points to win.

The actual game may be chaotic at first, everybody starts shooting, most die, and at the end a few come out of the smoke and begin to hunt one another… all very thrilling. Nevertheless, you may find yourself flying a helicopter over the land looking for kills and end up being blown-up by a surface-to-air missile that has come out of nowhere.

The way you control your troops has been vastly improved, instead of talking and commanding 32 players or, worse, having 64 players chat on one single voice channel, the system splits up the squad into small 6 men groups that can be easily be each controlled by one, and so eliminating confusion. The system is structured using a commander that overviews all 32 by looking at a map that has all the allied and enemy players marked and all the objectives, and for each group of 6 men a squad leader that is subordinate to the commander. This chat system creates a usual bond between the 6 members and gives a real feeling of closeness, of fighting for the same goal, but also has the advantage of speed, you don’t have to get yourself tangled in command buttons on your keyboard.

Despite all of these advantages the game is still influenced by the human factor: get a well organized and coordinated team and you can wipe out a much more numerous enemy force that steps on its own footsteps. Unusually there is a tracking system that keeps all the data from the point you fire your first shot to the point you exit the game, this is used to unlock weapons and put you higher on the priority list when choosing a commander.

AI is a masterpiece compared to the virtual zombies the last game had, they now act properly and perform maneuvers, they don’t just stand and take it and sometimes perform very intelligent maneuvers like waiting for air support or throwing grenades to scare players into coming out of their hiding place.

The weapon and characters in Battlefield 2 are accurate and clearly defined, each player has it’s own specific role, ammo, weapons and abilities which in tandem with other players forms strong teams, with offensive and defensive capability, engineering and medical( by the way, did you know that you can kill someone using a medic’s defibrillator? )

Battlefield 2 Graphics

You can’t even begin to describe the visual threat in Battlefield 2, the game just blows all competition away. Grass sways in the wind, beautiful detailed vehicles with pin point texture details have swaying antennas, tank tracks make visible imprints on the ground, smoke pops out when rounds hit the ground and dirt shoots up when a shell explodes, multitude of little details that taken one by one don’t mean too much but taken as a whole make the graphics highly accurate and detailed.

The modeling is great you’ll find every crease and crack on a truck tire and even cracks in jeep windows are visible, also there are no graphical errors and the speed of the show is decent. There is one drawback that is present and it involves getting in and out of vehicles, which is depicted as a teleportation and not as a “climb in/out” sequence.

Battlefield 2 Sound

It wouldn’t be a battle game if the old lady next door did not think that the war is coming, wouldn’t it? The game’s audio atmosphere, the bullets, the explosions, the whooshing helicopter blades and the squeal of jet engines will surely make every granny nearby run for cover. The audio is absolutely superb; you’ll almost feel suffocated with all that’s going around and all the shooting and explosions, the game does a great job of positioning these sounds so you can guide yourself to the nearest cover if you hear “them” coming. Music is kind of dull, docile slow eastern music twinkles through the speakers while huge explosions blast men apart, a truly epic film-like image.

Battlefield 2 Overall

There isn’t really much more to say except that you’ve wasted precious time reading this instead of going to buy the game; it’s that good. You won’t regret a single cent spent on this game it is pure wonder. For those who have played the first game and got they’re eyes open wide when they first started playing… be careful this game will get you so surprised that you’re eyes might dry. It is addictive, you’ll spend hours and hours dodging bullets and inflicting pain using shells the size of your foot, blasting people apart and screaming for cover, you’ll make friends, and even feel sad when other people you’ve played with don’t show up for the daily match. Overall, the game is great, don’t even think when you see the game, just grab it and buy it, it’s worth it !!

Battlefield 2 Cost

The game currently retails for $44.99