Battlefield: Bad Company

Battlefield: Bad Company marches onto next gen consoles with unbelievably polished gameplay that'll have you head over heels.

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Dynamic action, tons of features, and highly-detailed visuals come together for the first significant step forward of console first-person shooters since Halo: Combat Evolved. While there are a few minor quibbles, you're assured to become addicted to Bad Company's twitch gameplay.

Love Is A Battlefield

The unlikely story of Preston Marlowe fills the half dozen missions of single player campaign. Part of a small four-man squad in the US Army's outcast regimen nicknamed "Bad Company," Marlowe becomes embroiled in a crazy quest for mercenary gold. From being disavowed by the Army to joining arms with a mad dictator, the platoon's journey is equal parts hilarity and lethal action. Bad Company is a near perfect mix of weapons and wit, which is refreshing given the series' multiplayer roots.

Expansive, fully destructible levels set Bad Company apart from any other console first-person shooter. Shoot out a window or blast out a brick wall; lob a grenade at a concrete wall or call in a mortar strike onto a bridge-everything deforms realistically according to the amount of physical force applied. A semi-automatic rifle can't take out a bridge, but artillery sure does the trick. It's an impressive display of engineering, but what truly makes the destructibility so fantastic is how intimately it's tied to the action.

Method To The Madness

The ability to wreak havoc at will hasn't been inserted for the sake of a bullet point on the back of the box; on the contrary, destructibility has real meaning, real impact on how you play the game. For example, a sniper camping out in an attic can be obliterated with a well-aimed rocket, eliminating the need to navigate through the building in search of the sniper's vantage point. Of course, you're welcome to climb into the attic if that's how you want to roll. You could also hop into a tank and just turn the entire structure into a pile of rubble.

The ability to dispatch enemies in so many unique ways comes as a result of sophisticated level design and a glut of weapons. Dozens of firearms have been painstakingly replicated for use in the game. A great number can only be equipped once you've found them within the single player campaign, which can be quite the undertaking. Along with bonus gold crates hidden within each mission, there's an enormous amount of content to locate and unlock.

The More The Merrier

All of these finely-tuned elements-the non-stop action, fully destructible environments, huge arsenal of weapons-transfer into multiplayer. A maximum of 24 players can join up for matches on half a dozen well-balanced maps. Right now, only one mode of play is available, Gold Rush. This objective-driven game splits players into two teams, one charged with defending gold caches against the other tasked with blowing them up with explosives. It's intense, challenging, and fresh. Conquest should have been included as a second mode, but you have to download it separately.

Aside from the unnecessary omission of Conquest mode from the disc, Bad Company does pretty much everything right. It sweet talks its way into your heart with visceral first-person combat and a sharp story, but it's the multiplayer that you'll cherish for years to come. Hold up your white flag and surrender to this fine, fine shooter.

PROS: Non-stop, varied action on foot, behind a wheel, or in the air; gorgeous, fully destructible environments; incredible attention to detail.
CONS: Campaign slightly repetitive in spots; standard multiplayer modes not included.

Comments [22]

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Goofball1

Destructible enviroments should be standard as Red faction started it. Crysis perfected it. So expect games to follow suit

EKGPROD

Red Faction was def the standard back in the day. I thought every developer would have implemented destructible envirnments after that game was released. Hopefully now developers will realize that this IS the next step in Next Gen Gaming.

Petroleum_is_good

I really enjoyed the scale of BF 2: Modern Combat.. to imagine blowing the crap out of those buildings excites me

Goofball1

Petroleum_is_good Posted at: 06/23/08 at 12:44 PM PST I really enjoyed the scale of BF 2: Modern Combat.. to imagine blowing the crap out of those buildings excites me
This is what made Crysis so damn enjoyable. Blowing up everything. Trees. Buildings. You name it. You could destroy it. AND when pieces fell on people it killed them.

Petroleum_is_good

I got Crysis for my brother for christmas cuz he's the only person I knew who had a computer that could handle it. I watched him play for a bit... I liked the weapon customizing, reminded me of what I've seen in MGS4 videos (I don't have a PS3) but I wasn't aware it had destructible environments... I guess it was too good for consoles haha. He loved it.

Goofball1

The consoles cannot run a game like Crysis looking the way it does with fully destructible enviroments. Its the only game out that is photorealistic.

Petroleum_is_good

Yea i noticed. i cried blood for a minute after I saw it... well, almost.. all i saw was a beach at night. I've seen lots of videos with the light breaking through the palm trees, and illuminating the foliage of the jungle. nothing like it on any current-gen console. on a side note, something that makes games like Crysis and Far Cry a fresh experience is the setting.. Take it out to the jungle and away from the crumbling city or dark alleyways... I wonder when my boss will get back from lunch? haha

commando567

battlefield bad company looks awesome and I cannot wait until I get to blow stuff up kabooooom!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

dirtbikerbrad94

yea i got the demo off of xbox live and it was great cant wait to get the game

zodiackilla

This is a very good game if you can get over the lack of bullet detection and the sometimes quake style run and hold the button down firefights other then that this game beats cod4 well maybe not but its close and its nice to be able to kill someone and not worry about them running behind you right when they respawn like in cod4s tiny tiny tiny maps. This is prob the best sniper game since operation flashpoint.

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