[HEADING=1]Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Multiplayer Review[/HEADING]
The review is based on the PC version of the game.
After reading through all the other BFBC2 reviews on this site, I noticed something: nobody really bothered to review the Multiplayer in full. So I decided to do just that. Even if it might be a bit late.
Let's begin by describing what it is:
You and up to 31 other people (some of which maybe twats behave in a very stupid manner) mow each other down by the dozens to win a battle.
There are 4 modes that can be played:
1.Conquest -> This is pretty much the main mode. The idea is to capture control points A(lpha),
B(ravo),C(harlie) and occasionally D(elta). Most, if not all players are focused on
capturing/defending so you better be too if you want to make any points.
2.Rush -> Team A is sent out to destroy crates that Team B must defend. However, team A only
has a limited amount of time to complete their objective,
whereas team B are at leisure in this respect.
3.Squad Deathmatch (SQDM) -> 4 Squads (total 16 people) try to eliminate one another.
4.Squad Rush -> I have no idea what this is. If someone could enlighten me, that would be great.
I've mostly played Conquest, but I've also played Rush sometimes. I haven't played both SQDM (due to a lack of interest) and Squad Rush (due to there being no servers for this mode).
Teams A and B are respectively the U.S.A. and the Russians. Both have differently positioned bases depending on if they're supposed to be defending an objective (like, say, a dam). However, the objective you're supposed to fight over (map story-wise) is only given away at the end of the match in the Win/Lose cutscene.
[HEADING=3]Maps[/HEADING]
There are a lot of maps (which PC players get for free) and all of them are varied and don't endorse camping: every single thing has at least 2 exits, and also a few more you can make yourself. There's your hilly and really big battlefield (Heavy Metal or Harvest Day), Jungle Maps (Laguna Presa), Long Maps with lots of choke points (Port Valdez), Desert Maps (Arica Harbour or Atacama Desert) and snowy maps too (like White Pass). Most of the maps can thankfully be played in whatever mode you like.
No pesky campers up there any more.
The maps make a big thing of the destroyable structures in them. That pesky camping sniper on the second floor? Blowing him away together with his section of the wall will feel very satisfying indeed.You can also do this with Tanks (you can blow some walls of a building up so that you have a makeshift garage if you are so inclined). The fact that all arms fire breaks cover is also something you should be aware of (though you can use it to your advantage by using your sniper/LMG to blow a hole in the exact middle of a concrete block and make yourself a sniper nest).
[HEADING=3]Vehicles[/HEADING]
Helicopters like this usually require a group of 2, 4 or 5 people to fly correctly (and more importantly - to stay that way).
Tanks are easy to drive and pack lots of firing power, but they're also rocket magnets, so be careful.
Vehicles include Abrams Tanks, T90 Tanks, Buggies, HMMWVs, Quads, Helicopters (think Apache or Blackhawk) and are available to everyone. There are even maps where there's only one tank that both factions fight over (Oasis). All ground and water vehicles (Oh I forgot to mention: there are boats!) handle well and don't feel floaty (except for the boats - but those better float or you have a problem).
[HEADING=3]Weapons[/HEADING]
Pistols are lightweight, but don't deal much damage. They do, however, look cool.
Weapons are varied and include all the favourites: AUG, GOL, M95, M416,M16,PKM,SPAS-12 - there's something for everyone. The guns feel different and mostly also shoot different (fully automatic, semi-automatic, burst2X and 3X are all present). Recoil is present, but not too stupidly high to interfere with gameplay or too low to make targeting on full auto easy. None of the weapons feel floaty, and all of them shoot pretty straight. And that brings to the next topic: bullet drop. Bullet drop varies depending on what weapon you are using and can be anywhere from stupidly bad to none (tip: shotguns don't have bullet drop, but they also lack sights). In the pistols department, Bad Company 2 is well served, with a variety of pistols (including the Tracer dart) available to all classes.
The XM8 Assault Rifle. Heavy Recoil, but the solid accuracy, good damage and high rate of fire make up for it. This picture also shows off the weapon attachments.
Weapon Attachments: when playing as the Assault class, you get an under barrel attachment like a grenade launcher or 40mm shotgun (very handy in CQC). For everybody else except shotgun users it's the standard fare of Red Dot and 4X scopes along with an ammo upgrade (that sits in the same slot as the scopes, so you've got to be careful what you pick).
[HEADING=3]Classes[/HEADING]
Classes are Assault (ARs and ammo boxes), Medic (Light Machine Guns, Medkits and Defibrillators), Engineer (Submachine Guns, Rocket Launchers and a Repair tool) and Recon (Sniper Rifle, C4 or Mortar Strike, Motion Mine). Pistols are available to all classes, as are shotguns (yes, you can be play Recon with a shotgun if that's what you fancy doing). This also swiftly brings us to the next point: Progression. In the beginning, you have to unlock the basic abilities of each class. Even if that's done fairly quickly, it's still an annoyance. Most weapons are unlocked when reaching a designated amount of points with the class of your choice, but some are unlocked based on your overall rank (level). These weapons can then be used by every class and are mostly shotguns, with some Assault Rifles (like the M14 or G3) put in for variety.
[HEADING=3]Hardware/Software problems and updating[/HEADING]
Upon buying the game, in order to play online, you'll need to update. The updates are 5GB big together and take a few hours to download. Makes you wonder why they can't include all that stuff on a second disc.
Now let's move on to the other things: Hardware and software related problems. Now, BFBC2 has an absolutely massive number of those. It's mostly incompatible with Windows Server 2008R2 (my OS), and will only run properly once it can get enough processing power and RAM for itself. It requires at least an AMD Athlon II X2 220 or an Intel LGA1155/1156 dual core CPU (I was getting hard freezes with my old CPU, a Celeron E3400, running 2.6GHz on a LGA775 Motherboard). The game can take up to 0.7-1.1-1.5GB of RAM depending on Graphics settings and map.
It has also got a lot of compatibility issues with specific Realtek sound chipsets.
On the other hand, the loading times are very short and far in between. A fast Hard disk (like my WD Black 1002FAEX) will accelerate this even more (I don't know about SSDs, but my HDD is just as fast as the cheaper ones anyway, and it also exhibits a longer lifetime).
By this point, the community mostly consists of nice people with very little twats and a lot of team- and objective-oriented players if you care to join a squad.
You might have noticed that I didn't compare Bad Company 2 to Modern Warfare2 anywhere in this review. Well, that's because I have never played MW2. I have played Battlefield 2 though, so I'll compare it to that:
-Better graphics (BF2 graphics look really ugly now)
-Destructo-scenery (yay for Destructo-scenery!)-No really, this changes the way you play the game dramatically.
-Less classes to play as (might be good, since BF2 had so many you literally didn't know what to pick).
-Slightly smaller maps with less players (up to 32 as opposed to 64 in BF2/BF3).
-You have to pay a server provider for a server (if you want one, that is -> there's thousands of servers where nobody's playing if you want to set something up with your clan).
-No ability to play the same maps with AI. This probably isn't too important to MP players.
[HEADING=3]Summary: [/HEADING]If you want to play a fun online shooter, you'll get your money's worth, especially considering that by now the game is only 10-20 bucks depending on your country.
Thanks for reading through this pile of text and please comment!
Reviewed with this Hardware:
Processor: Intel i3-3220 @ 3.3GHz
RAM: 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1333 CL9
Mainboard: Gigabyte B75M-D3H
Graphics card: Gigabyte HD6670 2GB DDR3
HDD 1: WD Caviar Black 1002FAEX
HDD 2+3: not relevant, since both the game and the OS are on the first hard disk drive.
EDIT 2013/09/10: Corrected all spelling mistakes and typos. Will do a better version of this review when I feel like doing so (could be some time until I feel up to playing a Spunkgargleweewee multiplayer shooter again. How I feel about playing a certain type of game is what governs when my reviews come out).
The review is based on the PC version of the game.
After reading through all the other BFBC2 reviews on this site, I noticed something: nobody really bothered to review the Multiplayer in full. So I decided to do just that. Even if it might be a bit late.
Let's begin by describing what it is:
You and up to 31 other people (some of which may
There are 4 modes that can be played:
1.Conquest -> This is pretty much the main mode. The idea is to capture control points A(lpha),
B(ravo),C(harlie) and occasionally D(elta). Most, if not all players are focused on
capturing/defending so you better be too if you want to make any points.
2.Rush -> Team A is sent out to destroy crates that Team B must defend. However, team A only
has a limited amount of time to complete their objective,
whereas team B are at leisure in this respect.
3.Squad Deathmatch (SQDM) -> 4 Squads (total 16 people) try to eliminate one another.
4.Squad Rush -> I have no idea what this is. If someone could enlighten me, that would be great.
I've mostly played Conquest, but I've also played Rush sometimes. I haven't played both SQDM (due to a lack of interest) and Squad Rush (due to there being no servers for this mode).
Teams A and B are respectively the U.S.A. and the Russians. Both have differently positioned bases depending on if they're supposed to be defending an objective (like, say, a dam). However, the objective you're supposed to fight over (map story-wise) is only given away at the end of the match in the Win/Lose cutscene.
[HEADING=3]Maps[/HEADING]
There are a lot of maps (which PC players get for free) and all of them are varied and don't endorse camping: every single thing has at least 2 exits, and also a few more you can make yourself. There's your hilly and really big battlefield (Heavy Metal or Harvest Day), Jungle Maps (Laguna Presa), Long Maps with lots of choke points (Port Valdez), Desert Maps (Arica Harbour or Atacama Desert) and snowy maps too (like White Pass). Most of the maps can thankfully be played in whatever mode you like.
No pesky campers up there any more.
The maps make a big thing of the destroyable structures in them. That pesky camping sniper on the second floor? Blowing him away together with his section of the wall will feel very satisfying indeed.You can also do this with Tanks (you can blow some walls of a building up so that you have a makeshift garage if you are so inclined). The fact that all arms fire breaks cover is also something you should be aware of (though you can use it to your advantage by using your sniper/LMG to blow a hole in the exact middle of a concrete block and make yourself a sniper nest).
[HEADING=3]Vehicles[/HEADING]
Helicopters like this usually require a group of 2, 4 or 5 people to fly correctly (and more importantly - to stay that way).
Tanks are easy to drive and pack lots of firing power, but they're also rocket magnets, so be careful.
Vehicles include Abrams Tanks, T90 Tanks, Buggies, HMMWVs, Quads, Helicopters (think Apache or Blackhawk) and are available to everyone. There are even maps where there's only one tank that both factions fight over (Oasis). All ground and water vehicles (Oh I forgot to mention: there are boats!) handle well and don't feel floaty (except for the boats - but those better float or you have a problem).
[HEADING=3]Weapons[/HEADING]
Pistols are lightweight, but don't deal much damage. They do, however, look cool.
Weapons are varied and include all the favourites: AUG, GOL, M95, M416,M16,PKM,SPAS-12 - there's something for everyone. The guns feel different and mostly also shoot different (fully automatic, semi-automatic, burst2X and 3X are all present). Recoil is present, but not too stupidly high to interfere with gameplay or too low to make targeting on full auto easy. None of the weapons feel floaty, and all of them shoot pretty straight. And that brings to the next topic: bullet drop. Bullet drop varies depending on what weapon you are using and can be anywhere from stupidly bad to none (tip: shotguns don't have bullet drop, but they also lack sights). In the pistols department, Bad Company 2 is well served, with a variety of pistols (including the Tracer dart) available to all classes.
The XM8 Assault Rifle. Heavy Recoil, but the solid accuracy, good damage and high rate of fire make up for it. This picture also shows off the weapon attachments.
Weapon Attachments: when playing as the Assault class, you get an under barrel attachment like a grenade launcher or 40mm shotgun (very handy in CQC). For everybody else except shotgun users it's the standard fare of Red Dot and 4X scopes along with an ammo upgrade (that sits in the same slot as the scopes, so you've got to be careful what you pick).
[HEADING=3]Classes[/HEADING]
Classes are Assault (ARs and ammo boxes), Medic (Light Machine Guns, Medkits and Defibrillators), Engineer (Submachine Guns, Rocket Launchers and a Repair tool) and Recon (Sniper Rifle, C4 or Mortar Strike, Motion Mine). Pistols are available to all classes, as are shotguns (yes, you can be play Recon with a shotgun if that's what you fancy doing). This also swiftly brings us to the next point: Progression. In the beginning, you have to unlock the basic abilities of each class. Even if that's done fairly quickly, it's still an annoyance. Most weapons are unlocked when reaching a designated amount of points with the class of your choice, but some are unlocked based on your overall rank (level). These weapons can then be used by every class and are mostly shotguns, with some Assault Rifles (like the M14 or G3) put in for variety.
[HEADING=3]Hardware/Software problems and updating[/HEADING]
Upon buying the game, in order to play online, you'll need to update. The updates are 5GB big together and take a few hours to download. Makes you wonder why they can't include all that stuff on a second disc.
Now let's move on to the other things: Hardware and software related problems. Now, BFBC2 has an absolutely massive number of those. It's mostly incompatible with Windows Server 2008R2 (my OS), and will only run properly once it can get enough processing power and RAM for itself. It requires at least an AMD Athlon II X2 220 or an Intel LGA1155/1156 dual core CPU (I was getting hard freezes with my old CPU, a Celeron E3400, running 2.6GHz on a LGA775 Motherboard). The game can take up to 0.7-1.1-1.5GB of RAM depending on Graphics settings and map.
It has also got a lot of compatibility issues with specific Realtek sound chipsets.
On the other hand, the loading times are very short and far in between. A fast Hard disk (like my WD Black 1002FAEX) will accelerate this even more (I don't know about SSDs, but my HDD is just as fast as the cheaper ones anyway, and it also exhibits a longer lifetime).
By this point, the community mostly consists of nice people with very little twats and a lot of team- and objective-oriented players if you care to join a squad.
You might have noticed that I didn't compare Bad Company 2 to Modern Warfare2 anywhere in this review. Well, that's because I have never played MW2. I have played Battlefield 2 though, so I'll compare it to that:
-Better graphics (BF2 graphics look really ugly now)
-Destructo-scenery (yay for Destructo-scenery!)-No really, this changes the way you play the game dramatically.
-Less classes to play as (might be good, since BF2 had so many you literally didn't know what to pick).
-Slightly smaller maps with less players (up to 32 as opposed to 64 in BF2/BF3).
-You have to pay a server provider for a server (if you want one, that is -> there's thousands of servers where nobody's playing if you want to set something up with your clan).
-No ability to play the same maps with AI. This probably isn't too important to MP players.
[HEADING=3]Summary: [/HEADING]If you want to play a fun online shooter, you'll get your money's worth, especially considering that by now the game is only 10-20 bucks depending on your country.
Thanks for reading through this pile of text and please comment!
Reviewed with this Hardware:
Processor: Intel i3-3220 @ 3.3GHz
RAM: 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1333 CL9
Mainboard: Gigabyte B75M-D3H
Graphics card: Gigabyte HD6670 2GB DDR3
HDD 1: WD Caviar Black 1002FAEX
HDD 2+3: not relevant, since both the game and the OS are on the first hard disk drive.
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EDIT 2013/09/10: Corrected all spelling mistakes and typos. Will do a better version of this review when I feel like doing so (could be some time until I feel up to playing a Spunkgargleweewee multiplayer shooter again. How I feel about playing a certain type of game is what governs when my reviews come out).