[some pictures to go here, gonna try using xfire screenshot thing]
Introduction
Battlefield 2 is the third in the series of Battlefield games, the first two being Battlefield 1942 and Vietnam which have/had quite a following in the online PC gaming community. Why is it not called Battlefield 3 then? Marketing I guess, but that doesn’t matter. While the previous games were set in past conflicts, this one is set roughly now, dropping you in the midst of the so-called “war on terror” scenario. As you would expect from the timeframe you’re equipped with modern weapons and tools as well as land and air vehicles, which can make for some varied gameplay albeit mostly within the range of shooting at stuff or blowing it up.
Although there is a single player/offline mode this review will concentrate on the multiplayer/online aspect, as the former is at best redundant. Usually with a new game you would play through the single player mode first and then, once you are more accustomed to the game, go online and test your metal against other players, but not this one. If you’re unfamiliar with the game you will flounder in the offline mode, as you are required from the outset to command several squads of soldiers and navigate vast areas of unfamiliar terrain. My advice would be to go online straight away, join a squad and let someone else do the commanding. It doesn’t matter how rubbish you are you’ll soon learn from following and observing real players.
Gameplay
This is the hardest section to write as depending on which server you’re playing on, with who, as which class, on what map, on what day of the week your game can be quite different.
When you first start the game it appears to be your standard FPS; you have a gun, maybe some grenades or other offensive weapons, when you spot an enemy, you run at them and shoot just like you’ve been doing since Quake or whatever. But you’ll soon discover that this is not the most effective or enjoyable way to play Battlefield 2 as you’ll probably find yourself cut down by multiply enemy targets. The difference with this game (and probably the previous iterations) is that it is designed around team play, more so than any other FPSs that came before it and running alone can be a very dangerous business.
The most fun can be had when you’re in a squad that is sticking together, cooperating and has complimenting classes. For instance you could have squad composed of an Assault troop who provides the offensive element, a Medic who heals and revives downed squad members and also offensive, a Support troop who provides ammo and defence and Anti-Tank or Engineer who can take care of ground vehicles. If the rest of the players on the map aren’t cooperating on the same level there’s a good chance your squad will own the map and soon win the round, which can be very satisfying. Of course the opposite can happen, you can find yourself on a server full of players who think “team” is spelt “IIII” (there is no “I” in “team”, geddit? … never mind). In this case you could explore one of the other tactics, this is where the two remaining classes come in.
The Sniper is fairly obvious and you can get a great deal of enjoyment out of finding a good hiding place and picking off enemy after enemy, until they eventually spot you. Lastly there’s the Special Ops class that is equipped with not only a decent rifle but C4, primarily intended for blowing up the enemy’s tactical installations, like the artillery guns, but can also be put to use blowing up armoured vehicles or sticking to your own vehicle and going on a suicide run.
Of course this are just examples of how you could play, the arenas are so vast and varied there are many options open to you. And I haven’t even covered the vehicles yet, of which there are many, for travelling by land, sea and air. The land and sea vehicles are fairly easy to get to grips with but the aircraft take a little more effort, especially the planes which can cross the huge maps in a matter of a couple of seconds, putting you outside the battle zone which is not a place you want to be as you’ll get shot down.
As far as the basic pointing a gun and shooting aspect goes it’s very solid, both at close and long ranges. Each class’s weapon has its strengths and weaknesses and tweaks are still being made to balance these further.
Finally there are the squad leaders and commander roles, neither of which I’ve spent much time playing as so I wont go into too much detail. What I will say is that with these two positions comes further elements of gameplay; ordering troops around, requesting artillery strikes, supply drops and UAVs which display enemy locations on your map. None of which you need to worry too much about from the outset, just don’t stand in any areas of pulsing red rings on your map.
Sights and Sounds
The most striking thing about Battlefield 2 is the shear scale of the game arenas, they are enormous and the best thing is (if you have a good enough PC) the draw distance is virtually unlimited, as a sniper you can spot troops and vehicle from a couple of miles away. The structural detail of the maps is also very impressive, apparently built from a large palette trees, walls, buildings and floors to create towns, swamps, islands, industrial complexes, airports, mountain ranges and so on and so on. The texture quality of all this detail is nice but functional and (if your hardware is up to it) the dynamic shadows/lighting, particle effects, etc. do a good job of prettying-up the environments. The detail on the troops and vehicles is good, not quite as good as other, smaller scale shooters but it does the job and provides enough realism for you to become immersed in the game.
The same goes for the sound, nice but functional for the most part. The concussion effect of being in or near an armoured vehicle when an explosive round strikes it is a nice touch. And I still like the loading screen music, which has a mixture of East and West styles.
Stuff that sucks
This could end up being a long section as there has been much discussion about what’s wrong with this game. The PC gaming community’s ability to whine loudly and incessantly is legend, but I am not going to go over all the little problems this game has had since release. It is true that the retail version is not good, in fact it is very bad, patching is mandatory and will resolve a vast majority of the problems. PC gamers should be used to this and with virtually all players having broadband this is not a real issue. Bugs that remain since the v1.2 update are few and most players wont experience them, at least not often. Personally I think that all the positive aspects of Battlefield 2 vastly outweigh the negative and I believe DICE and EA have done a good job.
The one slightly annoying things that does continue to effect every single game anyone plays is the map loading time, you will get used to it but it’s still a looonnngggg time. And then there’s server browser which you would think would be a fairly simple piece of code, and easy to fix, but God have mercy on your gaming if you try to felcher your list too much … and then there’s the n00bs … and the sniper whores … and the …
Conclusion
Having always been a fan of FPS I’m going to be an easy sell but this one is something quite special. With the solid engine, huge and pretty environments, cool weapons and vehicles combined with some effective teamwork Battlefield 2 gets my vote as the best FPS around at the moment, bar none. There’s also the system of point accumulation for actions you perform in-game, these add up to new ranks for your character and more importantly weapon unlocks. Which can keep you coming back just to add a few more points on to your account towards your next unlock.
Like most online games (maybe more so with this game than many other FPS) the quality of the gaming is down to yourself and the other players. You could be having a bad game, the other members of your team are not squading up or maybe the commander just feels like dropping artillery on to your head, all this can really spoil your enjoyment. But when you and your squad storm capture point after capture point easy dispatching heavy resistance because it’s disorganised this can give you are real swell of pride.
Score :
