Barnes

AS I have mentioned in a few forum posts, I jumped in and pre-ordered BF Bad Company 2.

Mainly as I am bored and need a game, but I also wanted to give DICE another chance. I have been itching for a FPS, and I was underwhelmed with the latest CoD: MW2, as it had too much of a console feel, and the maps are small.

Nothing in the past few years could match the "Battlefield" feel. Large maps, balanced classes, vehicles, etc.

Well, I am happy to say that Battlefield is BACK!

Bad Company 2 is kinda a mix of BF2, BF2142 , and some BF42 all mixed into one.

The Beta Map is in an Artic setting. So it has a white, frozen look to things. The look and feel is Battlefield. Battlefield for the PC that is.

With CoD:MW 2 - I always felt like I was playing the console version.
Not so with BF:BC2! The Devs spent extra for the PC, as DICE remembers its roots. The map is large, free flowing, up to 32 players, and a ton of fun. Also, there will be Server support (unlike CoD: MW2)

One of the best new features is the destructible environments. You can knock buildings down, there will be craters in the road from explosions, Trees come tumbling down. This is part of the new Frostbite engine, and adds an extra layer.

But another thing happened in the games that I played last night- teamwork. Engineers running behind tanks as they advanced, medics throwing out med packs, pesky snipers giving cover in the trees. You can create and join squads.

There are perks and rewards, as well as a rank system that you can advance up, similar to BF2 and BF2142.

The gameplay mode in the Demo is called Rush. There is an attacking side and a defending side. The attackers have to destroy points in progression (A to B , etc) So it creates battle areas that get wiped out with destruction. Its a blast to play once you get the hang of it.

The Bad:
It is a DEMO! There are still MASSIVE issues with the server browser, connecting to a game, CTD's, etc. Some graphical glitches (floating trees) There were reports of LAG, but I did not experience any. However- I had several CTD in trying to connect to a game. The server browser mainly.

Dice is really working hard on the issues, that is why the Demo is now, and the actual game launches in March. There will be plenty of time to work out the bugs.

Note on Battlefield 1943 for PC- This is already out on PS3/XBox. But that version could not support larger maps, more players. What I hear is that they will be releasing BF1943 as an add on to BF BC2 for $15. They expanded the maps to play better on the PC. I think this will hit maybe a month after BF:BC2 launches.

I think that Fileplanet may be offering a Demo soon. I pre-ordered through Steam.

If you are looking for a FPS, and maybe jumping back into our gaming roots of Battlefield, then give the Demo a try.

Terry