by Don Hatfield
April 2nd, 2008 -
The war is over, but you and your squad aren’t ready to leave yet. There are scores to settle and gold to collect, so you’ll have to risk it all on your personal crusade for riches and revenge in Battlefield: Bad Company.
The Battlefield: Bad Company Beta shows off the game's unique multiplayer game mode, Gold Rush. In Gold Rush gamers are pitted against each other as either attackers or defenders. Defenders must prevent the attackers from destroying the two crates located in their base. If the defenders are not successful and the two crates at their base are destroyed a new section of the map is revealed and the defenders are given the chance to regain their hold by preventing the attackers from destroying two more crates. This continues until the attackers destroy all of the crates or the defenders kill all of the attacker’s reinforcements.
Bad Company allows players to compete in both ranked and unranked online matches. While playing, gamers earn experience points based on their performance during matches, which will increase your rank and reward you with credits that can be used to unlock new weapons and upgrades. However some weapons are not available using credits earned through battle alone, and must be purchased through the XboxLive Marketplace.
Vehicles also play a big part in your defense and attacks. There are a wide range of vehicles at your disposal, everything from large, building dropping tanks to speedboats equipped with heavy artillery. Using vehicles is a great way to get from one side of the expansive maps to the other and I must say having your teammates in a helicopter above you, lighting up the opposing team while you plow through them in your Hummer is a pretty rewarding experience. The ability to spawn into the unoccupied turret of a moving vehicle makes for an endless assault and some pretty frantic gameplay, but don’t think that getting in a tank and roaring into enemy territory is going to win you the match, the opposing team has plenty of firepower and will not have any trouble stopping that beast in its tracks.
Being a newcomer to the Battlefield series the controls are pretty standard, though at times they can be a hassle. Attempting to switch from gun to knife can make for some pretty frustrating and sloppy melee kills and the same goes for throwing grenades, rather than just pushing a button to throw a grenade your gun must be swapped out first, once again leaving you vulnerable to opposing gunfire, so make sure to take cover before you attempt a toss. Aiming is pretty smooth, but at times I had trouble seeing the people I was shooting at, thank god for that grenade launcher, if you can’t see that sniper blow up the wall he is hiding behind and fill the room with bullets you’ll know when you start hitting him via a red half circle under your sight. Sprinting is accomplished by depressing the left joystick, but if you want to get across the map I suggest using a truck to prevent a sore thumb, these maps are kind of big and sprinting from one end to the other just wastes precious crate destroying time.
I am impressed with the creativity seen in this beta version of the title and am eagerly awaiting the full version. As I have already said the two maps that are available in the beta are rather large and allow several styles of play, whether you’re a sniper looking for that wanderer or a run and gunner looking for anything that moves there is a place for you on the battlefield. The beta provided us with two of the multiplayer maps, Ascension and Oasis, on Ascension players will have to duke it out in a more close quartered setting while Oasis provides you with all the available vehicles and the ability to attempt a more mobile onslaught.
The long list of weapons and vehicles make for great battles and provide players with several ways to play each match. I can’t wait to see the improvements made to the full version coming out this June, and I can’t help but think that this game will make for a good summer buy.
For more information regarding Battlefield: Bad Company please visit Battlefield.com.