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Battlefield: Bad Company

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Battlefield: Bad Company
Battlefield: Bad Company cover (Xbox 360)
Developer(s)EA Digital Illusions CE
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
SeriesBattlefield
EngineFrostbite Engine
Platform(s)PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Genre(s)First Person Shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Battlefield: Bad Company (also known as BF:BC, or just Bad Company) is a first-person shooter currently under development at EA DICE, and scheduled for release on June 23 2008 on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.[2] The game was hinted at just before the release of Battlefield 2,[3] and then announced sixteen months later.[4]

Bad Company applies some new features to the franchise, including an environment that can be almost entirely destroyed,[5] and a single-player storyline. The single player campaign and some multiplayer maps take place in the fictional Eastern European country of Serkozache.[6]

Story

The player takes on the role of Preston Marlowe, who is a rookie to 222nd Army battalion, B-Company, a squad of insubordinate soldiers who are risking everything by going AWOL on a personal quest for gold deep behind enemy lines.[7][8] It has been stated that the movies Kelly's Heroes and Three Kings have been strong influences for the story.[9] In the demo, it appears that the United States is engaged in a war with Russia, who is hiring a mercenary army to reinforce their ranks.

Features

The player will be able to use their weapons to damage the environment enabling the player to create ambush sites or take out a sniper's cover.

Destructible Environments

The Frostbite game engine allows 90% of the environment to be destroyed[10], including buildings, vegetation, vehicles, and more. Still, for gameplay purposes, the frames of buildings and other objects will remain indestructible, to prevent the environment from becoming completely flat. Additionally, the game will feature dynamic lighting to correlate with the changing environment.[11]

Classes

In a move similar to Battlefield 2142, the number of soldier classes will be lowered, resulting in a combination of the classic soldier classes. The classes in this game are: Assault, Demolitions, Recon, Specialist, and Support.[12]

Weapons

The Battlefield Bad Company Beta has an arsenal of available infantry firearms, including three handguns. The M9 for the U.S., a .45 cal for the Russians and a high powered revolver for the Mid Eastern force. These three handguns are only available for the Recon class.

Several pieces of equipment are available to infantry, including anti-tank mines, remote charges, mortar attack designators, laser guided missile, anti-vehicle missile launchers and grenade launchers such as the M203 and GP-25.

The Battlefield Bad Company Beta contains 20 locked guns, 10 can be unlocked through playing the game, while 5 of the other 10 will be unlocked in free promotions before and after release. The remaining 5 unlockable weapons will only be made available through purchase of the Gold Edition of the game or by achieving the final rank (level 25). A full list of weapons is available at the website PlanetBattlefield.com.

Vehicles

Available vehicles aren't confirmed, but gameplay and screenshots have revealed several vehicles, including AH-64 Apache, UH-60 Black Hawk, Mil Mi-24 Hind MK III, Ka-50 Hokum, M1A2 Abrams, M2 Bradley and HMMWV. Also in the Demo there is a DPV equipped with a grenade launcher and a machine gun. In the demo, there is an M1 Abrams equipped with a seat for the Driver/Cannon Gunner, and machine gunner. There is an M3A3 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, equipped with one person controlling the driving and rapid-cannon operation, one machine gunner, and two people who can shoot through the windows of the back seat. There is also a HMMWV, equipped with a machine gun. An AH-64D Apache Longbow and a Ka-50 Hokum are also available.

Single Player

There are only two known campaign missions so far; Acta Non Verba and Green Acres, which was released with the demo. In Acta Non Verba the goal is take out Russian supply lines by destroying a weapons depot and fuel dump, and a new PMC faction is revealed. In Green Acres, the player is introduced to his squad and is ordered to attack several small Russian villages, destroy a communications post and finally attack a zeroed artillery position.[13]

Each mission in the game is said to last between 1-2 hours. Throughout each mission are hidden gold bars that can be discovered, but this is not a required task[13].

Upon the player's death, they are able to respawn without penalty.[13]

Multiplayer

Multiplayer will support up to 24 players, and will run on PC-dedicated servers.[14] Gold Rush is one of the game modes in Battlefield: Bad Company. The setup of the game is an Attackers vs. Defenders scenario, in which one team must defend two crates filled with gold while the other team attempts to destroy the crates. Once the crates are destroyed, more of the map is available to fight on with new crates appearing, along with added reinforcement numbers. The attacking team has a limited amount of respawns to achieve their goal of capturing the 2-4 gold stashes either by setting charges or simply destroying the 2 crates of gold at each stash. The defending team has an unlimited amount of respawns available, but their goal is to exhaust the attacking teams tickets (respawns).[13]

The Conquest game mode will be returning in Bad Company. This will not be included when the game is released, instead it will be available as a free download post-launch, however there is currently no date announced.[15]

It has been confirmed that jets will not be available in multiplayer or singleplayer mode because they would be too difficult for players to destroy, but DICE has assured that vehicles will still be a major part of the multiplayer gameplay. Parachutes and the ability of the character to go prone have also been confirmed as not being in the game.

Beta

A multiplayer beta for the Xbox 360 was released on March 25, 2008. To play the multiplayer beta, users had to fill out an application form on IGN.com and, if they fit certain criteria, would be e-mailed a code to be redeemed on the Xbox Live Marketplace. When Public Beta Keys ran out, users had to subscribe to IGN's FilePlanet or preorder the game at Gamestop. Two maps are playable in the beta, Ascension and Oasis and one multiplayer mode, Gold Rush. The beta came to an end on April 28, 2008. [16]

Demo

A demo was released on June 5, 2008. The single-player portion of the demo puts the player at the start of the 'B' company career and introduces them to some of the game's characters, while the multiplayer part includes the Gold Rush mode on the Oasis map. The demo allows players to rank up to level 4, giving the player three weapon unlocks and, for those who complete the demo to level 4, it unlocks an Uzi for multiplayer in the full game. People who pre-ordered the game received the demo one week early on May 29th. The demo contains one multiplayer map, Oasis, which showcases the new Gold Rush mode.

Maps

The retail release will come with eight maps.

Ascension

A multiplayer map set in a Eastern European mountain village with infantry and light vehicle combat, only one Humvee was available in the beta. One of the smaller maps at 1km x 1km wide. Ascension includes lots of shrubbery and trees for destruction as well as scattered houses throughout the terrain.[17]

Harvest Day

A multiplayer map set in a large open field. This map contains several small villages scattered about, with a small river running through the map. [18]

Oasis

A large multiplayer map set in a Middle Eastern setting. It includes land, air, and sea vehicles. The map has a river running through the center, much of the action in games such as gold rush are concentrated on one side of the maps division. However there are still various buildings and hidouts located on the opposite side of the river. There is limited vegitation in parts of the map however tropical trees are a constant feature.[17]

Other

Other maps include Valley Run, Deconstruction, Over and Out, Final Ignition, and End of the Line.[19]

Criticisms

There have been criticisms regarding the game's development and downloadable extras.[20] DICE has stated that five of the ten weapons will be available instantly with the Gold Edition of the game, or by ranking up to level 25 in the regular game. [21]

Find All Five

Find All Five is a way for players to unlock specific weapons. They are codes that enable free downloadable weapons via 5 promotional programs. The website will act as the hub for information on obtaining these unlocks and how to redeem unlock codes. These "Find All Five" weapons include the F2000 assault rifle, USAS-12 semi-automatic shotgun, M60 LMG, QBU-88 sniper rifle and silenced UZI SMG.
To unlock these five EA's website instructs users to participate in the BF Veteran's program, check the player's stats online after playing the game, register for the BF newsletter, pre-order the game through participating stores, and try out the demo before release.

References

  1. ^ a b Battlefield: Bad Company
  2. ^ Ben Karl, "Battlefield: Bad Company," GamePro 235 (April 2008): 36.
  3. ^ "DICE Announces Mystery Projects". IGN. 2005-04-25. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  4. ^ "EA Invites Battlefield: Bad Company". IGN. 2006-08-21. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  5. ^ "Battlefield: Bad Company Hands-on". GameSpot. 2007-06-20. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  6. ^ "Battlefield: Bad Company Hands-on". GameSpot. 2007-06-20. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  7. ^ Battlefield: Bad Company
  8. ^ Battlefield: Bad Company
  9. ^ Battlefield: Bad Company IRC Dev Chat Transcript - Planet Battlefield
  10. ^ http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/34159/Battlefield-Bad-Company-Screenshots ]
  11. ^ [1]
  12. ^ Battlefield: Bad Company list of classes
  13. ^ a b c d "Battlefield: Bad Company Features". Planet Battlefield. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
  14. ^ EA - Action, Fantasy, Sports, and Strategy Videogames
  15. ^ Battlefield: Bad Company
  16. ^ "Battlefield: Bad Company Beta Info". EA DICE. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
  17. ^ a b "Battlefield: Bad Company Maps". Planet Battlefield. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
  18. ^ Battlefield: Bad Company Updated Multiplayer Hands On - Vehicles and Combat - Xbox 360 News at GameSpot
  19. ^ http://badcompany.ea.com/page/dynpid/9312/
  20. ^ Battlefield: Bad Company Impressions | Kotaku Australia
  21. ^ Planet Battlefield - Maps, News, Battlefield 2, Videos, Downloads
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