Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Developer(s)	EA Digital Illusions CE
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts
Composer(s)	Mikael Karlsson
Series	Battlefield
Engine	Frostbite Engine
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Genre(s)	First-person shooter, action
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by EA Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The game is a direct sequel to Battlefield: Bad Company and was announced at one of Electronic Arts' earnings conferences and was showcased for the first time at E3 2009. The game was released worldwide on March 2010.

Gameplay

Gameplay in Bad Company 2 is primarily a squad based First-person shooter. Similar to previous titles in the series the game is played out on large maps with vehicles, aircraft, turrets, unmanned aerial vehicles armed with hellfire missiles, and so on, but the majority of the game is based around infantry combat. Players can score points by performing a variety of tasks that do not involve directly engaging with opposition players. For example, the "engineer" class can score points through the repair of various equipment and vehicles, or the "medic" class can do so by healing his squad and reviving recently killed players. A key gameplay feature introduced by its predecessor, Bad Company, is destructible environments. The improved system is called "Destruction 2.0". It now allows players to completely demolish a building with sustained explosive firepower, resulting in the building becoming a pile of rubble and killing any trapped inside. The game also introduces bullet drop, a feature previously seen in single-player games such as the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, which causes bullets and other munitions to fall downwards due to gravity.

Along with Battlefield Vietnam, Bad Company 2 is one of only two games in the Battlefield series to show blood without third-party modification.
Bad Company 2 features 15 vehicles, including new additions, such as the UH-60 Black Hawk, a quad bike, a three-man patrol boat, a personal watercraft, a ZU-23 mounted on a BTR-D armored personnel carrier, and a UAV helicopter controlled via remote computer terminals.

The currently available maps are set in various environments from South America and the mountainous regions along the borders of Russia.

Multiplayer

The multiplayer gameplay is designed to be a tactical, team based FPS, which the players can work together to utilize many of the vehicles such as various tanks, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles. Players choose from a set of weapon kits before each spawn, the number of which has been further reduced from Bad Company's five down to four: Assault, Engineer, Recon, and Medic (with the Specialist and Demolition kits condensed into the Engineer class). In addition to the hand grenades and sidearms standard for all classes, each class also has an initial primary weapon and a pair of gadgets unique to that class. A customizable weapon selection menu is also new to the Bad Company series (similar to unlocks in Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 1943). Gaining experience points allows a player to unlock and use different weapons and gadgets, some only usable by a given class and some available to any class the player may use. There are also unlockable items that can modify the game's firearms, such as ACOGs, reflex sights, underbarreled 40mm grenade launchers, smoke grenades, magnum bullets or 12 gauge slugs. Players can also customize their soldiers with ceramic body armor, lightweight combat gear, and Bandoliers for extra ammunition. The player can also work their way through 50 ranks by gaining experience points throughout the game. These points can be achieved in a multitude of ways, dependant on the players actions, whether it be killing an enemy, reviving a teammate, repairing an armoured vehicle, or 'tagging' a tank to make it easier for friendly anti-armor elements to destroy. In order to encourage squad-based gameplay, extra points are awarded to players helping their own squad.

Multiplayer game types

Rush

Players must defend or destroy pairs of M-COM stations for as long as the attacking team's respawn tickets hold out. An M-COM station can be destroyed by planting a charge, using conventional weapons or when a building is collapsed down on it.

Conquest

Players must capture and hold flags for as long as the enemy respawn tickets hold out. Every kill makes the enemy lose one ticket, and enemy tickets constantly decrease when a team controls more than half of the flags on the map. Vehicles unlock as control points are held.

Squad Deathmatch

Up to four squads and one Infantry Fighting Vehicle roam the map. First squad to score fifty kills get the win.

Squad Rush

Squad Rush puts a squad of four players versus another squad of four players for a max of eight player matches of Rush.

The experience points used to unlock the above items are awarded for performing actions conducive to the goals of the player's team, such as eliminating enemy players, healing teammates, or capturing or defending points of interest. Bonuses to the base number of points can be awarded under certain circumstances (such as achieving a headshot in the process of eliminating an enemy player). A dog tag system as seen in Battlefield 2142, Battlefield 1943 and Battlefield: Bad Company returns, awarding players trophies of sorts in the form of opponents' dog tags when they defeat the opponent with a melee attack. It uses PunkBuster to protect the game from cheaters in online multiplayer matches.

On October 19, 2009, game developer DICE posted a Twitter announcement stating the game will have dedicated server support. This was in response to Infinity Ward's announcement on October 17 that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 would not support dedicated servers. Players will also be able to use party chat for each game mode.

Single-Player Campaign

Characters

For the majority of the single player campaign, the player controls Private Preston Marlowe. Marlowe is part of a squad formerly representing a misfit company in a fictional United States Army battalion known as "Bad Company." Other members of the squad include technology expert Private Terrance Sweetwater, demolitions specialist Private George Haggard Jr., and squad leader Sergeant Samuel Redford. The squad, escaping with gold in the previous game but believed to be caught soon thereafter, now work for a special assignment for the Army in securing a dangerous weapon codenamed "Aurora."

Plot

In October 1944, a group of commandos infiltrate an IJN-controlled island in the Sea of Japan. They secure a Japanese scientist who was working on a secret weapon codenamed Aurora and escape the island on a submarine. But as foreshadowed by the scientist's warnings the commandos witness Aurora being fired and perish, and this sparked a myth within the US army which has been dubbed as "Operation Aurora".

In the present day, Privates Preston Marlowe, Terrence Sweetwater, George Haggard, and Sergeant Samuel Redford fight behind enemy lines in Russia in attempt to secure a device related to Aurora. Despite escaping Russian soldiers and completing their believed final mission in their service, the device is discovered to be a fake. Being impressed with their previous activities, Army General Braidwood assigns them to a special operation of stopping Aurora, much to the disappointment of Redford.

The squad travels to Bolivia in search of an agent named Aguire. Through many firefights, they save Aguire. Aguire requests the squad to get all his intelligence detailing Aurora from a French satellite that can be controlled from a base in the Andes Mountains. Sweetwater crashes the satellite and the squad successfully defeat a Russian counterattack aimed at destroying the satellite. Marlowe soon find the black box and proceed to go down the mountain during a blizzard against Russian patrols, and is soon extracted by the others.

During extraction, Aguire briefs the squad about a man responsible for rebuilding Aurora named Arkady Kirelenko; a Russian Army colonel the squad failed to eliminate in Russia. Kirelenko is believed to be hiding in Chile. Marlowe and the squad aided by US forces find Kirelenko, though he soon escapes. Left only with papers from Kirelenko, Sweetwater discovers there is a shipping manifest for an abandoned ship called the "Sangre Del Toro." Aided by the rest of the squad getting the coordinates, Marlowe finds the ship and retrieves an unnamed compound essential to the use of the weapon and finds out the truth behind Operation Aurora.

While attempting to meet Aguire in Colombia their helicopter is shot down and they become separated. Along with their helicopter pilot Flynn they regroup and escape the local militia. Marlowe gives Aguire the compound before finding out that Aguire double-crossed the squad by allying with Kirelenko. Aguire wants revenge against the United States for what happened to his father, one of the commandos in original raid on Aurora, after it is revealed that the US military callously sent them to their deaths. Despite the alliance Kirelenko betrays Aguire and kills him. Flynn intervenes and saves the squad at the cost of his own life.

In a city, Marlowe and the squad find a large cargo aircraft, an Antonov An-124 (Haggard mistakes it for the larger Antonov An-225 Mriya) that is believed to house Aurora. This is immediately confirmed as the weapon releases a powerful electromagnetic pulse, destroying all electronic equipment in the city and thereby causing all military vehicles to cease functioning; a helicopter nearly crashes onto the squad. Everyone except Marlowe becomes disheartened of continuing the mission. Marlowe encourages them to get on the aircraft. The squad infiltrates the aircraft's lower levels as it takes off. After a firefight to reach the cockpit they find it empty. The squad returns to the cargo bay to find Kirelenko attempting to fire Aurora again, now high over the southern United States and thereby causing havoc on the power grid and crippling the country's ability to defend itself against an attack. With the help of explosives from the plane's armory they gain access to Aurora and Marlowe destroys it.

The firefight and the violent destruction of Aurora has crippled the aircraft, sending it plummeting. The squad bails out with Kirelenko trying to grab the last parachute in mid-air. In free fall Marlowe kills Kirelenko before getting the parachute from Sweetwater. The squad lands and regroups in Haggard's home state of Texas behind the destroyed airplane. Shortly after, General Braidwood drives by to inform them that they are to aid the US Army in defense against the incoming Russian invasion that recently passed through Alaska and Canada, much to the squad's disappointment.

Downloadable content

As part of a program designed to encourage game purchases and reward the community, EA and DICE have confirmed that they will periodically release additional content for Bad Company 2. On Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, this content will be available free to "VIP" players, or people who purchased a new copy of the game. Owners of used copies will be able to purchase the content for an additional cost from the respective system's online store. Owners of the PC version will receive this content for free regardless of ownership status.

VIP Map Pack 1

In February 2010, Electronic Arts announced the first downloadable content for Battlefield Bad Company 2. It was released March 2, the same day as the game itself, as a "Day One Map Pack". It included two maps - Nelson Bay, a winter-themed rush map taking place at night, and Laguna Alta, an autumn-themed conquest map.

VIP Map Pack 2

The second map pack was released on March 30, 2010 and added Arica Harbor to Conquest Mode and Laguna Presa to Rush mode.

System Requirements

	Minimum	Recommended
Microsoft Windows
Operating system	Windows XP (32-bit)	Windows Vista or Windows 7 (64-bit)
CPU	Intel Core 2 Duo / Core i3 / i5 @2 GHZ	Quadcore ( Core i5 750 / Core i7 recommended)
Memory	2 GB RAM	4 GB RAM
Free space	10GB for disc version or 15GB for digital version
Graphics hardware	GeForce 7800 GT / ATI X1900 with 256 MB VRAM - DirectX 9	DirectX GeForce GTS 250/ ATI Radeon HD 4870 with 512 MB VRAM - DirectX 10
Sound hardware	DirectX 9.0c compliant Sound card
Network	1 Mbit/s internet connection for online play

VIP controversy

For PlayStation 3, the VIP code will only work for one PS3 account per console. Many PlayStation 3 users have multiple user accounts on one console. For this case any VIP content, like the map packs, will only be available for the one user who entered the VIP code. Likewise on the Xbox 360, the map packs or any other VIP content will only be available for the one user who entered the VIP code. They will not be available to other users on the same Xbox 360.

Development

On November 5, 2009, DICE announced a beta for Bad Company 2. Different game-related sites held contests to obtain beta codes. Retailers also gave beta codes to customers who pre-order the game. The PS3 version of the beta started on November 19, while the PC version was pushed back until February 2010 to increase the beta's capacity.

Each public pre-release build of the game featured a map from the final product; the PlayStation 3, PC beta and Xbox 360 demo each feature the "Port Valdez" map. All versions only featured the "Rush" gameplay mode.

The online multiplayer demo for the Xbox 360 and the beta for the PC were released on January 28, 2010, and servers ran until February 25. The demo was released on the PlayStation 3 on February 4, 2010 in Europe and North America and February 11, 2010 in Asia.

GameZone's Dakota Grabowski interviewed Senior Producer Patrick Bach about the game. Following the negative feedback from PC gamers after the first Battlefield Bad Company was not released on the PC, Electronic Arts and DICE had a separate dedicated team working on the PC version. Bach stated "We see it as very, very hardcore and important part of our customers. So we put a lot of effort into making sure that everything worked perfect.” Bach also commented on the use of peripherals such as a mouse and keyboard on consoles, saying "I don’t think that we have any special connections to peripherals to the consoles … The biggest problem with peripherals for consoles is that the console itself is a level playground. It’s even and you know the consumer has the same technology and have the same peripherals and same controls – which makes it easier for us to create a game that feels fair. By catering to a mouse and keyboard for the consoles, it would maybe skew the even playground."

Audio

The game uses Dolby Digital. The score was composed by Mikael Karlsson and is featured on the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Official Soundtrack, which was released on February 2, 2010.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	90 (PC) 89 (Xbox 360) 89 (PS3)

Review scores

Publication	Score
1Up.com	A-
Game Informer	9.5/10
GameSpot	9.0/10
GameSpy
GameTrailers	9.1/10
GameZone	9/10
IGN	8.9/10
X-Play	4/5

The game has received highly positive reviews. Game Informer magazine gave the game a 9.5 out of 10, praising the improvements made over the first Bad Company.

GameZone's Steven Hopper gave the game a 9.25/10, saying, "Even though the single-player campaign still isn't where it needs to be, Bad Company 2 is definitely a great sequel that builds on its predecessor in every way, making for one that no shooter fan will want to miss, especially if you go online for your gaming."

Gametrailer gave Battlefield: Bad Company 2 a 9.1 out of a possible 10, praising its use of an intertwining multiplayer, but labeling the single player as predictable.

GameSpy reviewer Anthony Gallegos gave the game 4.5 stars out of 5, describing the single-player campaign as "a blast" and concluding that "the staying power for BFBC2 lies in its multiplayer".

Dan Whitehead from EuroGamer reviewed the game and gave it a score of 9/10, describing Bad Company 2 as an "open challenge" to Activision's market leader Modern Warfare 2, and considering it to be the "superior game" when compared to it, with "immediately evident" improvements over the previous game in the series. Whitehead concluded that Bad Company 2 is "the online shooter at its most streamlined, most thoughtful, most exhilarating".

Sales

Since release, 2.3 million copies have been sold worldwide, making it the best-selling video-game of March 2010.

Limited edition

As a pre-order promotion, EA offered the Limited Edition of Bad Company 2 at normal pricing ($50 for PC, $60 for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3). By pre-ordering the Limited Edition, buyers of the PC version were given access to the closed beta from January 28 to February 25. In addition, owners of the Limited Edition on all systems were access to numerous weapons and vehicle perks

In addition to the six upgrades offered by EA on all pre-orders, select retailers offered their own incentives as well. Copies pre-ordered at GameStop came with an additional code, unlocking the AKS-74U carbine and giving access to the Squad Rush game mode 30 days early (North America only). All six upgrades, as well as the AKS-74U, are also available to owners of the Standard Edition of the game, but they must be acquired by accumulating points in-game.

In addition to the limited edition content available through use of a code, users of Battlefield's Veteran program can gain access to the M1 Garand rifle.

External links

• Battlefield: Bad Company 2 official website