Battlefield 2

Moving from the jungles of Vietnam to the modern Middle East, Battlefield 2's relentless focus on realism shows signs of paying off once again.

The fight moves from Vietnam to the Middle East in Battlefield 2, the latest installment in the online FPS series. Set in the modern day, Battlefield 2's conflicts take place between American, Chinese, and the Middle East Coalition. Each force holds an arsenal of unique weapons and vehicles that, in true Battlefield series form, adhere to a balanced rock/paper/scissors structure. That balance also lends itself to the new troop types like the Medic, who can revive friendly soldiers, and the Anti-Tank troops that pack equipment to take out armored targets. Another new character type, the Squad Leader, is particularly valuable because he serves as a mobile spawn point for his team. These new character classes mesh neatly with the new persistent ranking scheme, which is similar to the system used by Halo 2's Xbox Live mode. As you perform appropriate duties in each combat role (such as sniping enemies or reviving comrades), you'll earn permanent promotions that carry special perks. But in a puzzling touch, the game won't demote you for naughty acts (like team killing).

Visually, Battlefield 2's radically redesigned graphics engine sported several noticeable improvements in the preview build. Compared to those in Battlefield Vietnam, the soldiers in Battlefield 2 looked far more realistic and featured cutting-edge details like rag-doll death animations. The environments boasted some big enhancements as well, like smoother terrain and crisply rendered grass and foliage (which, in a nice touch, swayed gently in the breeze). But the early build's uneven performance, which sputtered occasionally even on the fairly powerful test PCs, could be a potential problem. Hopefully, the developers can fine-tune Battlefield 2's frame rate before it hits stores this summer.

Despite the performance problems in the unfinished version, the game showed plenty of promise. Barring any unfortunate surprises, Battlefield 2 is almost sure to thrill fans of hard-edged, realistic modern warfare.

Comments [0]

post a comment

Post a Comment