Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
- September 12, 2005 17:19 PM PST
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Battlefield 2's primary objective is to redefine fast-paced first-person warfare.
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat marks the franchise's first assault on console territory, and early recon suggests a solid foundation ringed by ambitious new features.Set in Kazakhstan, the single-player campaign puts you on both sides of a full-scale war, boasting more than 50 weapons, 30 vehicles, and a variety of soldier combat classes, each sporting their own kit. Each grunt you possess is upgradeable via efficient killing performance, lending a mild RPG element to the frenzied action. The online component allows up to 24 players to raise hell on over a dozen maps, while support for clans, voice communications, and full stat tracking should help foster a lively online community upon release.
The most exciting new feature is "HotSwapping," which permits you to jump like some shell-shocked wraith from soldier to soldier, whether he's piloting an assault chopper half a mile away, or pinned down mere yards from you. This ability alone effectively trades the sense of being a one-man army for a more realistic outlook on the scale of war, and keeps the action fast and furious even across vast distances. Winning requires picking the right man for any given job, rather than constantly juggling your weaponry.
There are, of course, open issues in this early build, and a good deal of polishing is left to be done, but the potential is already clearly visible. This is one war we can't wait to start.
