Battlefield 2: Special Forces
- November 18, 2005 00:00 AM PST
Battlefield 2 expands with Special Forces, offering a host of new goodies but none of the balancing and bug fixes the game's fans really crave.
Fans' reactions to the hotly anticipated and unbelievably gorgeous Battlefield 2 were decidedly lukewarm at best, and cooled further by major bug and balancing complaints. Nevertheless, a lightning-quick expansion pack is almost upon us, dramatically increasing the game's content. Battlefield 2: Special Forces expands your options with six new armies and a full platoon of new goodies, including eight maps, 12 weapons and 10 vehicles.EA promises that the infantry game will be the focus of this expansion pack. One of the more promising features, the zip line, will allow you to use grappling hooks or crossbows to achieve height not previously available to ground troops. This should be especially useful to snipers--but there isn't much cover on the roofs of buildings. Tear gas and flashbangs have also been added, and they cause the disorienting underwater effect used so effectively in Saving Private Ryan.
The early build we played, which only had one single-player map and two multiplayer maps available, was still lacking a lot of the new features, including all of the vehicles (which are rumored to include jet skis and new helicopters). The furious action and cool new elements sound promising, but in light of BF2's gameplay issues, this expansion may be offering the right things in the wrong places. Look for our full review soon.
