Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
- April 11, 2006 11:40 AM PST
- Email this!
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat certainly earns some medals in the war zone, but it falls short as a solo military jaunt.
- GamePro Score
- User Score
- Write your review!
Red and Blue States
The Battlefield rules of operation apply in Modern Combat. Much like previous Battlefield games, the gameplay is a mix of fast first-person shooting with a hint of authenticity of the era in which you're fighting. This time around, the battle zone is modern day Kazakhstan and the Chinese, European Union, Middle East Coalition, and U.S. are all vying for prime positioning. At your disposal are some of today's most bad-ass and powerful weaponry that range from shotguns and automatic machine guns to rocket launchers and artillery poundings. Even better, you can commandeer an armory of specialized attack vehicles--including helicopters, tanks, and even snowmobiles--to better your war against the foes.
A Live Army of One
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat excels online. Multiplayer game types are the standard fare of capture-the-flag and deathmatch-type scenarios with a capacity of 24 people at once. It is the variety of maps that really give this game a well-needed boost and distinction from the rest. Each map takes advantage of the different modes of transportation available, which puts great emphasis on a wide range of offensive and defensive strategies. For instance, one map has you attacking an oil rig where you start on land and must use a helicopter or boat to get to the floating city. And if you're on the rig, you have a helicopter that you can fly as well as many nooks and crannies to place covered snipers. The map designs truly accentuate the online experience.
The soldier class system is set up for easy accessibility for both online newbs and vets. Each of the five classes--Assault, Sniper, Special Ops, Engineer, and Support--comes prepackaged with an arsenal of unique weaponry. Even being a Sniper, for example, has its advantages besides being known as a camper--you can stealthy laser tag armored targets for artillery blasts.
Affirmative, We're Offline
Too bad the single player experience isn't as exciting. Each mission prompts you in particular, standard situations where you're challenged with being a true marksman. But you're not alone...kind of. Most missions involve working in a squad of at least two to four other soldiers. You can't command your teammates, but you can "HotSwap" between comrades at any given time, just as long as they're in site of each other. The group-control scheme is rooted from the old Tom Clancy games, and applying it is a cinch. You're immediately thrusted into someone else's body with full control. The downer to it all: your friendly gang of gun-carrying cohorts are just plain dumb. They'll constantly move out of cover into harm's way and not actively look for protection against a more obviously powerful force. Even if you HotSwap to a comrade in need, place him behind cover, he'll immediately remove himself as soon as you HotSwap out. About third-way through the game, this frustrating quirk takes its toll, and ultimately, is the main cause of the game's imperfection.
There are, however, several other control complaints that should be noted. Unless you're armed with a knife as a Special Ops trooper, there is no melee attack--you can't butt anyone with your weapon. And vehicles that, normally in real life, can speed over even the slightest bumps can't do the same in the game. This includes the tanks where even a small piece of barrel shrapnel will stop it in its tracks.
Losing the Battle, Winning the War The visual and audio package is suitable for Battlefield 2. In general, the areas look great, but there is noticeable draw-in where you'd least expect it. The sound of your gun hammering into an adversary is music to the ears, and the tunes dynamically change as soon as you're piloting a vehicle.
All told, if it wasn't for the addicting online play, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat would have surely lost the war. There's much more variety and excitement when playing with 23 other people on some really wonderful maps. My suggestion: skip the single-player campaign and head straight to online play.
