Battlefield 2 Review

I’m sure all of you have heard the hype behind Battlefield 2, this new first person shooter from Dice and EA Games. I’ll admit, when I first started hearing about it, I had never played the original “Battlefield�. While installing the game, I noticed it had multiple parts, the game, as well as some other software including an application to adjust your microphone for squad chat as well as GameSpy Arcade and an anti-cheating add-on.

What makes Battlefield 2 (BF2) different from any other shooter? Really, it’s not much. It has the WWII style of gameplay, but rather than just using or building on the Medal of Honor Allied Assault engine, BF2 presents a new, pretty, fast engine. It’s more than this new engine’s looks and feel that make Battlefield 2 what it is.

The gameplay is truly unique compared to other shooters in the genre, and the AI of the computer players is completely changed. In this game, it mixes in a little bit of “Rainbow Six� style in. When you join a server, you pick a weapon set and a squad to join. In the retail version of BF2 there are over 20 weapon sets to pick from 3 countries, and that’s really what stands out about this game.

Generally in first-person shooters, you have just a few maps, weapons, and teams, but what really creates the replay value in this game is its raw size. The game has over 30 vehicles! It also has 12 maps, each adaptable to fit 16, 32, and 64 players, most with many strategic points as well as indoor areas and sniper spots.

The gameplay reminded me somewhat of Quake 3 Arena, in that there really isn’t any true story. You basically just join a server hosted on your machine, and play against a computer team, like training for the multiplayer game. Much like Quake 3 Arena, it does it well. It’s fun to find lots of ways to kill the computer players, though that isn’t hard.

The AI is really not very good. No wonder this game is primarily played online. I find myself standing a few feet from someone and they don’t even see me, even after I shoot them. If that wasn’t annoying enough, if, by some act of God, they do in fact see you, if they are within, say, 10 game feet of you, they just run at you and try to stab you. The first few times I had no idea what was going on, so they killed me, but now every single time, because you can run as fast backward as you can forward, you can walk backward pumping them full of lead, and they never have the sense to pull a gun on you.

All in all, if you like playing games online, specifically first person shooters, this game is definitely for you. It presents a nice new engine and awesome online and LAN play. However, if you’re looking for a great story or great new computer AI, stay away from this game. It’s creative in some ways, but just the same old thing in other ways.