Battlefield: Bad Company Review

Online multi-player is beginning to monopolize the time of many gamers. So instead of focusing heavily on single-player, EA is playing along with its consumer base. EA has tried this before. Anyone remember a few years ago when a multi-player focused game hit consoles (PS2 and Xbox) from the developers at DICE? The name of the game was Battlefield 2: Modern Combat. That was 2005. Enter 2008: another multi-player focused game from EA, this time on PS3 and Xbox 360, called Battlefield: Bad Company. What’s changed in the three years that have passed?

One major thing that has changed is the technology. There were a lot more limitations with the last generation of hardware that aren’t a problem anymore. Seemingly endless maps? Yep. Vehicular mayhem, explosions and, yes, more explosions. You’ve got it. Battlefield: Bad Company isn’t a war simulator, but it’s a damn fun and frantic battlefield to play on. You can also play with up to 24 of your friends and enemies in a virtually lag-free environment.

The game teaches you early on that nothing stands between you and your objective. In the single-player campaign, one of the first things you are told to create your own entrance to a building by blowing it up. It’s not just that, though. You also get to man a number of different vehicles, ranging from Humvees to tanks. The tank is a particularly useful (and deadly) vehicle in multi-player. Although it lacks agility, it more than makes up for it in power.

The single-player is the perfect place to start in order to get familiar with controls. Unlike some multi-player centered games, Battlefield: Bad Company has an extensive single-player campaign, complete with story and a variety of missions. You play as a private in the B Company with three others in your squad. B Company is composed of groups of misfits and is known by its nickname “Bad Company”. There’s a good dose of humor mixed in with the action as you make your way across the Russian countryside.

Once you are done with the single-player make your way online to play with the big boys. While the single-player is good, this is where the real fun starts. The lone game mode in multi-player is called Gold Rush. It’s a take on your basic offense/defense type base mode, except in this you have to detonate a series of three crates filled with gold at designated spots on the map. The catch: three won’t do it. There are a series of three crates, and then another, and another. If at any time the offensive team fails to destroy all three crates within a certain number of lives (which is displayed as a bar at the top of the screen), the defenders win. I am a bit perplexed why this is the only game mode they offer, but it is good nonetheless.

All in all, Battlefield: Bad Company is a purchase that you will not likely regret. If you are looking for a new multi-player game to play for the summer, Battlefield: Bad Company is a good bet. Imagine playing Battlefield with a hint of Call of Duty 4. It probably isn’t going to win any awards, but it is a good game to give you an excuse to stay inside in the cool AC and get through the scorching heat.