Behind closed doors at E3, EA was showing off Battlefield: Bad Company 2's multiplayer where I got the chance to join a game against some of the game's testers via Xbox Live. We played a mode called Rush, where one team was trying to plant bombs on specific targets while the other team was in charge of or protecting those same targets. Rush mode is one of many that will be in the game when it releases, but EA was reluctant to divulge any additional information at this time.

As we played the demo, the first thing I noticed was the big step forward over the first Battlefield: Bad Company game in several key areas. Immediately upon joining the multiplayer match you notice that the game looks quite a bit better from a graphical standpoint. The map we played took place in a mountainous terrain that was covered in snow. Pine trees surrounded the structures and buildings that housed the targets we were after, and I found myself getting gunned down a handful of times just for taking time to check out my surroundings. After those unnecessary deaths, I got focused and started seeking out targets and enemies.



The gameplay in the build we played was nice and tight. Aiming, shooting, movement, and vehicle driving felt great. All the controls were responsive and each character class played as you would expect it would. There is something satisfying about climbing into a tank and bringing down an entire building where your enemies have decided to take cover. We were told that destruction has been taken to a new level in Bad Company 2, so now entire buildings can be leveled if you have enough firepower. You do have to use some caution, however, because if you bring down a building on your teammates, you're going to really harm your team's progress.

In the demo you could either spawn at your team's designated respawn location or you could spawn on a teammate. This worked quite well, as while you decided where to spawn, you could take a peek at each teammate's location and see which one puts you nearest to the action or to a point that best meshes with your strategy. This completely eliminates the long and painful walk back to the action after a death.

In the end, it was a pretty small peek that we got at Bad Company 2, but everything we saw pointed to an improved product over last year's predecessor; which was actually a pretty good game in its own regard. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 looks like it's going to be another strong release in a year packed with quality FPS games.