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April 14, 2006 | 10:56 PM PST
by: John Thomas Perkowski
It was just a little under a year ago, when EA and Dice gave PC gamers an excellent sequel to Battlefield: Vietnam in the form of Battlefield 2. Striking the proper balance between arcade style shooting and team-focused tactics, Battlefield 2 became a best-selling PC hit and won praise from both critics and fans all over the world. Less than a year ago Battlefield 2: Modern Combat was unleashed unto consoles in an attempt to bring the same style gameplay console fans. Now that game has received a fair amount of polish and a 360 upgrade, but is it any good? Well, yes and no. Battlefield 2: Modern Combat does manage to capture some of the feel of its PC brethren. However, a lot of the fun factor is lost in the translation from PC to console.
The game is sharp looking, and rivals the best any PC system has to offer. The visuals have all received an upgrade and a lot of attention has been paid to the small details. Fire off rounds and shell casings appear at your feet. Snow falls from the sky in the blistering cold and dust gets kicked up as a helicopter swoops in low on dry terrain. Explosions, whether they are from vehicles or grenades, tend to be more satisfying. Bullet holes stay in walls if you miss, though it doesn't have the interactivity of something like, say, Battlefield 2 or Black. As impressive as everything is at first, it tends to get a little dull after a while, especially as the single player campaign heats up and some areas get re-used.
Speaking of the campaign, it definitely is a step above Battlefield 2 for the PC, if only because it actually HAS one. Rounded out by great looking cutscenes, the game follows lowly soldiers as they do incursions through Kazikstan. There is a lot of variety in each stage, and you'll switch sides between the U.N. (mostly American forces) and Chinese forces as the game progresses. As an added bonus, the great looking cutscenes between each stage are news broadcasts which tell one side of the story... Usually slanted by the side your currently playing on. Both sides are filled with propaganda, so its a little amusing to see just how far the truth stretches on both sides of the war (though I imagine you couldn't get away with some of the American broadcasts, owing to the fact one cable news channel will always contradict the other). The single-player campaign lasts about 20 missions, but really doesn't have that Battlefield feel.
And perhaps that’s the start of the problem. While it does deliver the appearance of Battlefield 2, it misses the mark in a lot of ways. First off, your teammates are useless. It's not that they get in the way or anything... Rather, they tend to not really get involved at all. You have to be the one charging into battle, leading the way for teammates who don't seem to grasp the idea that it might be good to... Oh, I don't know... Attack the enemy? Since you play a nameless/faceless soldier, you can't really take a lot of damage and you really can't give your fellow soldiers any meaningful commands. In short, you have to Rambo your way through most of the campaign and pray you don't get shot at all.
Another oversight in the development process is the inclusion of a game pad customization option. Sure you can adjust the sensitivity of your game pad, but you can't change the controls in any way to shape your play style. And while I laud the way you switch weapons (holding down the right bumper and using the analog to choose which weapon), I curse the mapping of your characters stance being assigned to the left trigger. The game cycles through positions, rather than using the analog feature of it to choose which stance you want on the fly (that is you always have to go from standing to crouching to laying flat to standing)... Not a good idea when you’re crouched behind something and need to move quickly to cover a teammate.
Ready to lock and load...
Missing as well are some kit types from Battlefield 2. What is a kit, you ask? A kit defines your role in Battlefield 2. Are you a sneaky Spec-Ops soldier who creeps behind enemy lines? Or do you snipe enemies from long range as a sniper? The game contains five such kits: Assault, Sniper, Engineer, Spec-Ops, and Support. While this does cover a diverse range of specialties, both the Medic and Anti-tank kits, fromt he PC version, are nowhere to be found. In fact, no one in Battlefield 2: Modern Combat bothers to carry a first aid kit. Perhaps one of the best additions to Battlefield 2 was the Medic who revived dead players allowing them to get right back into action without waiting for re-spawn. They were also mobile healing kits who helped fellow soldiers stay in the fight when things looked bleak. In the 360 game you'd better pray there is a healing station near you when you start getting shot or you're dead. The Engineer now sports the rocket launcher used by the Anti-Tank, but keeps his moderately useful shotgun in lieu of the superior sub-machine gun the Anti-Tank's had on the PC. This means no one is going to want to play an Engineer, because while they have a nice main weapon, when the fire gets thick they have to rely on a slow shooting close range weapon. All of this makes the Sniper class the ideal class to play online, since it's mostly out of danger, it's hard to hit, and can pick off other classes with impunity.
It’s nice to have such a nice variety of vehicles, but the controls are a bit wonky. This is on every vehicle, and not just the helicopter (which should be hard to control). Cars tend to over steer and under steer at the same time, tanks are initially confusing to drive, and everything else can't take enough hits to keep going. Also, it’s pitifully easy to shoot an airplane or helicopter out of the sky with a tank, since the tank rounds now fly in a straighter path and less of an arc.
Fire! Multiplayer will blow your mind away!
The multi-player game is where you will find the game redeems itself somewhat. Up to 24 players can battle online, and it is in these battles you'll get a taste of what makes this game good and so popular. Nothing beats the feeling of teaming up with a great squad and scoping out a flag for capture. Get a good pilot or driver, and you can run a squad into enemy territory, drop them off behind enemy lines, and cap a flag before the opposing team knows how to adjust itself. Like the leader of the 'A-Team' once said: "I love it when a plan comes together." You can solo it lots of diffrent ways. Sneaking into enemy territory and planting land mines on enemy tanks before they even get a chance to move. Enemy drops into tank, its starts to move, and BOOM! Instant gratification. Go toe to toe with fellow squads, or snipe enemies from afar. The choice is yours and while some kits are weaker, none of them are useless. Indeed, it does manage to capture some flair of the PC game... Enough that it isn't a complete loss.
So, the game isn't a total loss. There is a nice arcade shooter and a lot of polish in this package. For gamers looking to experience the world of Battlefield who only own an Xbox 360, then the game is worth checking out. However if you happen to own a decent PC setup and want a really good Battlefield2 experience, you are better off picking up the PC version.
The game is sharp looking, and rivals the best any PC system has to offer. The visuals have all received an upgrade and a lot of attention has been paid to the small details. Fire off rounds and shell casings appear at your feet. Snow falls from the sky in the blistering cold and dust gets kicked up as a helicopter swoops in low on dry terrain. Explosions, whether they are from vehicles or grenades, tend to be more satisfying. Bullet holes stay in walls if you miss, though it doesn't have the interactivity of something like, say, Battlefield 2 or Black. As impressive as everything is at first, it tends to get a little dull after a while, especially as the single player campaign heats up and some areas get re-used.
Speaking of the campaign, it definitely is a step above Battlefield 2 for the PC, if only because it actually HAS one. Rounded out by great looking cutscenes, the game follows lowly soldiers as they do incursions through Kazikstan. There is a lot of variety in each stage, and you'll switch sides between the U.N. (mostly American forces) and Chinese forces as the game progresses. As an added bonus, the great looking cutscenes between each stage are news broadcasts which tell one side of the story... Usually slanted by the side your currently playing on. Both sides are filled with propaganda, so its a little amusing to see just how far the truth stretches on both sides of the war (though I imagine you couldn't get away with some of the American broadcasts, owing to the fact one cable news channel will always contradict the other). The single-player campaign lasts about 20 missions, but really doesn't have that Battlefield feel.
And perhaps that’s the start of the problem. While it does deliver the appearance of Battlefield 2, it misses the mark in a lot of ways. First off, your teammates are useless. It's not that they get in the way or anything... Rather, they tend to not really get involved at all. You have to be the one charging into battle, leading the way for teammates who don't seem to grasp the idea that it might be good to... Oh, I don't know... Attack the enemy? Since you play a nameless/faceless soldier, you can't really take a lot of damage and you really can't give your fellow soldiers any meaningful commands. In short, you have to Rambo your way through most of the campaign and pray you don't get shot at all.
Another oversight in the development process is the inclusion of a game pad customization option. Sure you can adjust the sensitivity of your game pad, but you can't change the controls in any way to shape your play style. And while I laud the way you switch weapons (holding down the right bumper and using the analog to choose which weapon), I curse the mapping of your characters stance being assigned to the left trigger. The game cycles through positions, rather than using the analog feature of it to choose which stance you want on the fly (that is you always have to go from standing to crouching to laying flat to standing)... Not a good idea when you’re crouched behind something and need to move quickly to cover a teammate.
Ready to lock and load...
Missing as well are some kit types from Battlefield 2. What is a kit, you ask? A kit defines your role in Battlefield 2. Are you a sneaky Spec-Ops soldier who creeps behind enemy lines? Or do you snipe enemies from long range as a sniper? The game contains five such kits: Assault, Sniper, Engineer, Spec-Ops, and Support. While this does cover a diverse range of specialties, both the Medic and Anti-tank kits, fromt he PC version, are nowhere to be found. In fact, no one in Battlefield 2: Modern Combat bothers to carry a first aid kit. Perhaps one of the best additions to Battlefield 2 was the Medic who revived dead players allowing them to get right back into action without waiting for re-spawn. They were also mobile healing kits who helped fellow soldiers stay in the fight when things looked bleak. In the 360 game you'd better pray there is a healing station near you when you start getting shot or you're dead. The Engineer now sports the rocket launcher used by the Anti-Tank, but keeps his moderately useful shotgun in lieu of the superior sub-machine gun the Anti-Tank's had on the PC. This means no one is going to want to play an Engineer, because while they have a nice main weapon, when the fire gets thick they have to rely on a slow shooting close range weapon. All of this makes the Sniper class the ideal class to play online, since it's mostly out of danger, it's hard to hit, and can pick off other classes with impunity.
It’s nice to have such a nice variety of vehicles, but the controls are a bit wonky. This is on every vehicle, and not just the helicopter (which should be hard to control). Cars tend to over steer and under steer at the same time, tanks are initially confusing to drive, and everything else can't take enough hits to keep going. Also, it’s pitifully easy to shoot an airplane or helicopter out of the sky with a tank, since the tank rounds now fly in a straighter path and less of an arc.
Fire! Multiplayer will blow your mind away!
The multi-player game is where you will find the game redeems itself somewhat. Up to 24 players can battle online, and it is in these battles you'll get a taste of what makes this game good and so popular. Nothing beats the feeling of teaming up with a great squad and scoping out a flag for capture. Get a good pilot or driver, and you can run a squad into enemy territory, drop them off behind enemy lines, and cap a flag before the opposing team knows how to adjust itself. Like the leader of the 'A-Team' once said: "I love it when a plan comes together." You can solo it lots of diffrent ways. Sneaking into enemy territory and planting land mines on enemy tanks before they even get a chance to move. Enemy drops into tank, its starts to move, and BOOM! Instant gratification. Go toe to toe with fellow squads, or snipe enemies from afar. The choice is yours and while some kits are weaker, none of them are useless. Indeed, it does manage to capture some flair of the PC game... Enough that it isn't a complete loss.
So, the game isn't a total loss. There is a nice arcade shooter and a lot of polish in this package. For gamers looking to experience the world of Battlefield who only own an Xbox 360, then the game is worth checking out. However if you happen to own a decent PC setup and want a really good Battlefield2 experience, you are better off picking up the PC version.
November 20, 2009
