Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta (PC) Impressions

I bit the bullet and dove in head first into the Battlefield Bad Company 2 scene by pre-ordering the limited edition ($49.99) on Steam.  I’ve been playing, and loving, the Battlefield series since 1942 where I exhausted the game and all of its expansions.  From there it was BF:Vietnam (which was AWESOME), BF2+xpacs, and 2142.   I skipped Bad Company because it was console only, which didn’t sit well with me. Having to pre-order to try the game never sits well with me, but since my history with the BF series has been amazing it only took a few days of thinking about it before I realized I couldn’t miss out on the next installment.

Quick Impressions of Features

The PC Beta for Bad Company 2 is limited to one map and one mode.  The map is called Port Valdez and, like the name alludes to, it takes place on the edge of a harbor.  It’s snowy with buildings and slight terrain barriers.  The mode is called Rush and the goal is for one team to attack and the other to defend.  The attackerss have to destroy points A and B of three different sections of the map in what feels like a “push” mechanic.  The defenders have unlimited lives but the attacking side only has 100.  If the defenders can stop the attackers (by killing them 100 times) before their last 2 points are destroyed then they win.  The mode is fun and the attack/defend style lends itself nicely to the BF series.  I’m aching for some good old fashion BF though.

After playing Modern Warfare 2 for so long it has become really obvious that BF and CoD feel very different.  Battlefield has almost a looser and less realistic feel to it, whereas Call of Duty is tighter and more responsive or realistic.  At first I thought that I liked CoD’s style more but the more I play BF the more I can’t decide if I really like CoD’s more of if they’re just completely different to the point of both being great in their own right.  Where MW2 feels more like staged skirmishes, Battlefield feels like a real war is going on all around me.  The destructible environments are fantastic because it all adds to the strategy and dare I say even the immersion.  The problem with the destructible environments though is that eventually the map you’re playing on is just one pile of smoldering rubble.

BFBC2 has done away with going prone.  Damn you dolphin divers!  Not being able to lay down sucks when you have a tank trying to shell you out of hiding or snipers looking for any sign of movement.   I don’t know if this was in other BF games, but ‘Hardcore’ mode is a mode that we can play in the beta where there is no minimap and several of the HUD elements are gone such as the notification medics get to revive teammates.  It takes less bullets to kill people and you need to use your iron sights/scopes.  It feels like it is somewhere between MW2’s Hardcore mode and BF’s normal mode which is actually very comfortable.

Squad play is probably one of the best BF features.  There is definitely a benefit of working with your squad and spawning on them.  Working towards to advance with ammo kits, health kits, and team tactics yields real results.  One game in particular during this beta I was working closely with my squad and we infiltrated the enemy base and took out both points.  The key was that we cleared corners, used voice chat with the whole “Clear!” “Go go go!”  “Tango 2nd story left window!” and all that cool stuff I wish happened all the time.

Overall, I really like the beta.  I can’t wait for more modes (not that Rush is bad) and more maps.  I do not regret my decision to pre-order at all.  I’ll let you know how I like the full version of the game when it comes out on March 2nd.  If any other details arise worth mentioning I’ll be sure to let you know.