Battlefield Bad Company 2

[Rossco]

I think the map choice in the beta for BF3 wouldnt have impressed you simply because it lacks all of those elements you've mentioned. Though its Rush essentially with no vehicles its not the same experience and the class abilities are less important. I did get that BFBC2 feel from it but only small glimpses and not the whole picture that I am sure we will experience on the larger vehicle orientated maps.

BFBC2. I love it as well... there is too much going on in the game tactically not to enjoy it in some capacity regardless of how you play. For me I've been mixing up the classes and I actually play a lot these days as an Assault with a G3 and tonnes of C4. I originally did that because I've been going for the Destruction 2.0 achievement (16/20 so far) but tactically it can be a game-changer in Rush as well. You can Rush as normal but then arm the M-COMs or surrounding buildings with C4 and hold the position very well.

My biggest beefs with BC2 though would be the controls and how restrictive/sluggish they can feel in the environment. It is quite easy to get caught up in some terrain destruction and all things considered it just isnt as slick to move around as it should be. I also dont like the way they make you play Conquest from the two sides per round. Rush I can understand (attack/defend) but Conquest... there isnt much difference and if you've had one endurance session on a map you usually want a change next round.

Small issues... but ones I feel BF3 should look to rectify.

I also think tracer darts still arent as good as they should be in BC2. I know they patched them once to make them more direct but even with that some helicopter pilots are proficient enough to constantly circle-strafe and do this below the horizon that the anti-air cannons can hit. So they're practically immune unless you can lead the target massively, but even that is more luck than skill.

So yeah... BFBC2 is a classic, sure. But like most classics it isnt perfect and its also been refined and honed over time with patches. I think BF3 is going to need the same soaking in period. I can see where they're going with it but the beta doesnt reflect it as well as it should. I think we're still going to be mostly happy with multiplayer when it launches in a few weeks. At that point I think my copy of BFBC2 may go up for sale.

I agree with alot of what you say. The sluggishness is annoying but makes it feel a bit more grounded than zipping about like crazy in COD, etc. BF3 has made this feel even better by the animation of people climbing over objects etc while keeping the general slower controls. I like it really.

Tracer Darts though? Easier!!? No chance. In general I'm pretty deadly with it. Played a game yesterday and shot down about 6 or 7 helicopters I reckon. I agree that some pilots and their constant circle strafing is near impossible to stop but I'd say I spend most of my time either in a helicopter or shooting them down so I know how to deal with them.

In a way I don't want BF3 yet, we're still really enjoying this and constantly finding new things to keep us entertained. My pal and I rarely lose a game now with our supreme air presence. I pilot, he shoots and we always kick ass. I hope BF3 has this aspect of the game down perfect as well as it's something I enjoy so much and requires good teamwork between pilot and gunner to be successful at.

Done a bit of sniping too yesterday, trying to get kills from as far away as possible. Managed a couple of headshots in the 250's. Still have no idea how I managed to get the maxed out 500 points one before though. Double the distance of what I was doing yesterday!

[Finsbury Girl]

Ok so I've cleaned up the single player campaign on this, having just completed Bad Company. I enjoyed the campaign in the first Bad Company a lot more. I felt in this one, they were trying to compete with Modern Warfare and coming straight after the first BC game it's like WTF? It seemed that the whole "Bad Company" ethos and the entire events of the first instalment were just ignored. Having said that, the graphics and sound are terrific and the save system/checkpoints were a lot better than the first. Even playing on hard off the bat was pretty easy, with a few annoying bits and difficulty spikes thrown in. Nothing too onerous. I suppose my biggest criticism is that unlike the first game, the stages were extremely linear and there wasn't the variety and chance to use the myriad of vehicles which was a part of the first one I really, really liked and so was disappointed in that respect.

Onto to the multiplayer. Man it's addictive. At first I preferred the first instalment's multiplayer, however after having spent quite a few hours I no longer feel that way. This is absolute top quality in multiplayer. I love it's depth, the tactical/thinking element and most of all, if you play as a team properly, you will kick arse. When you get a good squad together this is an absolute joy to play. I still have issues with the unlocks and the team balancing is a shocker but still I can see myself pumping quite a few miore hours into this.

I gave the first Bad Company 5/10 - this one gets a 7 as the multiplayer is excellent but the single player lets it down big time.

[kryss]

I just started playing the multiplayer of this the other day as well. Always join a squad in rush and conquest modes, you can spawn directly into a tank if one of your squad members is in one. Can't stop playing as engineer and love the supressed SCAR. What this has over MW3 is that I can actually get some kills rather than just being a target for all.