When it comes to tactical first person shooters, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 1 and 2 have earned the right to be called top dog in the eyes of many gamers. There is no denying CoD’s success, with their great game mechanics and addictive online play. But that doesn’t mean there are just as many other great games out on the market, in fact its quite the opposite being the market is flooded with outstanding titles like Halo, or Far Cry just to name a few. With such a large selection of games, it was only a matter of time before a title popped up and would openly challenge Call of Duty for its crown. I’m talking about Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

     The Battlefield franchise has been around for some time now, and Battlefield: Bad Company has its own fanatical fan base of its own. When the first Bad Company was released, I was blown away by the graphics and sound effects which happened to be some of the most realistic I’ve ever heard in a video game before. With the return of the Bravo 2 squad in the sequel, Bad Company 2 continues to bring the great elements from the original and improves on them as any good sequel should.

     For anyone who never played Battlefield: Bad Company, I should explain something before going into too much detail as to why Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is an excellent contender to take on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. There is one very large difference between the two games, and in comes in the form of story. Where Modern Warfare 1 and 2 take a very serious approach to the story telling, The Bad Company brand takes a more comical approach. Being that Bravo 2 is a band of dare I say misfits, although they are all well done characters, many jokes do fly out during the course of the game. Some may not care for the light hearted moments, but personally I feel that is one of Bad Company 2’s better qualities. It is a refreshing change to a genre that is under siege by games that take themselves to seriously, not that there is anything wrong with that. However, I think everyone will find Preston Marlow, Sarge, Haggard, and Sweetwater to be an entertaining bunch. Especially as they will often chatter about movies, and other things as you travel from one spot to another.

     As for the campaign mode itself, this is the only area of Bad Company 2 that takes a bit of a hit. The game play, and its mechanics are solid. The game works similar to that of Modern Warfare (hence the comparison). Players will run around, shoot, knife unsuspecting enemies, and even get a red screen while taking damage instead of having a life gauge. All of these elements work flawlessly, although on occasion players may see dead enemies randomly get stuck in mid air after they are killed. It is a minor glitch I noticed on several different occasions. Despite being odd to see, it really doesn’t take away from the overall experience of the game and is the only glitch I came across. Something a bit more noticeable is in story presentation. Like many games lately, a campaign mode’s story doesn’t seem to be up to the same caliber they were just a few years ago. That doesn’t mean Bad Company 2’s story isn’t good, but it isn’t mind blowingly awesome as well. Many moments are clichéd, and players can quickly catch on to what is about to happen with the game’s use of music. Throughout the game, certain themes will be played, like a heroic sound track, or a sound track of betrayal. Any surprise the story is trying to pull off is marred by this unimaginative use of the game’s music. Besides having some pretty fun levels to play and unlockables to find, Bad Company 2’s campaign feels like it was only used to set up the next installment of the franchise. But, like Modern Warfare 2 the story mode really isn’t the main draw to this variety of game.

     The real draw is the online multiplayer, and is most likely the place where most people invest in Bad Company 2 will be spending their time playing. Bad Company 2’s multiplayer, in my opinion, is a perfect alternative to Call of Duty’s online play. Anyone who spent any time playing CoD online will feel comfortable with many of Bad Company 2’s online features. There are several different modes to choose from including Rush (which is attack and defend style of play), Conquest (which is capture the flag), Squad Rush, and the standard Squad Deathmatch. Players are broken up into 4 squads of 4, and must work as a team to succeed. Compared to Call of Duty, there is a greater emphasis on teamwork in Bad Company 2. Although there are Lone Wolves who try (and sometimes succeed) to rule over a map, those who work with their Squad tend to do better overall. Players also have different classes to choose from, which are Medics, Assault, Recon, and Engineers. Each class has their own weapon set and perks. The more you play your selected class, the more weapons and perks you will unlock. It’s a simple concept that works well, and keeps the battlefield feeling level even when playing against veteran players. Although weapons can be customized with different sights and optics, there are no attachments like heartbeat sensors from Modern Warfare 2 which may be a welcome change to some players. Possibly the biggest difference between the CoD and Bad Company in terms of online play is the destructible environments. Each map in the game is completely destructible, and drastically changes the scope of a fight. If an opposing squad is bunkering down in a building, tear it down. Its as simple as that. The dreaded “campers”, no longer have places to hide. But, being everything can be destroyed can also work against you when you need cover. It makes this outstanding tactical shooter even more, dare I say…tactical. Even the use of vehicles can give your squad an edge in a close fight. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 gives players a wide variety of ways for players to bring down their opponents, so make use of every single one. Doing so is a very rewarding online experience.

     In terms of graphics and sound, Battlefield Bad Company 2 is just a darn good looking game to watch, and listen to. Like the original, I doubt anyone will have anything to complain about graphically and sound effects are easily some of the most realistic effects offered in gaming. Despite an average story, all of the voice acting is spot on and entertaining.

     I can say with absolute certainty that the First Person shooter is my favorite gaming genre. My collection is filled with them, and I put them all to use. Since game play has made its way online, I’ve been a proud member of the Call of Duty community. With countless hours of CoD online play under my belt, I was shocked at how much I really enjoyed playing Bad Company 2 online. In many ways, I actually liked it better than Call of Duty…which is saying a lot. Anyone who is interested in an outstanding first person shooter to play online, Battlefield Bad Company 2 might just be for you. If any game can issue the Coup De Grace to Call of Duty and take its crown, it is this game.

Written by RB

Over and Out!

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     It isn’t often that I come across a game that I have such little opinion on. Normally, I can’t wait to pound out a review and voice my thoughts on whatever I’m working on at the time. This however has not been the case with Dead to Rights. As if some cosmic shift had occurred, Dead to Rights seems to have completely polarized me. But how could one solitary game cause such complacency? I’ve been puzzled by this question for what seems like weeks, and then it finally dawned on me. There, like a beacon of light the clouds began to lift and I could see the answer! Dead to Rights is just…eh. That’s right two little letters can some up an entire game, EH!

     Now don’t get me wrong, Dead to Rights does have its fan base and has spurred several sequels. Despite my lack of enthusiasm about the game, people do seem to enjoy it, although I can’t understand why for the life of me. Admittedly, Dead to Rights does have a few good qualities but they are overshadowed by the game’s averageness.

  Dead to Rights is a tale of revenge, which takes place in the fictional setting Grant City. Grant City is a haven for crime and corruption. What little justice there is gets handed out by a roughneck cop named Jack Slate, and his canine partner Shadow. Grant City isn’t about go give up easily though, and Jack’s shoot first ask questions later attitude catches up to him when he responds to a call in a nearby construction zone. It is here, Jack finds his father murdered. Obviously, he’s not about to let this slide so goes out on the hunt to find his father’s killer. Unfortunately for Jack, things don’t go exactly as planned and he gets framed for murder. After receiving a death sentence and is facing his own execution, Jack has no choice but to break out of prison and get retribution the only way he and Shadow know how. With hot searing lead and fists of fury, Jack is going to make the criminals of Grant City beg for mercy. Dead to Right’s plot feels like it was ripped right out of a bad 80s cop movie, and its presentation is mediocre. To make things even worse the voice acting in Dead to Rights is spotty. Although there is a few good voice overs, others are just down right terrible and really hurt the game. But lets face it, this game wasn’t designed to be a gripping narrative like say Max Payne for example, which shares similar mechanics as Dead to Rights. Everything about this game revolves around its nonstop action.

     The biggest draw to Dead to Rights was of course its game play. Dead to Rights is a level based experience, which is broken down into different play styles. Some levels are traditional run and gunners, where players will have to shoot anything that moves, use a primitive cover system, use a bullet time feature that feels blatantly ripped off from Max Payne (hence the earlier reference), and call in Shadow for a little doggie back up. In other levels, Jack has nothing to rely on but his good old fisticuffs and marital arts training. With enemies mindlessly running at Jack in either play style, Dead to Rights feels like a Super Nintendo game on steroids…and yes I mean that I a compliment. The element that really puts Dead to Rights’ action over the top is the use of lethal disarms attacks. When bullets start to run low, Jack can close in on an enemy (albeit you will take damage), and forcefully take whatever weapon is being used. These lethal disarms are really the only memorable aspect of this game, and there is a variety attacks that can be unlocked. As for the rest of Dead to Rights’ game play, it is again hurt by a few design flaws. First of all, camera angles are your biggest enemy. On many occasions, your view will be blocked off or obstructed. Although annoying, the bad camera angles can be overcome being gunplay relies strongly on the auto-locking feature which targets the nearest enemy when pressing the right trigger and using A to fire. I have never been a fan of auto-locking targeting systems in almost any game, as personal preference I’d rather be able to use a manual aiming feature. But for what it is, Dead to Rights’ targeting system does get the job done. Another annoyance to game’s design is controls. Dead to Rights has a very complicated control scheme, and does take a while to get used to. Early in the game, this prevented me from really getting into the action, but after a few levels I was able to adjust. To rookie gamers however, this could be a major turn off. Possibly the worst element to Dead to Rights’ game play is the use of mini games, and Dead to Rights’ mini games down right suck. In certain games, a mini game can be a welcome addition, but can easily get on a players nerves if not done correctly. In Dead to Rights case, the mini games feel unnecessary and have big difficulty spikes which can easily detour a player from wanting to continue on with the game.

     Graphically, Dead to Rights looks very dated compared to other games that were released around the same time. Character movements are rather stiff, and although level designs are alright nothing really seems to stand out. The same can be said for Dead to Rights use of sound. Gun shot effects, explosions, even Shadow’s bark just doesn’t seem realistic enough and take away from an already mundane presentation.

     And so we come to the end. With the review finally written, I feel I have given Dead to Rights its final eulogy. Its era of EH is over, my thoughts have been conveyed. Now your opinion of this game my differ, it has qualities that obviously does appeal to some. In my case for ever, Dead to Rights…is officially Dead to RB.

Written by RB

OVER AND OUT!

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