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| | Title:
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
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System:
Xbox
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Genre:
First Person Shooter
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Publisher:
Electronic Arts
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Developer:
Dice
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Release:
11/1/05
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Online:
Yes
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ESRB:
RP
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It's no secret that most of the users playing on Xbox Live are still working on their plasma grenade sticking skills or perfecting their dual-wielding combinations in Halo 2. It's also no secret that plenty of great online games have seemingly fallen through the cracks due to the impact of Bungie’s multiplayer masterpiece. However, plenty of new titles are on the horizon that will be taking advantage of Xbox Live and all of its fantastic features, especially in the first-person shooter genre. Despite the great abundance of shooters that are currently available on the Xbox, many gamers believe that the PC is the platform best for experiencing shooters, mainly in the performance aspect of titles. One great reason for this belief is the recent release of the modern-day military combat hit, Battlefield 2, which is considered to be the best reason for shelling out every dollar in your wallet for the right hardware to get the game functioning correctly. Luckily, EA hasn’t forgotten those who aren’t ready to make that kind of investment for just one game as well as not alienating gamers interested in getting into the Battlefield series. Hence, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat was developed, featuring an arcade-like single player campaign as well as a multiplayer component with great depth. And I couldn’t be any happier with finally getting a chance to sit down and experience the game on Xbox Live first-hand and for the very first time.
While I've yet to play any of the single player maps, I’ve been playing the game on Xbox Live, with a total of 23 other players. If you think about other games in the genre that feature more than sixteen players online, you realize the developers implement more player slots in a mutliplayer game just for the hell of it with no logic in how it effects the gameplay. Dice hasn’t gone the way of those other developers, and it shows. BF2: MC isn’t just your standard fare of running-and-gunning twenty three other players down --there are multiple opportunities for victory at your disposal.
The first thing I’d like to point out is that BF2: MC is not a straight port from its PC counterpart, although the game still shares the same traits that made the series so great to begin with. Everything that’s expected out of any great Battlefield title is here in full force: deep gameplay, sprawling environments, great weapons, and sheer thrills. Quite simply, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat is shaping up to be the war game Xbox owners have been waiting for in this generation.
There are two teams, one side representing the United States and one side representing a terrorist organization. Depending on which team your fighting for, both teams have the same agenda in capturing flag points that are located throughout Backstab --the large, sprawling battlefield where matters of life and death are always on your mind. As corny as that sounds, it's actually what you’ll be really thinking all of the time you're playing. What contributes to this paranoia is the fact that anyone could be anywhere due to the huge size of the map. Although you may be perched up on top of a high building far from the dangers of the battlefield, picking off enemies as they come along, you’re not particularly safe. The opposing team’s helicopter (yes, a helicopter that can be piloted with support for up to three other passengers for additional firepower) may spot you and fire a rocket straight towards you. What would you do then? You’d jump off the building, to escape death just in time. But now you're falling to your inevitable demise, it seems there is no hope for a second chance. However, your equipped with a parachute that will save your life as you descend into an empty alley in the war torn city. You’ll sit there, possibly smiling, as you're reaching the ground and safety...until an enemy spots you and decides it's time to obliterate you with their sniper rifle. You begin to see streaks of sniper rounds fly in your direction, hoping to reach the ground in time. You may make to live another day so you can rejoin the intense firefights that are going on around the map. Unfortunately, the possibility that you will be greeted by a tank that is more than willing to blast you halfway across of the map is quite probable. What would you do to escape a dangerous situation such as this? Simply whip out your C4 and slap it on that tank, soldier After you’ve done that, well, I’ll leave it to your imagination on what happens next when the detonator of the explosive device is in the grasp of your hands.
Everything written above is an accurate interpretation of what you’ll come to experience in this game. There’s never a moment of peace as explosions can be heard in the distance (to truly appreciate the incredible sound effects in this game, you’ll need a 5.1 surround system) and gun mounted Jeeps speed along the battlefield with full intent of shooting you down if you get in their way.
While Modern Combat excludes the utilization of the Commander position (where players take on the role of overseeing the occurrences in the battlefield and commanding their teammates of where to go and what to accomplish) and other features found in the PC rendition of Battlefield 2, that doesn’t mean there is the absence of any depth or strategy. Common to any great war title, teamwork is key to winning any objective-based game. One mode of particular note consisted of two warring forces making an effort to hold their own territory at six locations throughout the map. Although it may sound as simple as bringing five different soldiers all armed with rockets to one area and expect a sweet victory, it's not at all that simple. Each player on every team has the option to pick from five different classes: Support, Assault, Engineer, Special Ops, and Sniper. Each class is unique in that they all offer different experiences as they equip players with a pre-selected set of weapons and useful items that will definitely come into play --hopefully when you need them the most. For example, the Sniper class is best suited for those who like to crouch behind objects that provide cover and fire at foes from a safe distance. While snipers have the advantage over the other classes in terms of being hidden, that doesn’t mean they still can’t be located. If an enemy aircraft spots a sniper firing below them, the natural thing they can and will do is fire multiple rockets until their enemy is completely blown away, assisting to prevent casualties on their team. While using a sniper rifle isn’t your best chance of downing a chopper in the air, it's best to refer to the next weapon in your arsenal: the stinger. Using the stinger, you can lock onto an enemy vehicle a la Halo 2's rocket launcher and a missile will circle the vehicle until it finally makes contact with it, resulting in a big, beautiful explosion sure to put a smile on any player’s face.
The use of “tickets” displayed on the heads-up display (HUD) clues players in on how well their team is doing with either losing or keeping their tickets. Losing or keeping control of territories will definitely cause your tickets to remain at a steady amount or trickle down the drain, but other rewards and catastrophes on both opposing sides are taken into account. You know that one teammate who seems to have a little too much fun pulling the trigger of their submachine gun in the general direction of their fellow teammates far too often? The penalty for their action results in a loss of points that hurt your team’s chances from achieving their goal of reigning as the dominant force at the end of the round.
So, the question is ladies and gentlemen: “Will Battlefield 2: Modern Combat be the best Xbox Live first-person shooter when it touches down into retail this Fall? Maybe. The game still needs polish in some major ways. For one thing, as little lag as there is in the game, it's not as though it isn’t present at all. Lag can often cause the game to lock up after a few rounds, which makes for the habit of switching your console on and off whenever the game decides to shutdown. The physics engine is overall very good in areas but completely unacceptable in others. A flipped over vehicle will suddenly sink through the ground on the map, causing its operator and itself to disappear, resulting in an unfair death that hurts not only the player, but the team as a whole.
There is a great deal of depth within the gameplay of Battlefield 2: Modern Combat that will most certainly appeal to many gamers. With its intelligent class system and Hollywood-style military action that will occasionally leave your jaw resting on your lap despite how many explosions you’ve seen, the bottom line is that if you're in possession of an Xbox Live account, you’ll definitely want to check out the brilliant multiplayer component that will, without a doubt, be a major factor in Battlefield 2: Modern Combat’s success.
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