Review by monkeydance994

"Hey, whaddaya know, COD4 has been released again - kinda sorta."

As a huge fan of Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, when I found out that there would be a new battlefield game, I was seriously excited. Modern Combat was near perfect, or so I thought at the time of my review, and before Bad Company was released I hoped it would be just as good. Well, it was. It was better, and by quite a few times.

The developers of the Battlefield series just don't seem to be content with their games. Each time a new chapter of the series is released, it seems to change methods of gameplay; the only thing that stays the same is the fact that they are military shooters. This game drew EXTREMELY heavily from Call of Duty 4. I'm to young to play COD4, and this game is so much like it that I'm pretty content with it in place of Modern Warfare. One of my friends who has COD and relentlessly rubs in my face said that they needed a T COD4.

I was thinking this for the entire first level of the game, and as I progressed further into it, I realized that it was no more like COD4 than any other modern military shooter. Apparently it's better than it, judging by the GameFAQs top ten games. I guess that all depends on who you talk to though.

Single player is, in a word, fantastic. The campaign is really, really fun, and while only seven missions long, it doesn't feel rushed or drawn out. Each mission is supposed to be one or two hours, but for me it was only about 45 minutes. And I die a lot, so it's not just because of skill; if anything, it's in spite of it.

During the campaign there is a side quest-esque in which you find collectable weapons. Every gun in the game is findable in a mission, but it's completely up to you to find them. While some are extremely easy to find (such as the AEK-971, the primary weapon of the enemy forces), sometimes it requires you to stray far off the beaten path. The only awards that I know of that you get for finding them are two achievements, one for the halfway point and one for them all. While it's completely unnecessary, it adds a good bit to the replayability and fun. There are also hidden gold bars, which I must say are a whole lot harder to find - I've only found two and I'm 6/7 through the game. You also get two achievements for this, also for half and then all. These aren't necessary either, just add to the fun like the hidden weapons.

The story is also very well thought out. I'll try to stay away from spoilers. You are Preston Marlowe, a soldier that could have been sent to jail for stealing and piloting a helicopter while stationed at a military base. Instead of jail, they send him to B-Company, or Bad Company (hence the name) which is where all the bad soldiers go. One of your squadmates even makes a comment about the behavior of the soldiers, saying that he's more worried about getting shot by his comrades than his enemies. At the end of one of your missions, you are attacked by a mercenary force. After you defeat them the same squadmate finds a gold bar, and says that the mercenary is part of an organization called Acta non Verba, which means Action not Words in Latin. The leader pays all of their soldiers in gold bars. The squad then goes AWOL to look for more gold, and break away from the army.

Multiplayer is just as good, if not better than singleplayer. Unfortunately, the only mode of play right now is Gold Rush, although a new mode, Conquest, is due for free download release. Gold Rush is based on teams of two, the attackers and the defenders. The attackers want to destroy a few sets of gold crates, which hold gold bars. The defenders, obviously, want to defend them. The crates are actually very tough, although you can place a charge on one to destroy it. The charge has a countdown of around 20-30 seconds, which the defenders can use to defuse it. The attackers can also damage the crate by throwing grenades, using tanks, placing C4 (for some reason, the C4 that you can carry and use as you please is conveniently much weaker than the C4 you place when given the option "arm charge") or even bullets. The attackers have limited reinforcements, but the defenders have unlimited, though they can't lose all of the gold crates. Every time a set of crates is destroyed, the attackers receive a boost in reinforcements.

Your soldier is promoted as you gain points by playing ranked matches on Xbox LIVE. As you
gain points you can use them to unlock weapons and equipment of your choice. There are five different classes: Assault, the jack of all trades that use assault rifles; Demolition, the guys who blow things up; Recon, the snipers; Specialist, the SAS or Delta Force type people; and Support, the heavily armed, healing and destroying class. Whichever class you like the best is the class you can use, although you can pick and choose however you please.

All considered, this is one of the best games I have played ever. It is completely worthy of a buy, although if your not a fan of the genre, then rent it. Please, give the makers money!

Reviewer's Rating:   4.5 - Outstanding

Originally Posted: 06/30/08


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