[review/impressions] Bad Company 2 PC beta

I’ve been laying back most of these last few weeks, partly due to the Battlefield Bad Company 2 beta for the PC in its prime stages. This time around it seems I’ve been more of a casual beta player, rather than submitting criticism to the specific EA or DICE locations. Hopefully it is contribution enough to inflate the game’s population by one.

Either way, the Bad Company 2 beta is fun. It is some genuine PC FPS fun, which hasn’t shown itself in many recent titles. Because of that, Bad Company 2 looks very promising. It is enlightening to hear that DICE has a dedicated team working strictly on the PC version. While the beta has its flaws (as is expected) it seems that there are not many minute details that were left unnoticed. I’ve seen an exploit or two which depict the account of holding sprint + jump on a hill, and running up this 70 degree angle as it were a set of stairs. Although it is unknown as to whether this is actually a glitch or not is beyond me, but it allows for some extra access into some ridiculously awesome areas. Nothing bloated in power, really – just an extra hill or two where you can pick off some enemies.

Sometime during the beta, DICE had added the hardcore mode of Rush (which I’m not sure if there will be a hardcore type for each game mode, just rush, or not at all). But it seems the success of the hardcore type is only minor because of its immediate issues. First of all, it was released almost anonymously. To find a hardcore server, you may look at the end of server names for “HC” or “Hardcore”. This issue should not carry over, as I assume the search feature with its filters will be complete. Not only that, but even if you look at the server info for an actual hardcore server, all servers say “hardcore mode: OFF”. Not that big of a deal, but highly misleading.

But it also seems that hardcore mode renewed my thoughts of the beta. Playing the normal game mode was kind of a pain – some guns were overtly powerful, some entirely useless. However, hardcore mode shines new light on those issues. Now it isn’t about how quickly guns kill – because all guns kill very easily. Now, you pick your weaponry from how accurate it is, the ammunition count, or your general preferences (such as iron sights). The SCAR L Carbine and 9A91 are exactly the same stat wise, but not only does the SCAR look cooler (my preference), it has a larger clip size but the same ammunition count. That’s why I pick it.

One of the new features of Bad Company 2 is the addition of a load out. First thoughts may lead to Modern Warfare 2, but they are only similar in so many ways. In Bad Company 2, they have taken out one class – so there are only five. In the first, you could choose from Assault, Engineer, Specialist, Recon, and Support. Instead, they took out support and created medic, and morphed the specialist with the engineer. Now, you have Assault, Engineer, Medic, and Recon. Each have exclusive goodies. The Assault class receives a ammunition box that can be dropped and can distribute points to allies who use it. The Engineer class is … the same, except it uses specialist weapons (SMG’s). Recon is still the same, but I dislike some of the design choices they made. In the first Bad Company, the recon class had binoculars which could lock onto any vehicle, and once charged, you would control a predator missile and attempt to destroy the vehicle. This was great because it was reusable and intelligent drivers could trick the recon player into going in one direction, but swiftly moving at the last moment, not giving recon a chance. Instead, they gave the recon class either 1) C4 [you could upgrade the amount held with a spec, more on this later] 2) a mortar. The C4 is fine in all honesty. However, the mortar is the most atrocious piece of weaponry I’ve ever seen. For the support class in the original, it was fantastic. Now it has only one use. One use. You heard me right. While I can’t say I’m positive that I know an ammunition box won’t refill that one use, from what I can remember it didn’t. So basically, C4 is the only thing worth using this time around. I’m not even going to bother mentioning the new targeting/charging system on the mortar. Last of all… Medic. Definitely the most handy class a lot of the time, you can revive soldiers within few seconds of their death with a defibrilator, or throw down some health packs for others and yourself to use. Same original LMG + pistol weapon combo.

One thing I mentioned in the previous paragraph – although only slightly – was a ‘spec’. In Bad Company 2 you have 3 specs, almost how you have three perks in Modern Warfare. Over time, and as you level up, specs will unlock. Since spec 1 is not locked, but it is more difficult to obtain than the others. Spec 3 is specific to vehicles. For my spec 3, I can choose improved warheads, armor, etc. For spec 2, I can choose a lightweight pack, making me run faster. I am pretty sure there are many more, such as additional C4 (I am only level 6 in the beta, there are 11 levels, suffice to say I have played about 9+ hours though). These spec 3’s make the game much more variated, and add a more tactical aspect to the squad approach. While they may seem insignificant at times, once you take a certain spec off the difference makes itself clear.

The map in the beta is one called Port Valdez. It is a snow map with practically zero access to water (you can dip in a few feet at one small area, but it is of no use). That one area of water does in fact prove that you cannot use weapons while swimming, whereas in the previous Battlefield games you could (not in Bad Company, though). The map is, well, not the best choice in my opinion. Attackers begin by parachuting into a few side of the map, where a UAV is stationed along with the typical vehicle set. There’s a hill nearby where snipers rest, and keep descending down the path and you find yourself at the defender’s base, a very small area with a few buildings. The bomb plants for A and B are set within fairly close proximity, and both can be taken out by a UAV with C4 attached to it. Generally, the style remains the same, except the second defender’s position is more like a small town. Once you get to the third defender’s base, though, things get much more unique. It is a small harbor – with the usual shipping containers, warehouses, etc – but it is quite open. There is room for attackers to thwart the defender’s plans by flanking from the left beach side, as that and the road act as huge bottleneck (for good reason). There is a hill at this bottleneck though, which is a popular sniping spot – only accessible by the sprint + jump technique. At this position the Apache also spawns for the defenders. This is the main reason defenders should be winning – because of the Apache! The Apache is the deadliest helicopter in any of the beta’s, and with a good pilot and gunner, is practically unstoppable. Of course, once the defender’s lose this point, the Apache leaves with them, and that leads onto the next point, where a Black Hawk spawns. The Black Hawk isn’t particularly great as is the Apache, but it comes in handy for a more experienced crew. It is especially diverse since two allies can use the Gatling guns. At this point you can also sneak around and steal the Black Hawk, or alternatively plant the C4 on the plant point. Even with this massive description though, its difficult to describe the errors with Port Valdez.

First of all, its way too small. With the increased amount of players per server on the PC version, it simply doesn’t work that well. Stealth is basically impossible save for a few select areas and each spot is constantly under moderation (provided the teams are mostly full).

Second, if the teams are balanced, then the defenders will win. This map leans towards defenders almost greatly, but if you have at least half of an attacker team with an IQ over 100, you should be alright, that is, if communications are solid. That said, VoIP is not functional in the beta. Text chat really doesn’t suffice, but it’s all you have to work with.

Now, I love the improvement of squads. In the first Bad Company, squads were great, but selection wasn’t free and there were pesky errors with them. You couldn’t prevent people you don’t know from joining your squad and giving away your position (which happens all too often), and you couldn’t choose which teammate to spawn onto. Now, its vastly changed, and much for the better. You can create and join squads freely in the squad selection menu. Squad leaders can lock squads (will have to be redone each round, unfortunately) to prevent people you don’t know or like from joining. Not only that, but yes! – you can pick which squad member to spawn on. Which is really nice, and good for annoying people (but you can always lock the squad regardless). One thing they didn’t add, that I really would’ve liked, is the addition to lock yourself from being spawned on. It just so happens that every time I sneak behind the enemy base as recon and kill many enemies, that squadmates like to spawn on me and pretend to benefit me, when in reality there are not. However, the antics happen only so few and far between. As usual, you do get extra points for assisting squadmates. The kill assist system is improved, with critical kill assists (deplete a large sum of the enemies health) and the regular assists (deplete any less than a large sum). The squad bonuses aren’t distinguished, they simply add points discretely, but they are there.

It seems that many complain about the hardware aspects of the game. It is true that the game requires a fair amount of optimization, mostly for DirectX10 (DirectX9 runs flawlessly on max settings with 60+ FPS for me, downside of no AA). For future information, I have a Phenom II X4 955 and a GTS 250, neither are overclocked in any way. The game runs – blissfully. Keep in mind that I have a 22″ monitor though, which is 1680×1050 pixels, and I play on highest possible settings. I use EVGA precision to measure my FPS, but I would recommend Fraps for non Nvidia GPU owners, as EVGA precision I’m not sure works.

Well, that’s about all I can think of. Remember that most of my game time is dedicated to the hardcore game type, which I personally perceive to be much better and brings out the true Battlefield experience. And remember – its always much more fun with friends (even though the friends system is currently nonfunctional). If you have a question, leave a comment. The final product looks to be fantastic and it is one of the three games I am definitely getting this game filled year (those 3 games are Mass Effect 2, Bad Company 2, and Starcraft 2). It is a beta so it is bound to be much improved and polished when we see the final game. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go play the Bad Company 2 beta.