Not bad - Military Video Games, computer games, games, gaming - Navy Times

Not bad

The Army’s least orthodox, most sarcastic four-man squad returns in “Battlefield: Bad Company 2,” a worthy successor to the team’s debut with ambitions of taking on today’s foremost first-person shooters. “Bad Company 2” can’t quite knock “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” off the pedestal, but it deserves credit for a multiplayer mode that isn’t shy about aiming for the top gorilla.

Unlike the breakout “Battlefield: Bad Company,” this time our boys have gone halfway respectable, taking regular-Army missions and even getting sucked into special operations jobs, despite — or because of — their unique brand of violent smart-aleckry. Still, even though “Bad Company 2” mercifully takes itself much less seriously than other first-person shooters, fans of the first game may miss the first chapter’s lighthearted tone amid the more serious, more conventional story in the sequel.

Its heart is still in the right place, though: Squad leader Sgt. Samuel Redford is almost retired — until he gets pulled back for one last mission, again. At one point early in the game, the script needs him to explain for you (the human player) that you can get ammunition and weapons from crates placed throughout the maps.

“Thank you, Sarge,” says your squadmate, Pvt. Terrance Sweetwater. “I am familiar with how a crate works.”

Bad Company still lives in a world in which almost everything can be destroyed, which is really convenient, because a couple of grenades can carve a door out of what was once a wall, and the gun on a vehicle can turn a building to rubble. You have access to a range of vehicles, from two-man buggies to helicopters, and the menu of small arms and emplaced weapons is impressive. The enemies in single-player mode are just intelligent enough to make things interesting, but dumb enough to make the campaign mode enjoyable.

“Bad Company 2” also is as visually pleasing and sonically accomplished as its predecessor. The graphics engine renders some of the most beautiful light and shadow of all first-person shooters, and I loved the thump of its explosions and the wonderful crack of its rifle reports.

Even though our buddies have returned for the new game, they’re only sharing the spotlight: Developer DICE wants the main selling point to be the multiplayer, going so far as to claim “defining online warfare” on the box. Well, now! Today, online warfare is defined by “Modern Warfare 2,” but DICE and publisher Electronic Arts are making clear they think “Battlefield” belongs in the bigs, too.

They’re not wrong. “Bad Company 2” online is crisper and clearer than “MW2,” and it includes land, sea and air vehicles, as well as player-controlled artillery and unmanned aircraft. “Call of Duty” last made multiplayer vehicles available in “World At War,” in which you drove tanks that looked like toys amid otherwise well-rendered maps, but the vehicles of “Bad Company 2” look and handle as realistically as their surroundings.

Most of the time, however, you can’t get into one of the prized armored personnel carriers or attack helicopters, so you’ve got to run and fight with your rifle. This is where “MW2” has the edge over “Bad Company 2,” which doesn’t make moving and shooting as effortless as “Call of Duty” has for its last three installments. “MW2” also includes a broader range of game styles than “Bad Company 2,” including many individual and team games.

Instead of trying to defend or capture gold, as before, in the main online mode of “Bad Company 2” you’re seizing or protecting objectives on giant, destructible sandbox maps, although the new game includes a smaller-scale death-match mode if you feel lost in the main mayhem. There’s nothing wrong with a proprietary attack-and-defend game, but “MW2” will remain the alpha dog as long as it continues to give players the wider range of online game options.

Two other notes: I missed the sprightly violins-and-cellos soundtrack of the first “Bad Company,” which I hoped would return as a trademark theme for the boys, but didn’t. And Military Times’ copy of “Bad Company 2” had a few campaign and online glitches, including one occasion when it wouldn’t connect to any servers.

But overall, “Bad Company 2” lives up to its potential, and it has earned a place in today’s top tier.

Buy? Rent? Skip?

Our verdict: Buy