Bad Company, Good News!

So I've finally managed to get my ass off of the high pedestal of PC bigotry to take a look at DICE's very near-future team-based shooter, Battlefield: Bad Company, which up until this week I had dismissed as just another console spin-off of the popular PC multiplayer franchise. And boy was I wrong. The destruction in this game isn't just a stupid gimmick as I had so arrogantly rejected it as before, but rather a real gameplay mechanic that looks awesome and seems like it'll add a lot to the game. It also seems that in a very DICE-ish move, they're staying true to the franchise and keeping console dumbing down to a minimum. Below is a list of things that look awesome followed by one of things that concern me a bit (in no particular order), and as should be expected from the makers of Battlefield 2, the good FAR outweighs that bad.

The Good

Graphics: Battlefield 2's graphics were among the best at its time, and while the same can't be said today, they're by no means unplayable. It seems as though DICE has done it again by crafting some of the most detailed models and textures I've seen in a while and explosions that are second only to those of World in Conflict. They're really pushing the hardware of the 360 and PS3, but managing to keep the frame rate stable with minimal slowdown (which should be all but gone by the time the game is released.

Sound: Dear lord the sound! They did a fantastic job last time with angry-sounding AK-101s, shell-shocking artillery, and super-sonic jets on powerful-sounding bombing runs. They've only improved it from here with explosions that sound like thunder from afar and like menacing blasts up close, and weapons that sound appropriately powerful. Words can't do this justice, you'll need to see a video to understand what I mean.

Weapons: Some cool ones that are under-represented in games like the pretty-much-canceled M8 rifle that was supposed to replace the M16, and the Russian AN-94. Also included are some sweet promotional unlockables like the F2000 (from Splinter Cell and BF2) and M60. Details on these are here. One of 'em is apparently an automatic shotgun.

Destruction: Everyone knows about this one if they've been following it. Pretty much everything can be blown up. Walls on buildings, fences, even the ground can have craters blow in it. I am a bit concerned that idiots will just pick Assault or whatever class (see below) has the anti-tank weapon and run around blowing shit up. I know I will my first match, but that has to get annoying when your "allies" literally start blowing your cover. Still, this promises to add a lot to an already great game.

Gold Rush mode: A new linear-capture attackers vs defenders mode not unlike World in Conflict's Assault maps. Looks promising. One question the mode raises however is how the hell they collect boxes of gold by blowing them up.

June release: Because nothing good ever comes out in the summer (I know there's something, just can't remember is). This'll be a good way to pass the summer game drought.

Iron sights: Instead of a FEAR-style zoom like 1942, just attaching a scope to everything like Modern Combat, and red dots everywhere like 2142. I just prefer open sights.

The Bad

Inaccurate weapons: No, I don't mean you'll miss a lot (though with dual analog I probably will), I mean the weapons aren't really as true to their real life counterparts as other games in the series. I know this is nitpicking, but that's always been one of the better parts of the series. Yes, I know it's a game, but why they gave a lot (all?) of the assault rifles 50-round magazines is beyond me. The M16 is also apparently fully-automatic, which takes away from weapon diversity a bit. This is by no means game-breaking though, just console dumbing down.

Map variety: Much like BF2 and 2142 before it, (less BF2) so far, Bad Company's environments seem to stick to one of two locations: rural eastern-European villages and farmlands and Middle Eastern deserts and villages. Some jungles or snow would be nice, maybe a bigger urban area like Sharqi Peninsula?

Lower play number: To accommodate for the consoles not having as much power as the PC, they won't have as many players, which means the maps have to be smaller, and the battles much less epic. This isn't Battlefield 3, but as long as the density is good it's not a huge problem.

Class combining: I guess the lower player number calls for this since you can't really have balanced mix of seven classes with 12 people on a team as you can with 32. Still, I wasn't a huge fan of this decision in 2142 or Modern Combat (where again the players were fewer). This does take away from some of the teamplay as the Medic is removed entirely and the Support class gets both the light machine gun and health packs and no ammo pack. (I think, don't quote me on that) They also once again combined the engineer and anti-tank classes I believe, which is a more natural combination since you end up with a guy that both destroys and repairs vehicles. Maybe it's actually a more sensible combination if you do it 2142-style and make your own class out of parts of the two, but seeing as how the only customization here is choosing your weapon, that's not the case. Again, not game-breaking, and a bit simpler for the console.

So there you go, quite a bit of reading but there are my impressions. DICE seems to have really put a great amount of work into it and it shows. This game has a lot of potential and I can't wait for it!