If you’ve never
heard of the Battlefield series you’ve never lost nights of sleep to the online
multiplayer heaven that was Battlefield 1942 on the PC. It is this series that
has introduced a playground filled with an impressive number of gamers on the
screen at once with two sides fighting against each another. Now the series has
come to the PlayStation 2 with Battlefield 2 and while it’s not quite like its
PC counterpart the multiplayer action will hook you immediately.
Battlefield 2 is
best played online and with a whopping 24 players on screen at the same time it
will assure PS2 gamers a real party. Unfortunately there are only two online
multiplayer modes: Conquest and Capture the Flag. It’s not quite SOCOM, but then
again the real beauty lies with the game’s action that moves along at a steady
framerate thanks to the Broadband-only connection and the real sense of teamwork
that goes into each match. Conquest has you and your selected teammates
attempting to take control of certain points throughout the selected map so the
remaining players that manage to survive and take control of a majority of the
area wins. Capture the Flag is self explanatory, really.
It wouldn’t be a
Battlefield without the use of vehicles and there are plenty of land, sea and
air vehicles in the game that you and your teammates can pilot. The best part is
that while one player drives the other can man the guns. There are even boats to
use in the maps with large bodies of water and you can even pilot a helicopter.
Players can even call in an artillery strike when really needed. There are also
over a dozen maps that are pretty massive in scope and there are weapons aplenty
to use. Play well and the game even rewards you with medals that will inevitably
earn you higher ranks for bragging rights. There are five different troop types
that have their own distinct specialty. There’s the sniper, the assault trooper,
the special ops specialist, the engineer (to repair vehicles) and the support
soldiers. Making good use of each troop type will certainly prove valuable on
the battlefield.
Control-wise the
game is not hard to figure out and that’s not a bad thing at all. Simplicity
just allows more time to concentrate on the action and it works well in a game
that’s fast paced. It might not feel like the PC game but the action is still
just as addictive. Aside from the online multiplayer mode there’s also a
single-player campaign mode complete with its own story and a healthy number of
missions. Like the multiplayer mode you play the role of NATO troops as well as
Chinese soldiers. Taking a page from SOCOM or Rainbow Six, the campaign mode
concentrates on a future conflict that takes place in the volatile region of
Kazakhstan. The situation becomes critical when the Chinese comes to the aid of
the Kazakhstan people and thus setting in motion a battle between NATO and
China.
The missions
themselves are both addictive and rather ho-hum. One mission has you covering a
hacker while another has you playing the role of sniper as you attempt to defend
a school. The best missions have you in the middle of chaotic battles such as an
early mission that has you defending an oil platform against a large number of
enemy forces. Completing missions earns you medals and you can unlock a number
of weapons you can use in other missions. One of the single-player’s best
features is HotSwapping that allows you to take control of any soldier within
your line of sight. With the press of the square button you’ll instantly take
control of the soldier you were looking at.
Visually the
game isn’t bad but it isn’t great either. The environments, for instance, are
wonderfully detailed and you’ll be fighting through a nice variety of locales.
What doesn’t work is the lighting, which casts a soft appearance on each
location. There’s some great visual effects, though, although watching a jeep
explode and then disappear just doesn’t give the game a sense of realism. The
Battlefield theme music is present throughout the game and it fits well with the
game’s militaristic theme. The voice acting is also pretty good in the game’s
campaign mode but the sound effects don’t quite capture the genuine sounds of
battle. Then again the explosions sound great.
Battlefield 2:
Modern Combat for the PS2 is a massive online playground with just the right
amount of toys to keep the action nicely addictive. While it does not resemble
the PC games exactly, the action fits right at home on the consoles. The best
part is that the single-player mode is also a nice distraction when you’re not
battling it out online. Buy or rent, this is a game you might want to check out
when you want to give SOCOM 3 a break.
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Gameplay: 8.0
The game
controls smoothly enough offline as well as online and HotSwapping is a
wonderful feature you’ll make use of quite often. The single-player campaign is
a great distraction with some rather plain objectives and a number of
interesting ones as well.
Graphics: 7.5
The
backgrounds and environmental detail stands out but the PS2 sees some soft
lighting that gives the game a dreamy look … not quite the feel that will make
one think “battlefield.” The character models aren’t bad and the gunfire and
explosions look good.
Sound: 7.5
The game’s
soundtrack isn’t bad at all and the voice acting in the game’s campaign mode is
not bad at all. The sound effects don’t pack a punch, especially when it comes
to gunfire, but the explosions sound really good.
Difficulty:
Medium
Offline you’ll
go up against some pretty bright enemies as well as some truly dull-witted ones.
The missions in the single-player game offer a variety of different challenges
that range from easy to quite tough.
Concept: 8.5
The attention
is clearly placed on the excellent online multiplayer action but the
single-player mode is quite meaty and filled with interesting missions
scenarios. There’s a great multitude of weapons and vehicles to use and
HotSwapping will put a smile on any gamers face.
Multiplayer:
9.0
Despite the
lack of a variety of multiplayer game modes, this is still a more than decent
online multiplayer that wonderfully accommodates up to 24 players on screen at
once. With vehicles and great playable maps, it’s hard to stop playing this one.
Overall: 8.2
The
Battlefield series has delighted PC gamers with its amazing multiplayer action
but on the PS2 Battlefield 2 will not disappoint in the very least. While
there’s isn’t a great variety of modes to choose from the game still offers a
nice amount of features worth the price of admission.
