Action Just Feels a Slight Bit Better
In all honesty, after spending a good couple of hours with each game’s vehicle, I really think that driving a tank in Bad Company 2 is a lot less stressful than trying to maneuver one in Battlefield 3. Maybe it’s the third-person camera and the way it’s set, maybe it’s the controls. But either way, it just feels better overall. Same could be said for on-foot combat. With Bad Company, you could rush around and put players in your sights. But with the barrage of enemies barreling down on you in Battlefield 3, it was more lifelike…and much trickier. Some folks may prefer it that way, but give me the genuine comfort of a first-person shooter that gives you more of a fighting chance, and less of a “jeez, I died again?!” scenario.
The Golf Cart
Yes, in the original Bad Company, you can ride around in a golf cart. That’s definitely a cool factor compared to riding around in the passenger seat of a jet and merely aiming at enemies alongside you. A small factor, but for fans of the series, a significant one.
Bonus: Multiplayer?
Multiplayer may also be a factor for some folks, depending on the offered mode, but considering there’s more players hooked on Battlefield 3 these days than Bad Company 2, it wasn’t so much of a factor. Still, Bad Company 3 could easily incorporate new multiplayer goods, as well as stuff that could tie in with Battlefield 3’s stats. Make it happen, DICE!
Oh, sequels. This game industry is full of them, even when they come at a time when we don’t necessarily ask for them. We’re speaking primarily about Battlefield 4, which was confirmed by both Electronic Arts and DICE yesterday, in the form of a downloadable beta that you’ll be able to sign up for when you pick up Medal of Honor: Warfighter this October.
Though the sequel is a ways off (the beta won’t even start till fall 2013), we can’t help but think that EA is literally jumping the gun by announcing it so soon. We haven’t even seen all of the expansions DICE is working on with Battlefield 3, even.
With that, one series is being sort of neglected here – Battlefield: Bad Company. First introduced in 2008 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (and followed by a sequel in 2010), the off-shoot series introduced a quartet of likable heroes, fighting their way through battles as a team across various locations. While DICE has stated interest in bringing about a Bad Company 3 sometime in the future, no plans have been officially unveiled yet.
And personally, I think that’s kind of a mistake. While Battlefield 3 does introduce general thrills that are hard to deny, I can’t help but think that Bad Company 3 is the sequel that should come first. And I’ve got five reasons why…
Better Story
Let’s be honest, while Battlefield 3 set the stage for some remarkable action sequences, its story dwelled too much in military conspiracies, and ended on a rather flat note. With that, I always felt the Bad Company games did better on story, with the sequel in particular delivering plenty of excitement surrounding a powerful weapon. Bad Company 3 could easily continue that story in stride, with the team tackling yet another madman who’s hoarding a whole lot of gold – and a devastating plan to kill millions.
The Graphics Were Better
This may be a huge dividing line with some fans, but looking back at Bad Company 2, I couldn’t help but notice there were slightly better graphics in there than there were in Battlefield 3. Just take a look at the opening stage of Bad Company 2, with the gun battles and the cool wave effects, compared to the jumpy frame rate from BF3. Granted, the PC versions are almost counterparts, but on console, you can spot the differences. And you don’t have to worry about setting aside 2 GB of hard drive space for an upgrade, right?
Characters Are Better To Identify With
I’ll be honest, there isn’t really a single character in Battlefield 3 I could relate to, no matter how much DICE tried to push the story. But with Bad Company, each member of the squad resonated with some kind of personality, between smarmy dialogue and plenty of antics. Haggard in particular, rushing down the mountain side and yelling, “There’s gold in them thar hills!”, is hilarious. The other guys, Marlowe, Redford and Sweetwater, added their own specialty to each game as well. That certainly did wonders with, um, those other soldiers in Battlefield 3. The tone was a lot lighter too, even though the action didn’t let up.
