Battlefield: Bad Company

As you're playing through Battlefield: Bad Company, you'll see a lot of stuff blowing up. The game is also pretty damn funny at times, has a very cinematic singleplayer and an addicting multiplayer mode. Read on to find out why this game should belong in any FPS-fan's collection.

Bad Company is similar to Battlefield: Modern Combat, but the developers decided to change up the singleplayer formula a bit this time around. Instead of throw-away missions against bots, this new addition to the series actually features a pretty good storyline. The game puts you in the shoes of Preston Marlowe, a soldier in the US army that messed up somewhere along the line, and gets transferred to the infamous B-Company as punishment. B-Company is where all the social rejects and fuck-ups reside, and the squad you get put into is no different. Along with the ever-serious Redford, the brilliant Sweetwater and the crazy sociopath Haggard, you serve as cannonfodder in battles where command decides to preserve the more valuable forces. The story quickly turns away from the standard squad-against-army formula that gamers have been fed for many a shooter now, when Sweetwater discovers that they're fighting mercenaries. But not just random mercenaries, these guys get paid in gold bars. Redford was supposed to retire in three days, but his retirement plan get thrown out of the window as Haggard makes a dumb mistake on impulse when chasing a truck with said gold. A nemesis by the name of The Legionnaire also makes an appearance, but that subject gets touched upon only lightly.

The story isn't Metal Gear Solid heavy, nor as emotionally laden as GTAIV's was, but for what it's worth, it's a good way to help pace the singleplayer campaign, and there's plenty of comic relief in there too, courtesy of Sweetwater's and Haggard's dialogue. Overall, I felt the story worked quite well, and it's definitely an improvement over Modern Combat's non-existant story.

However, what truly sets Bad Company apart from your average FPS is the Frostbite Engine. Basically, Frostbite allows buildings and other objects to get torn apart in relatively realistic, but above all awesome ways. Lots of games have you fighting through great-looking, war-torn environments, but in Bad Company, locations look quite unscathed when you enter them. They won't stay like this for long. Doors are not required in this game--infact, lots of houses don't have doors that can be opened at all. But how do you enter them and take out the enemies within, you ask? Well, simply strip away a wall. Everything is set up to make sure lots of stuff gets blown up in as little a time as possible. Explosive barrels are everywhere, and you get plenty of toys like rocket launchers and laser markers for air strikes. Most of the guns come equipped with grenade launchers as well, and those that don't always come with smiley-pinned grenades.

All this stuff combined results in mayhem. Within seconds of entering an enemy settlement, things go boom everywhere. There were times when I simply could not see my way through the constant smokey haze of dust, light flashes and bullets flying by. I've never actually experienced what it's like in a warzone--thank God for that too--but it's not hard to imagine Bad Company coming pretty damn close in terms of atmosphere. Your teammates will run around yelling and swearing, and coupled with a constant soundscape of assault rifles blowing their load and tanks sending shells your way at a blistering pace, the battles really get your heart pumping.

One of the reasons the battles feel so hectic is because you never are truly safe. When you see a tank, your instinct will tell you to duck inside a house and take cover against the wall. However, if the tank has its sights set on you, the wall may soon be unmade. There is something horrifyingly awesome about leaning against a wall at one second, and having the wall disappear the next due to a well-aimed tank shell. You can obviously use this same tactic, denying enemies any cover. Unfortunately, you can't completely wipe away a building, because no matter how much you hit it, support beams will always keep standing. However, this isn't all that a big an issue. Having most of the walls break down is convincing enough. Working your way through one of the game's many villages, carving a path with a gun-mounted grenade launcher is awesome in so many ways. Bad Company is a capable shooter, but the Frostbite Engine really does lift it to another level.

The Frostbite Engine thankfully carries over intact into the multiplayer. Bad Company only has two multiplayer modes as of yet, and it actually shipped with only a single one, but those two modes are pretty damn cool. The most interesting is Goldrush, which reflects the goldhunting found in the singleplayer. There are two teams in each game; the defenders and the attackers. The attackers have to destroy gold crates, while the defenders have to prevent them from doing this, while trying to drain the attackers' respawns. It's an awesome mode, even if the defenders seem to have a bit of an advantage.

Overall, Battlefield: Bad Company is a pretty awesome game. Gamers get buried in an avalanche of shooters these days, but Bad Company manages to set itself apart with great characters, fantastic destruction and a nice multiplayer mode. I suggest you try this game.