Nonetheless, the game flashes some moments of brilliance, from thunder sniping, to shelter hopping during a blinding blizzard, the game throws some cool ideas that are often underutilized to its entirety. There are on-rails sequences and vehicle sections infused with the kind of breath-taking high-octane action that Michael Bay would approve of. Choppers fly over head, missiles zing past by, explosions kick dust and dirt into your face, trucks and ATV's chase after you with tenacity, all while you fire back on the back of truck, or in the backseat of a Black Hawk with a mounted mini-gun in your hands.
But the single-player is a mere appetizer for the main course: the multiplayer. The bread and butter of the Battlefield series has always been dynamic virtual battlefields filled with epic unscripted moments. The game offers several modes: Rush, an objective-based mode where Attackers destroy crates that Defenders must protect; Conquest, where teams must vie for control of flag points, and Squad Rush, where four squads of four fight each other for supremacy. To complement these modes, the designers have implemented a class system where each class provides a distinct role for the team. Assault class players, along with their high-caliber assault rifles, can dispense ammo crates to resupply other players. Engineers are tasked with keeping friendly vehicles in working condition and enemy vehicles as smoking wreckage via rocket launchers or AT mines. Medics get to wield non-stop fire light machine guns, throw medic packs for healing, and use shock paddles to revive fallen teammates, or zap enemies into death. Recon can snipe from afar, throw motion sensors to reveal enemy positions, or bring on heavy artillery rain into objective areas.
The right balance of all the classes can mean a difference between a win and a loss. There is no "I" in "Battlefield," and teamwork is the word of the day. All the classes serve a function that helps the overall team but the game also introduces a spotting mechanic where you can visually mark an enemy soldier for everybody on your team to see. This allows players to communicate enemy positions even without voice communication, and stresses team work and coordination. In order to win, it's not all about padding your kill/death ratio, but about helping out the team by supplying them with ammo, reviving fallen soldiers, repairing vehicles, and spotting enemies.
For every problem, there is a solution. The developers have struck a delicate balance, ensuring that no class is too strong. The emphasis on vehicle-based combat in addition to infantry battles adds diversity to the fire fights and increases the sense of scale. While buzzing Black Hawks and rolling tanks may seem super-powered at first, artillery strikes, C4's, and rocket launchers can make short work of them. Faraway snipers are susceptible to back stabs, assault class players have no hope against the perpetual fire of a medic class, the engineer's rapid-fire SMG's ensures swift justice against any medic up close, while engineers have no tools against long range recons.
To get the most out of the game, it’s best to play with people you know. Voice communication is limited to squads of four. While this may be a limitation, this allows squads to act independent of each other. To bolster squad-based play, squad bonuses add extra points, which level up ranks faster. Each member in a squad is a potential spawn point for dead members. Sometimes, one squad is all it takes to completely turn the tide of the battle.
The ranking system allows players to unlock specializations and weapons for each class. The game offers a lot of leeway and room for experimentation when it comes to customizing weapon layouts. The specs include a bevy of red dots, 4x scopes, light-weight attachments, extra ammo packs, higher damage magnum rounds, body armor, or more accurate bullets. The downside, as with any unlock system, is that it gives higher-ranked players more toys to play with, which can be devastating to lower-ranked newcomers. Luckily, most of the weapon unlocks merely offer alternative stats, and aren't always universally superior in every way.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2's multiplayer is a thing of beauty. The list of epic moments is never short, and will only get longer the more you play. It is one of those rare multiplayer experiences that manage to make you feel like you're in the middle of a war. You'd be running around as bullets whiz past by, artillery shells explode all around you, buildings collapse in great heaps of debris and smoke, soldiers are dying left and right, and then getting revived back up again, grenades stream across the sky, and you can’t help but think to yourself, "This is awesome."
