So there's this upcoming new Battlefield, thats going to kill off any previous Call of Duty (according to hype anyway). Now I consider myself Immune to hype, and didn't actually expect BfBc2 to be that superb game it is supposed to be. But I at least had hoped for a half decent game, and found myself expecially intrigued by some promises that game made. Unfortunately it didn't deliver on either points.
((I will only go on, about gameplay and the singleplayer - I myself have never gotten into that battlefield multiplayer feeling, but I can see, how people potentially can like that sort of thing, and I won't blame, given what little choice there is.))
So yes, the first thing to strike me is - I can run both Mw2 and Avp on full details with everything maxed, but as soon as I want to play this extremely well crafted Console portation, my machine only just so manages lowest details, low resolution and overall graphics that would put Modern Warfare (one, not two that is) to shame.
But hex, nvm them graphics, if the story is ok. Well storywise, BfBc2 isn't going to kill anybody, especially not Modern Warfare, which it rips off with about the determination that Dante's Inferno rips of God of War. One might argue, that this is due to the two games being in the same genre, but honestly, even after two Modern Warfare games, one can potentially think of an original Story for a "twenty minutes in the future"-Wargame. If he tries that is.
Allthough BfBc2, in an desperate attempt to trump Mw2, manages to get even more ridicolous in the usage of emps, russian invasions, and shooting down satelites.
But the Ripoff is also gameplay wise. Now who exactly thought it would be a good idea to rip off the way in which players experience cutscenes in first person in cod games, (which is meant to create IMMERSION), but put cinematic black bars on the screen, and flowbreaking loading times on every single cutscene? Especially when you virtually walk two steps until the next cut-scene starts over. For five or six cutscenes in a row. It worked in Cod-games, but they did it properly. Also, changes in setting and wheather are coll and everything, but when both wheather and overall setting change every ten nanoseconds (the first jungle mission, that took me about half an hour goes sunshine -> Thunderstorm -> bright sunshine -> heavy rain, with the weather not starting or ending, just changing while your inside, or in a loading screen.
But nvm Story, if the Gunplay, the very essence of every fps works, allright?. Theoretically yes. Unfortunately, it doesn't. First off, I found hip firing with a light machine gun, to be about as accurate as using a sniper rifle, so why bother? Secondly, my character insists on holding his gun over his shoulder, rather then on his hips, meaning that firing anything larger than a pistol will block at least half your screen. Aparently that half, in which enemies with shotguns prefer to sneak up. Which leads me to the point of the games difficulty (nonexistant). While the game desperately tries to be challenging in all the wrong ways (Enemies spawning once you walk over a trigger ten foot away, enemies sniping you with shotguns from the next town over), your comrades are so eficient, and your health regenerates so fast, and you stumble around ammo-crates every second (And may i point out, that the combination of destructo scenery, a rocket launcher you get at the start of the second level, and unlimited ammo succesfully eliminate the slightest challenge), that the game, even on hardest difficulty is way too easy.
So bad gameplay, bad story, bad graphics, lets come to those unique overadvertised selling points;
So the game is called "bad Company", due to the fact that your comrades, consisting of three stereotype-cliches and a clicheistic-stereotype pilot, alltogether having the appeal and personality of yesterdays newspaper, blabbering half-witty comments, that probably were funny in an american propaganda movie during WWII, but won't make anyone in their right mind so much as smirk. They are quite formidable however, in breaking what little immersion there is, due to never really fitting, and feeling terribly forced.
And then there is the second unique selling point, the reason why I wanted this game to be good, why i really wanted to like it. The destructable scenery. And the BfBc2 team succeeds in the actually challenging task of implementing such an great feature, that so many fps' are lacking, in such a terrible way, that not implementing it, would have been an improvement to the game. For which this game has earned my eternal hatred.
So who on earth is thickheaded enough to implement a destructable scenery, without IMPLEMENTING A PHYSICS ENGINE? Not only is the absence of ragdoll physics another nail in the coffin of immersion, but what is more, it ruins the sole fun in blowing shit up. Every single of the (empty, copy pasted, but immersion is dead already, so whatever) breaks down in exactly the same way. Every destructable Object has exactly two Modi - perfectly functional, and shreds, with absolutely no middle ground. Ground that the player can stand on, plot relevant objects, and ways, such as ladders or stairs are conveniently indestructable to the point where a thin wooden wall with a stair attached provides cover against supressing fire from a tank (Because making everything destructable, would have required the level-designers to do their job)
Oh of course, the vehicle sections, since vehicle combat to an extend alsways has been a thing of the battlefield franchise. Remember how virtually every fps that ever contained a vehicle section limits your ammo, or makes your gun overheat? BfBc2 is too cool for that, so the shooting aspect comes down to taping down your left mouse-button, than drawing smilies on the screen. But the driving, oh the driving. Due to the aforementioned lack of physics, the cars handle somewaht special, and virtually everything that drives, floats or flies can't take more than half an Ak47th clip before exploding, but the main issue I have with driving, is that with enemy cars, projectiles of all sizes and conveniently placed red barrels that are literally placed everywhere, all exploding left and right sending ugly explosions and even uglier particle effects, that are probably supposed to be either snow or dirt, right into my face, I can't see where I'm fucking driving. Which is literally the only thing that kills you, given the laughable difficulty.
And yes, maybe I will try and write something about a good game, in the unforseeable future.
And yes, I expect to be overrun by battlefield enthusiasts and / or Cod haters every second, do your worst. It is just, that I had my expectations, given that destructable scenery is one of the very few things that todays fps' are lacking, and that I'd really like to see, and Bfbc2 not only not delivering, but overall being such a terrible letdown, has made me all the angrier.
((I will only go on, about gameplay and the singleplayer - I myself have never gotten into that battlefield multiplayer feeling, but I can see, how people potentially can like that sort of thing, and I won't blame, given what little choice there is.))
So yes, the first thing to strike me is - I can run both Mw2 and Avp on full details with everything maxed, but as soon as I want to play this extremely well crafted Console portation, my machine only just so manages lowest details, low resolution and overall graphics that would put Modern Warfare (one, not two that is) to shame.
But hex, nvm them graphics, if the story is ok. Well storywise, BfBc2 isn't going to kill anybody, especially not Modern Warfare, which it rips off with about the determination that Dante's Inferno rips of God of War. One might argue, that this is due to the two games being in the same genre, but honestly, even after two Modern Warfare games, one can potentially think of an original Story for a "twenty minutes in the future"-Wargame. If he tries that is.
Allthough BfBc2, in an desperate attempt to trump Mw2, manages to get even more ridicolous in the usage of emps, russian invasions, and shooting down satelites.
But the Ripoff is also gameplay wise. Now who exactly thought it would be a good idea to rip off the way in which players experience cutscenes in first person in cod games, (which is meant to create IMMERSION), but put cinematic black bars on the screen, and flowbreaking loading times on every single cutscene? Especially when you virtually walk two steps until the next cut-scene starts over. For five or six cutscenes in a row. It worked in Cod-games, but they did it properly. Also, changes in setting and wheather are coll and everything, but when both wheather and overall setting change every ten nanoseconds (the first jungle mission, that took me about half an hour goes sunshine -> Thunderstorm -> bright sunshine -> heavy rain, with the weather not starting or ending, just changing while your inside, or in a loading screen.
But nvm Story, if the Gunplay, the very essence of every fps works, allright?. Theoretically yes. Unfortunately, it doesn't. First off, I found hip firing with a light machine gun, to be about as accurate as using a sniper rifle, so why bother? Secondly, my character insists on holding his gun over his shoulder, rather then on his hips, meaning that firing anything larger than a pistol will block at least half your screen. Aparently that half, in which enemies with shotguns prefer to sneak up. Which leads me to the point of the games difficulty (nonexistant). While the game desperately tries to be challenging in all the wrong ways (Enemies spawning once you walk over a trigger ten foot away, enemies sniping you with shotguns from the next town over), your comrades are so eficient, and your health regenerates so fast, and you stumble around ammo-crates every second (And may i point out, that the combination of destructo scenery, a rocket launcher you get at the start of the second level, and unlimited ammo succesfully eliminate the slightest challenge), that the game, even on hardest difficulty is way too easy.
So bad gameplay, bad story, bad graphics, lets come to those unique overadvertised selling points;
So the game is called "bad Company", due to the fact that your comrades, consisting of three stereotype-cliches and a clicheistic-stereotype pilot, alltogether having the appeal and personality of yesterdays newspaper, blabbering half-witty comments, that probably were funny in an american propaganda movie during WWII, but won't make anyone in their right mind so much as smirk. They are quite formidable however, in breaking what little immersion there is, due to never really fitting, and feeling terribly forced.
And then there is the second unique selling point, the reason why I wanted this game to be good, why i really wanted to like it. The destructable scenery. And the BfBc2 team succeeds in the actually challenging task of implementing such an great feature, that so many fps' are lacking, in such a terrible way, that not implementing it, would have been an improvement to the game. For which this game has earned my eternal hatred.
So who on earth is thickheaded enough to implement a destructable scenery, without IMPLEMENTING A PHYSICS ENGINE? Not only is the absence of ragdoll physics another nail in the coffin of immersion, but what is more, it ruins the sole fun in blowing shit up. Every single of the (empty, copy pasted, but immersion is dead already, so whatever) breaks down in exactly the same way. Every destructable Object has exactly two Modi - perfectly functional, and shreds, with absolutely no middle ground. Ground that the player can stand on, plot relevant objects, and ways, such as ladders or stairs are conveniently indestructable to the point where a thin wooden wall with a stair attached provides cover against supressing fire from a tank (Because making everything destructable, would have required the level-designers to do their job)
Oh of course, the vehicle sections, since vehicle combat to an extend alsways has been a thing of the battlefield franchise. Remember how virtually every fps that ever contained a vehicle section limits your ammo, or makes your gun overheat? BfBc2 is too cool for that, so the shooting aspect comes down to taping down your left mouse-button, than drawing smilies on the screen. But the driving, oh the driving. Due to the aforementioned lack of physics, the cars handle somewaht special, and virtually everything that drives, floats or flies can't take more than half an Ak47th clip before exploding, but the main issue I have with driving, is that with enemy cars, projectiles of all sizes and conveniently placed red barrels that are literally placed everywhere, all exploding left and right sending ugly explosions and even uglier particle effects, that are probably supposed to be either snow or dirt, right into my face, I can't see where I'm fucking driving. Which is literally the only thing that kills you, given the laughable difficulty.
And yes, maybe I will try and write something about a good game, in the unforseeable future.
And yes, I expect to be overrun by battlefield enthusiasts and / or Cod haters every second, do your worst. It is just, that I had my expectations, given that destructable scenery is one of the very few things that todays fps' are lacking, and that I'd really like to see, and Bfbc2 not only not delivering, but overall being such a terrible letdown, has made me all the angrier.
