'Bad Company 2' better than MW2

When I reviewed “Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2” earlier this year for my school’s newspaper, I said it was one of the top 5 games of the year. I was sucked into the glory and fanfare of the Modern Warfare series and truly believed it was that great. The campaign was fun, albeit short with a dysfunctional story, and the new Spec ops mode was supremely fun when played with another person. The multiplayer, I thought at the time, was the best out there, besides the Halo series. But after 17 hours of playing online, I was disgusted with the laundry list of glitches, campers and overpowered unbalanced weaponry. I was over it. It was still a good game, but it lacked that special something the first MW had.

Now fast forward to March 2, 2010. I was in line at midnight for “Battlefield: Bad Company 2,” and pumped. BC2 was the sequel to the first Bad Company game, and it was back with a vengeance. I finally found, in my eyes at least, a game that could contend with MW. Now whether or not it catches on remains to be seen, but this game made me ashamed that I called MW2 one of the best games of the year. BC2 is better in every way. The maps are more complex, the environments are destructible, the weapons are actually balanced and the gameplay doesn’t get repetitive. The squad-based play is bar none some of the best multiplayer action I have seen in a game. The ability to spawn with your three other squad mates and for each member to take a specific position (assault, engineer, medic, recon) creates a strategic environment unlike MW2 where 10-year-olds rule the map by double-fisting shotguns. Campers aren’t as big of a problem in BC2 either because specific points in the Rush and Conquest modes are pinpointed on the map, so you can anticipate where enemies will be based off of that information. The weapons are very balanced as well, along with the perks and upgrades available for the different classes. If you are a level 10 playing against a bunch of level 20s, you still have useful perks at your fingertips. The melee action is also a bit slower and more deliberate than MW2, so you won’t get knifed from 10 yards away as was common in that game, instead a melee takes more precision and timing. 

Overall, the experience is more rewarding. The game can’t be won by one or two players camping the best area of a map. A good squad can be a game changer, but it is unlikely in BC2 for one player to be able to do it all. The maps are too big for that and there is too much going on to be a one-man army. Speaking of a lot going on, did I mention the incredible vehicles that are present in the multiplayer? There is nothing more satisfying than performing a low flyby in a helicopter while your buddies are raining lead down on combatants with a M230 Chain Gun. Or you could always saddle up in an M1 Abrams and go crashing through trees, cutting them down with the mounted machine gun or the 120mm smooth bore cannon. There are plenty of opportunities to use vehicles, but beware, they take practice. The difference between an experienced helicopter pilot and an inexperienced is obvious(the one spiraling into the ground and the one ruling the sky will clue you into which is which).

I am thankful for the people at DICE who brought BC2 to my TV and 360. Finally, someone has decided to make a “modern warfare” type game and not sit in silence while Infinity Ward gets all the glory. This game is better than MW2, hands down. I am confident in saying I will never buy another  Modern Warfare title, and I am still pissed at myself for calling that game one of the best of 2009. Three short months into 2010 and BC2 has changed the way I look at tactical shooters.