"A well made FPS sequel for the Battlefield series"

The Battlefield series was started with the game Battlefield: 1942. Which was a WW 2 FPS that included a feature not normally included in games, this feature is vehicles, but it didn't just have them, the whole game was based on them. It was this idea along with its original gameplay that made Battlefield 1942 a hit, which was then followed by Battlefield Vietnam, and now finally, Battlefield 2. In this game, the battlefield is in the Middle East during modern times.

Graphics 10/10 – The graphics in this game are beautiful and are easily the best graphics in a game at this point in time of its release. Everything is very well detailed and looks nice. The water is good, the faces are good, the terrain is good, EVERYTHING looks good. The only downfall to this, is that you need a very good computer to run it on any decent graphics settings.

Gameplay – 9/10 – In the Battlefield series there have always been a singleplayer mode, and as tradition it has always sucked. The same is true for BF 2. In singleplayer there is only a limited selection of maps to play, and you are limited to only 16 bots. There are also no air vehicles besides a Blackhawk helicopter in the level Operation Clean Sweep. But the multiplayer completely makes up for this, as the game is meant for multiplayer. It will last you many many many hours without getting old. The wide selection of maps all are very varied in terrain making each map feel almost like a different game. The large amount of things you can do in a multiplayer game offer many hours of gameplay. There are a large selection of vehicles to choose from, from helicopters to tanks to boats, to apcs, etc… . Unlike the previous BF games, the maps are smaller making you able to actually travel on foot to get to various bases and not have it take 2 hours *glares at BF 1942*. Also in this game, there is a reason to play a class OTHER than assault unlike the previous Battlefield games. Every class is actually useful now and has lots of advantages and disadvantages. It's actually fun to play as a medic now! A BIG change from the previous games is the inclusion of squads and the commander which both add a lot more emphasis on teamplay instead of just freelancing around and killing anything in sight. You now have the option of making or joining other people's squads which you talk to then with a mic(I'll get to that later). When you have joined a squad, you have the ability to respawn wherever your squad leader is if you die which is useful if he is in a big firefight and needs some reinforcements. The commander is the leader of the entire team, he has the ability to call artillery strikes, use UAVS to detect enemies, or drop supplies. In battle it is absolutely necessary to have a good commanded. One thing that really pissed most people off in the previous BF games, was the excessive amounts of teamkilling that constantly went on, finally in BF 2, Dice has tried to fix this. Now you receive a point penalty that goes on your permenant stats page, but also after a certain number of TKs, you will be automatically banned from the server. Teamkilling still happens, but not nearly as much as it did in the other games in the series.

Sound – 10/10 – The sound effects are absolutely amazing! The sound of artillery pounding the ground around you as you sprint and dodge the huge shots and dive into a doorway for cover will make your sound go very faint and all you can hear is heavy breathing due to shellshock. All the gunfire sounds authentic and is great. One really cool feature in BF 2 is the ability to use a mic and talk to your squad members which is VERY useful for giving orders, warnings, or just talking about random stuff.

Replay Value – 10/10 – There is infinite replay value if you play online because of how varied each game is. Lots of mods are being made and will add loads of new gameplay features and different settings to play in. There are also many maps to play on, and on each on you have to play differently in order to succeed, this adds a lot to the game's overall length.

Overall – 9/10 - The game offers countless hours of online fun, with fun vehicles and varied classes. The squad system really improves the series, along with the smaller maps to make the games go by quicker and be more intense. The graphics are very well made and are easy on the eyes, but this presents a problem for older computers because of how demanding the game is. It has it's flaws, but overall it's a very good FPS that I would recommend to almost anybody.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/09/05, Updated 04/03/06