Battlefield 2: Modern Combat

"Good, but could use some work"

Alright, first let me say that this is the first Battlefield game I have ever owned. I heard so much about how the PC version is godly, and the greatest FPS for PC's ever. Well, I would still like to believe that, but after playing the PS2 version, I'd have to say Half-Life is better. Anyways, on to the review.

Graphics--8/10
The graphics for this game are decent. There's nothing really good about them, but nothing bad. The people all look average. The buildings have nice nice work and colors done to them. The vehicles could use some help though, as they are very flat. The bullets look average, but sniper bullets leave a huge white trail behind them which looks really weird and gives away snipers too much. Dust looks fine when it's kicked up, and explosions look explosive. All in all, pretty good graphics.

Sound--9/10
The sound for this game is pretty good. The vehicles all make different sounds as they roll, float, or fly by. There is average music that sounds like something the army would have. Explosions sound cool, and gunfire isn't half bad either. Something I really like is how each faction actually speaks their own language, there is no bad translation. Chinese speak in chinese, MEC forces speak in what I believe to be arabic, but I'm not from the Middle East so I don't really know. Of course of Americans speak americanish, while the Europeans speak english.

Single Player--4/10
I divided the gameplay for this game into two categories, which isn't something I usually do. But seeing as one is much better than the other, I had no choice. I will be honest, single player in this game is horrible. The story isn't really much of a story. Basically, the Americans try to kill Chinese people, and the Chinese try to kill American people. Your squadmates have pretty much no clue whats going on, and they die very easily. You play on the American and the Chinese side, which shows you the different perspectives of the war, but that doesn't add much. Some missions are way to easy, while others sometimes seem near impossible. And you usually don't really get any of the good or cool vehicles. Maybe a jeep or two, while the other side has helicopters, tanks, and all that other good stuff. Talk about one sided. The only nice touch is the hotswaping feature. Basically, you put your crosshairs over a friendly unit, hit a button, and now your in control of that unit. It lets you try out different units, and provides some good challenge mission. Single player though, could have been so much better. There is also no split screen play, which would have been a nice touch with bots.

Online Multiplayer--9/10
This is what Battlefield is all about. If you have online access, you will never play single player again. Basically, you pick a sever to join, pick from one of the two forces, pick a unit, and kill people. Very simple, but very fun. There are many maps available, a whole bunch of vehicles, and some nice weapons. There are two different game modes available for online play, command posts and capture the flag. In command posts, you attempt to take control of the different bases around the map by waiting at a flag long enough. This is hard when airstrikes are falling around you, tank and helicopters are unloading on you, and theres always a sniper or two. These battles will usually last around twenty minutes, and are very, very fun. This mode is also the "official" Battlefield mode. In CTF, you must try to steal your opponents flag, and take it back to your base while defending your own base. This mode isn't as much fun, as the maps are smaller, and a lot of fun vehicles are missing. Online does have some problems. The biggest problem is team killers, which can be found in any game. Another problem is your TAC-Map. This little map in the corner of your screen shows where command posts, flags, and if the enemy is close enough, the enemy. That may seem like a good thing, right? Well if your a sniper like me, it really isn't. If the enemy gets within around 20 meters of you, you appear on their map, and they will run you over or shoot you. This takes away from realism, and make it very hard to sniper anyone. My final complaint is that enemies don't drop very easily. It can take nearly 10 bullets to the head from an assault rifle to drop someone. But all these things are small complaints compared to how great the actual gameplay is.

Buy or Rent?--Buy for online, rent if you don't have online access.
If you have PS2 online, you will not regret this purchase. If you only have single player though, I guarentee you it will not be as much fun.

Overall-7/10
A great game for online. This is one of the best FPS's for the PS2, but once again, only if you have online. The single player needs a major overhaul, and there are some online issues that could use some help. But once again, a great game.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/06/06