Let’s get one thing straight right now. In this post I will be talking about the multiplayer aspects of these two games NOT the single player. Because, let’s be honest here, multiplayer is where these two games truly shine. Ok, now that we have that out of the way, yes it’s true……I like Bad Company 2 MORE than Modern Warfare 2 and I don’t care who knows it. In fact, I’ll defend my stance on this issue and heck I’ll even break down exactly why I feel this way.
First off let me point out that I have been a Call of Duty fan since Call of Duty: Finest Hour, the title that helped the franchise move from crappy pc to the glory of consoles. I’ve stuck with Activision and it’s fine developers through the best and worst of times. I am the definition of a FAN when it comes to this franchise. Many will agree with me when I say the Modern Warfare series is the best and most successful in the franchise, and Modern Warfare 2 shattered just about every record when it was first released. I think it’s funny that Infinity Ward wasted their time making a single player aspect to Modern Warfare 2 because no body really cares about it. Multiplayer is the shining gem and the only thing that gamers care about. It takes your $60 and stretches it over months and years and turns it into one of the best investments a gamer can make. So what happens when other game developers decide to take on this shooter giant? Most fail miserably, but some actually make games that are up to par with MW2. Point in case, Battlefield Bad Company 2.
Bad Company first stepped onto the scene in 2008, a few months after the original Modern Warfare. I can say from first hand experience that it was a great game, but it just wasn’t up to par with MW. But the boys over at Dice finally got things right with Bad Company 2, and made what I think is a better game than MW. Let’s talk about gameplay first. MW2 plays extremely fast and is very hectic. It can be extremely frustrating for new players because you can get killed left and right and still have no idea who on earth is shooting you. I am a humble guy and I don’t like to brag or boast a lot, but I’ll admit that I am DAMN good at video games and especially at online games. But even I had trouble keeping my kill death ratio positive when I first started out. MW2’s multiplayer formula goes a little something like this: put several players on a tiny map, give them the choice of multiple machine guns, snipers, shotguns, and rocket launchers, give a plethora of all types of grenades, let them respawn almost instantly after they die, and let the chaos insue. This is a chaotic concoction and it’s easy to get lost in the action. Needless to say REAL war is nothing like this at all. But what gets on my nerves the most is the respawn time. Honestly if you knew that you could come back to life almost instantly after you died, wouldn’t you do some stupid shit? If 5 guys on the opposing team are holed up in a room all with rocket launchers aimed right at the door, I’m still going to run in there and try to take someone out because I know I’ll be right back in the fight momentarily. It also makes it extremely easy to go completely lone wolf and try to be a one man army. This doesn’t work out the way they wanted though because 8 guys running around by themselves trying to take out the other team, will turn into 8 kills for the other team. Bad Company 2 doesn’t do this however. BC2 take the MW2 formula and bitch slaps it for being too Rambo-esque and not realistic. BC2 uses a simpler formula: put several players on medium to large sized maps, let them pick from weapon classes that have special abilities, make them work together as a TEAM, add some vehicles for good measure, and let that marinate and see what you get. Dice nailed this because it actually WORKS! BC2 gives a much more realistic version of war. One that is actually fun to play too. Instead of cramming two teams into one tiny map, BC2 pits multiple teams in one large map. This enables players to take their own approach to battle. You can hang back and snipe, charge in with full force, or even take a tank and knock on the enemy’s front door. BC2 also gets rid of the guns guns and more guns idea that MW2 uses. In BC2 its not about guns, but more so about classes. Different classes allow you to wield different objects such as health packs, rockets, ammo boxes, and even defibrillators that can bring fallen teammates back to life. Yep, you can actually revive your teammates, and guess what? You get experience for doing it! The idea here is that one class can’t survive without the other, and you also don’t have 16 guys running around with rocket launchers strapped on their backs. Which brings me to my next point, BC2 does away with the lone wolf stuff and makes you work as a team. I know this from experience, and let me tell you if you try to take on the competition by yourself you WILL die and you Will die a lot. You HAVE to work as a team. Now you might be thinking “Well f**k that, I work better alone!” and I totally hear you, because I thought the same thing. But trust me when I say that it’s actually really fun to work together. They key here is to have different classes in your squad. Medics can revive people and throw health packs, assault gunners provide ammo boxes, snipers can call in artillery strikes, and engineers can wield rockets and repair vehicles. It’s like the circle of life, and it makes you depend on your teammates.
"Wouldn't it be cool to drive this baby in MW2!? Oh wait, you can't!"
Oh and did I also mention that BC2 has destructible environments? Yes, just about everything can be destroyed. Even entire buildings can be leveled to rubble. So what exactly does this mean? Well children, it means that your whole approach to first person shooters has completely changed. Remember how frustrating it is when you shoot an enemy in MW2, only to have them run behind a wall that protects them from virtually anything while allowing them to regenerate health? Yeah well in BC2 you just blow up the wall that they’re hiding behind and problem solved. Is there a pesky sniper that is picking you off from an attic window? And does he have land mines at every freaking entrance making it almost impossible to kill him? Thanks to BC2, you can take a tank (oh yeah, MW2 doesn’t have drivable vehicles either) or mortar strike and blow his ass to kingdom come! It completely revolutionizes the way that you play online shooters, and adds a touch of realism to the game.
"Literally EVERYTHING can be destroyed. Aw poor little shack."
One of the most addicting things about MW2’s multiplayer is the unlockables. As you progress you unlock new guns, attachments, and perks. This system is quite good I must admit. But I’ll ask you, does running around with a “Red Tiger Camo” colored gun help you perform better? No. In fact, it shows the world just how much of a life you DON’T have because it took you months to get those 200 headshots and unlock that cute and pretty color for your gun! BC2 has an unlocking system, but on a more simpler level. As you progress you can unlock different types of guns, and there are plenty to unlock. Instead of unlocking random guns though, BC2 uses an experience system that unlocks guns in the class that you get experience in. So if you are strictly a sniper only, you’ll only unlock snipers. The same goes for every class. Sure there are still attachments like red dot sights and optical sights, but there isn’t an attachment overload like MW2. Like I said earlier, BC2 keeps everything on a simpler, more effective level.
And now I’ve come to my final point; DLC. I would like to take a second and laugh at every MW2 gamer who actually bought the $15 map pack-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOOLOLOLOLOLOOLOLOLOLOL HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Whew, excuse me there. Sure, I’ll say it, if you bought the stimulus package you’re an idiot. You just paid $15 for 3 new maps and 2 maps that you already had on MW1. Yes you’re an idiot. Activision has conveniently priced this map pack for such a high price because they know that you’ll pay for it. And guess what? You walked right into their trap. Congratulations dumbo. While you are wasting your money, my fellow BC2 members and I are enjoying FREE dlc packages from the good folks at EA and Dice. But hey not all is lost, as Activision announced earlier that a NEW MW2 map pack is coming soon! And hey guess what again?! It’s also $15! And it’s also the same story as the first map pack; 3 new maps and 2 old ones. So let’s do the math here people, if you buy both the map packs, you have successfully turned a $60 game into a $90 game and that’s before tax.
Well there you have it folks. It was lengthy and quite frankly I’m out of breath! But I stood my ground and defended my stance on this issue. I’m not asking any of you reading this to completely agree with me, but I am asking you to at least TRY Bad Company 2 if you haven’t already. It’s always nice to take a look at the competition and see what they have to offer anyway, right? Of course I’m right. Happy fragging everybody!
-JW
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