Solid Singleplayer.
Battlefield: Bad Company (2008)
When transferred over to the console platform, Battlefield has never quite satisfied on the multiplayer front as much as its PC counterpart, an although there is vast improvement here between Modern Combat and Bad Company, the mode stills lags behind Call of Duty 4. The greatest aspect of the game however lies in the single player campaign which mixes a standard war story set in the near future with some great characters. Furthermore, the open ended nature of the gameplay offers plenty of replay value, and makes sure that no level, as similar as they can sometimes be, feels overly familiar to those before it. The graphics are top notch, at times coming close to the quality found in Call of Duty 4, yet going one step further by throwing in almost fully destructive environments. Characters models and animations are crisp and fluid, creating a realistic experience when put together with the subversive sound effects and voice acting.
Where the single player does lag however lies in its balance, which, although has a steady build in difficulty, the inclusion of no-spoils re-spawning means that no real risk is ever involved with dying. It makes for some easy gaming, pretty much free of frustration, but it also feels flimsy and hurts the overall lifespan of the campaign. The multiplayer however, is a lot more fairly balanced, even more so than Modern Combat with plenty of vehicles and anti-vehicle weapons to spread out the advantage. Being restricted to one game mode (and another if you download it) however, the multiplayer seems very thin in comparison to Call of Duty 4, and as such, things can get repetitive after playing on all the maps a few times. Nevertheless, Bad Company is a fun and exciting game full of great aesthetics and an extremely impressive single player mode. If given a heavier multiplayer with less focus on grandeur and more on solid, fundamental gameplay, the game could have been a lot more enduring, but for what it’s worth, it’s definitely the best Battlefield to come out on any console to date.
Story & Game Modes… 8
Gameplay & Control… 8
Graphics & Design… 9
Sound… 9
Balance… 7
Lifeline… 6
Originality… 6
Fun… 8
SCORE: 76%
