Ahh, DICE.

You could have had something great. Something brilliant. Woe... where did it go wrong?

Atacama Desert is indisputably the largest conquest map in Bad Company 2. It has 6 heavy tanks a few light vehicles, and a UAV. The flags are separated by large distances, but there are a lot of opportunities for mid-range combat near the flags.

I could picture large-scale firefights in one of the towns. One team desperately trying to defend their last capture point while the opposing team encroaches from all angles.

I could picture tanks firing at each other from across sand dunes, or shelling buildings around a flag.

I could picture a lot of things, but will I ever be able to experience them? Most likely not, and it is all because of the helicopters. 

I like... no... I love helicopters. I love flying them. Atacama Desert is really the only map with helicopters. (hey... buh' wat abt port valdez. No. Ridiculous, I like Port Valdez but I can't get a proper Heli fix from that map)

Everyone else who likes helicopters is going to play Atacama Desert. Because of people like me, Atacama Desert is no longer about long-range tank combat, or close-quarters infantry fighting, but instead a game that circles around obtaining the helicopters.

Each team has a helicopter. Now the only way for one helicopter to stay in the sky is to keep the enemy helicopter on the ground (by spawn camping the other base), or by stealing the enemy helicopter and getting air superiority. 

That is dumb on multiple levels. Firstly, it makes no sense to allow the opposite team to enter the other team's base. If the other base was placed into an off-limits zone like the bases are in Rulalalala would solve the problem of people camping or trying to steal helicopters. Also give no points for kills in the base, that will encourage helicopters to stop spawn raping the other base.

Next is the issue of the helicopter having to monitor the enemy base to prevent the other heli from taking off. What is the point in that? The helicopter should be helping the team by providing air support to infantry capture flags. If one helicopter spawned at the center flag then it would encourage capturing flags, and then once the heli was in the air, it could do something other than camp the other base.

What are the chances of DICE making any changes to this map? Pretty much none. We can still look forward to Map Pack 3, although DICE hasn't said anything about it.

My choices for Map Pack 3 are Port Valdez conquest and Atacama Desert rush.

Atacama Desert would be awesome if the entire map is used, and given intelligent helicopter placement.

Port Valdez is also something for us helicopter junkies to look forward to.

But in the meantime... I am off to play some conquest on Atacama Desert.

Also DICE: Please increase ticket bleed... by a lot.