Battlefield: Bad Company

Overview

Battlefield: Bad Company is the second console-exclusive game from the Battlefield series. One of the key features of Bad Company is the completely destructive environment, which is due to the unique Frostbite engine, built specifically for the game by DICE and later incorporated into future entries of the main Battlefield franchise. Battlefield: Bad Company was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on June 23, 2008, and unlike its successor Battlefield: Bad Company 2, was never ported to the PC.

Gameplay

Gameplay in Bad Company is played from a first person perspective, and is built on the Frostbite engine. As the game is played through, players will be encouraged to use destruction to their advantage. The game contains many different weapons, which are classed as ‘Collectibles’. They are weapons that are hidden around different levels, and players are rewarded with achievements for collecting all the weapons. These weapons do not provide much help, as they cannot be selected through the game. They can only be used until they are dropped. Additionally, players are unable to change their weapon loadouts, as you start with a fixed weapon, in the form of the M416 assault rifle. Vehicles can also be used should they be found around the environment. Vehicles available include the staple of US military, in the form of the Humvee, the Russian Vodnik, Abrams, T90 MBT tanks, and other vehicles.

Story

The story to Bad Company is based around four soldiers in the United States army. These soldiers are part of ‘B-Company’. B-Company, or Bad Company as it is known, is a fictional army division full of expendable soldiers. These soldiers are nothing more than cannon fodder, and they are sent in on tasks deemed too dangerous for well known divisions, such as the Rangers. The story opens up with Preston Marlowe, the player character, being transferred to Bad Company. Preston meets up with three other soldiers: Sergeant Redford, Terrence Sweetwater, and George Haggard. These soldiers all have their own reasons and motives for being in Bad Company, and they all have unique personalities which will open up as the player continues through the game. The United States is in a battle with Russia, and need expendable soldiers, leading to the formation of Bad Company.

The first mission of Bad Company is called ‘Welcome to Bad Company’, and introduces the player to the game with tutorials. It welcomes players to driving vehicles, shooting accurately, and other such basics of Bad Company. The mission starts with the group being transported through countryside in a transport truck, when their convoy is attacked by a Russian artillery barrage. The truck is extremely badly damaged, and Preston blacks out. When he comes to, the player is introduced to one of the unique features of the game – the ‘Auto Injector’, which automatically refills all health. After this, the game takes the player to another group of Russian artillery cannons, and allows them to use the Russian weapons against the Russians. To begin with, Sweetwater and Haggard overlook the value of Preston, and refer to him as ‘The New Guy’ or ‘Rookie’. They pass on menial tasks, such as searching houses, to Preston for this first mission. After pushing into the Russian controlled area, and pushing them out, they discover something truly worth fighting for….

Sweetwater discovers the dead body of a mercenary in a house. However, there is more to the mercenary than meets the eyes. Sweetwater calls the group over to see the body and is mocked for being so interested in one body. He explains that this is the body of one of the ‘Legionnaires’. The Legionnaires are a secretive mercenary group, that are supposedly the most powerful army in the world. Initially, nobody cares about this mercenary group, but their interest is piqued when Sweetwater reveals that the Legionnaires are always paid with gold. Haggard rushes to the body and searches it, before finding a small nugget of gold. This sets the story in motion.

After this, the soldiers are sent out to fight against the Russians again. The fight takes the group through a small town, as well as in a convoy of US tanks. After traveling in one of the US Abrams tanks, Preston is ordered to ride in one of the tanks and protect them from any Russian ambushes as they travel to a Russian-controlled town. In the town, the team are expected to destroy Russian anti-tank weaponry. Once this done, the group follows Russian transport trucks, that are believed to be used by the Legionnaire for transporting gold. These trucks are currently heading over the border into a country called Serdaristan. Haggard is so obsessed with the gold, that he chases the trucks as they travel across the border. This is classed as an invasion of Serdaristan, as he enters while armed. Haggard singlehandedly invades Serdaristan, and owing to the fact that Bad Company chased him in an attempt to stop him crossing the border, they also invaded the country too. They are ordered to explain their reasoning, and are then told that they are now classed as renegade AWOL soldiers. After this, Redford tells the group the army no longer want them, so they’re now going to go after the gold, as ‘they won’t be getting any damned medals now’. Sweetwater enquirers how the group will be organized seeing as Redford is technically no longer the leader of the team. Redford threatens him if he goes further with this inquiry, and Sweetwater backs down, before referring to him as Sarge.

Owing to the fact the group are in a now hostile country, and are now no longer members of any military force, they decide to continue the chase for the gold. The trucks are tracked to a harbor in Serdaristan, and the group decide to attack this port in a hope of stealing as much of the gold as possible. The Serdaristan forces and some of the mercenaries respond to the mini-attack with full force, and the group are forced to fight against an army they didn’t even mean to take on. After pushing into the harbor, the team are stopped by a small platoon of American soldiers. The group are instructed to lay down their arms, and surrender immediately. Haggard takes the opportunity to respond to this with “Oh yeah? You and what army?”, and Sweetwater asks him what he is doing. Haggard explains it’s simply a term he’s wanted to say for a considerable amount of time.

Seeing as the group remain expendable, the United States military send the group deeper into Serdaristan. Seeing as it is a hostile nation at this stage, they might as well let the renegade soldiers continue and potentially cause some good damage, so that they could spearhead a full invasion in the future. The group are sent in a UH-64 Black Hawk to an area near some anti-aircraft weapons, and are order to remove the anti-air. After this, the group enter a nearby golf course to remove any other weapons. After doing this, they move on through the golf course area, which is near the president’s palace. Bad Company decide to storm the palace and see if they could end the war through meeting the president. Fortunately, the president is something of a coward. When Bad Company request an extraction by the US, it is denied as they are renegade soldiers (this was the plan all along – send the team on a suicide mission). However, the Serdar president comes to their rescue, and offers the use of his Mi-24 Hind helicopter, assuming he can be taken from the country as well, as they are beginning to rise against him. Unfortunately, the Hind helicopter is gold, and is far from stealthy. The team are escaping through following the Serdaristan valley, and the president himself says that the Serdar army is “cowardly, though he has tried to improve this by spending vast sums of money on their weapons”.

Sweetwater questions what country they will be passing into, and the president says it is Russia. This is not a good sign considering the fact that the Russian army are hostile to the Americans – regardless of whether they’re AWOL or not. While Preston pilots the plane, he is asked by a member of the team, who asks why there is a black helicopter chasing them. This is one of the mercenary helicopters, and one of the mercenaries aboard the plane manages to nail the Hind with an RPG.

The plane crashes in the Russian forests, and Preston is unconscious. When he wakes up he discovers that the rest of the team has been separated from him, and the only weapon he has found is the MP-443 Grach pistol. The mission initially starts of in a stealthy manner, but stealth will soon go out of the window. Preston is told to check the large gulag at the top of the mountain. After entering the gulag, Preston finds the rest of his separated team, and the group steal a buggy, before speeding down the mountain and attempting to escape.

After doing this, the group passes into a country known as Sadiz. Sadiz is a sandy Middle Eastern country, and is where the Legionnaires are apparently based. The team pass across into the building, and you will see the ship that was discovered during the second mission of the game. The team make their way to the ship, where they find a large warehouse nearby. In this warehouse, the crates of gold are discovered. However, as they enter the building, it is bombarded with bullets from a speeding helicopter gunship. This helicopter is being used by the leader of the Legionnaires, and killing him is vital to get the gold out safely. The Legionnaire leads them onto a large structure stretching into the sea, where he is shot down by Preston, who takes him down with a Carl Gustav rocket launcher. As the group return they are discussing what they plan to buy with their money. Haggard says he wants to buy a Monster Truck, called Truckasaurus Rex. As the group arrive, they discover the US army greedily loading gold onto trucks. The commanding officer believes Bad Company are part of the army, and asks what they are doing. Sweetwater prepares to give an explanation, but Preston quickly says that they are heavily embedded soldiers in enemy territory. Satisfied, the commander sends the men in a truck loaded with, err, ‘scrap metal’. The final scene of the game shows the convoy of trucks driving down a road in Sadiz, and one of the trucks turning off the road onto another sandy trail. Then, Haggard is heard shouting, “Truckasaurus Rex, here I come!”.

Campaign Missions

1. Welcome to Bad Company
2. Acta Non Verba
3. Crossroads
4. Par for the Course
5. Airforce One
6. Crash and Grab
7. Ghost Town

Multiplayer

Bad Company features class-based online multiplayer. The Frostbite engine is carried over from single player into the online version of the game as well. Weapons online are split through four different classes. Different classes have weapons to select from. The game also contains 25 different ranks, which are achieved through earning XP. XP is earned from getting kills, assisting team mates in killing, and other such online actions. For each time that a player ranks up, they receive a Reward Point. This point can be cashed in for a new unlock, which is player selected. There are special weapons for achieving Rank 25, which cannot be unlocked through cashing in points. These weapons are the AN-94 Akaban, the VSS Vintorez, the USAS-15, and the MG3. There is one exclusive weapon per class, but these weapons are only available through Rank 25, or purchasing the Gold Edition of the game.

Initially, online multiplayer contained only one mode, called Gold Rush. This mode is based around the Russian and American forces, with one team the attackers and one team the defenders. Essentially an assault game mode, Gold Rush has two gold crates at each base of the defending team. The attackers attempt to infiltrate the bases and place charges on the crate and destroy it. Once both crates are destroyed, the defenders fall back to another base, until they run out of bases to make a stand at. The quantity of bases varies depending on the maps. Both teams have limited spawns, so both teams must use teamwork to win. The attacking and defending teams vary depending on the maps being played, as well as the initial weapon for each class. Some of the maps feature the Sadiz military versus the American army, as opposed to the Russians.

Due to the sheer community demand, Dice released a multiplayer expansion for the game that contains the Conquest game mode, and two new maps to play Conquest on. These maps are based on the game campaign.

Bad Company used a special feature called ‘Find All Five’. This was a promotional tool for Bad Company 2, and rewarded players for doing different things around the Battlefield site. Four of the five weapons were for different tasks, but the final weapon, the FN F2000, was only available through being a Battlefield Veteran. The Veteran system was implemented with the release of Bad Company, and rewards players for having played previous games in the Battlefield series. This system was used again Battlefield 1943, but did not reward Veterans with any bonuses. It was also later used in Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

Maps

• Valley Run
• Deconstruction
• Harvest Day
• Over And Out
• Ascension
• Oasis
• Final Ignition
• End Of The Line

Weapons

Weapons contained in Battlefield: Bad Company are listed in the table below, along with the link to their page on the GiantBomb Wiki (if applicable).

Information	Image
AEK-971 Main Article: AEK-971 Fire Mode - Fully Automatic	AEK-971
AN-94 Main Article: AN-94 Fire Mode - Fully Automatic	AN-94
AUG Main Article: Steyr AUG Fire Mode - Fully Automatic
FN F2000 Main Article: FN F2000 Fire Mode - Fully Automatic	F2000
M16 Main Article: M16 Fire Mode - Fully Automatic	M16
M416 Main Article: M416 Fire Mode - Fully Automatic	M416
XM8 Main Article: XM8 Fire Mode - Fully Automatic	XM8

Information	Image
M249 SAW Main Article: M249 SAW Fire Mode - Fully Automatic	M249 SAW
M60 Main Article: M60 Fire Mode - Fully Automatic
MG3 Main Article: MG3 Fire Mode - Fully Automatic
MG36 Main Article: MG36 Fire Mode - Fully Automatic
PKM Main Article: PKM Fire Mode - Fully Automatic
QJU88 Main Article: QJU88 Fire Mode - Fully Automatic
XM8 LMG Main Article: XM8 LMG Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

Information	Image
9A-91 Main Article: 9A-91 Fire Mode - Fully Automatic
AKS-74u Main Article: AKS-74u Fire Mode - Fully Automatic
PP2000 PP2000 Main Article: PP2000 Fire Mode - Fully Automatic
SCAR-L Main Article: SCAR-L Fire Mode - Fully Automatic
UMP .45 Main Article: UMP .45 Fire Mode - Fully Automatic
Uzi Main Article: Uzi Fire Mode - Fully Automatic
XM8 Compact Main Article: XM8 Compact Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

Information	Image
M24 Main Article: M24 Fire Mode - Bolt Action
GOL Main Article: GOL Fire Mode - Bolt Action
M95 Main Article: M95 Fire Mode - Bolt Action
VSS Vintorez Main Article: VSS Vintorez Fire Mode - Fully Automatic
QBU88 Main Article: QBU88 Fire Mode - Semi Automatic
SVU Main Article: SVU Fire Mode - Semi Automatic
SV-98 Main Article: SV-98 Fire Mode - Bolt Action

Information	Image
SPAS-12 Main Article: SPAS-12 Fire Mode - Pump
TOZ-194 Main Article: TOZ-194 Fire Mode - Pump
870MCS Main Article: 870MCS Fire Mode - Pump
NS2000 Main Article: NS2000 Fire Mode - Pump
Saiga 20K Main Article: Saiga 20K Fire Mode - Semi Automatic
SPAS-15 Main Article: SPAS-15 Fire Mode - Fully Automatic
USAS-12 Main Article: USAS-12 Fire Mode - Semi Automatic

Levels

Chapter 1: Welcome to Bad Company

• Tutorial
• Stop the Artillery Shelling
• Protect the Convoy
• Objective Ram
• Objective Mustang
• Objective Impala
• Objective Bronco
• Objective Taurus

Chapter 2: Acta Non Verba

• Proceed Towards the River Bank
• Operation Backfield
• Secure the Bridge
• Objective Offside
• Protect the Tanks
• Assault East Zabograd
• Groundhog Down
• Secure Harbor

Chapter 3: Crossing Over

• Saving Private Haggard
• Cover Your Tracks
• Chase the Gold
• Locate the Gold

Chapter 4: Par for the Course

• Reach the Vista Point
• Destroy the Missile Launchers
• Supply Drop
• Reach the Supply Station
• Reach the Palace
• Capture the President

Chapter 5: Air Force One

• Helicopter Tutorial
• Move Out
• Destroy Military Infrastructure
• Move Out, Part 2
• Cut Off Serdar's Supply Lines
• Reach the Refuel Base
• Refuel the Helicopter

Chapter 6: Crash and Grab

• Locate Squad Inside the Village
• Learn the Location of the Squad
• Rescue the Squad
• Reach the River Mouth

Chapter 7: Ghost Town

• Reach Sadiz
• Reach the Gold
• Defend the Gold

Gold Edition

The Gold Edition of Battlefield: Bad Company was a limited edition version of the game, which retailed for a higher price. The Gold Edition comes in a steel case that has a gold tint to it, contains an exclusive code to unlock the Rank 25 weapons immediately, and includes "Making Of…" disc, detailing the creation of Bad Company.