In the world of video games there are a plethora of war or warfare games from Modern this, Total that to World at, Dawn of, God of* and Gears of, to name a small few . Alphabetised Greek or present-day lettered companies, squads and teams all the way from ‘A’ to ‘X’…(yet to find a ‘Y’ or ‘Z’) fight as Mercenaries, Brothers in Arms, Guerrillas, Seals, Marines, Spec Ops, Warfighters ghosts and advanced. All for ultimate victory not days of defeat but for Medals for Airborne, D-day, Western, Eastern, Pacific fronts and assaults and if that’s not enough how about the sequels of all those games.

So with all that’s going on in the war game genre we come to Battlefield: Bad Company 2. That’s a war game set in a contemporary setting. And it’s a sequel! Despite this and for all the congested library of poor, okay, good and great war games where does Battlefield: Bad Company 2 sit?

To answer that let me make this statement. Currently there are online gaming forums in full assault mode with gamers defending which is the better war game Battlefield: Bad Company 2 or Modern Warfare 2. That in a nutshell should give an indication on the quality of the title. For my part I’m solidly in the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 camp primarily because it’s a much more coherent and ultimately more enjoyable game to play. It also pokes sly fun at MW2 if you listen to the dialogue of the soldiers in the game carefully enough.

okay you go first...

So what’s it all about? Killin’ folks!

Seriously though it’s a quality realistic styled shooter. It follows a pretty clear linear formula of trying to stop the bad guys with a bunch of carefree Special Operations or Covert group soldiers who laugh in the face of impossible odds and death itself. Yes it sounds awfully familiar but the thing that this game does better than others is…well…the intangibles.

For one there is less hype surrounding this game like the other recent title so the expectations are one of mild hope for a good game and they are well met. It’s fun because the team you are in don’t take themselves or the game too seriously.

Let's blow s**** up!!

The weapons available are just as good and well designed as ever but more readily usable. Targetting is never too finicky or too loose as to be annoying in fact it seems the developers have almost purposely designed the game to be kinda middle of the road between hardcore and casual. This works very well with a mixture of challenging levels and missions to easier ones. The vehicle missions tend to fall into the easy side while the fire fight ones go the other way.

Moreover is the reasonably coherent nature of the story, which actually follows on from what has gone before in a logical well thought out plan. Essentially it’s a story about a super weapon and the attempts to stop the bad guys getting it and using it whilst also being a bit unsure about you own command’s motive.

The characters from your squad to the hippy peace loving chopper pilot are just eminently more likable and the baddies are clever enough and deviant enough and they don’t cross that fine line from satisfying evil baddies to annoying cloying villains and all this makes the game a big heap of fun.

Controls wise there are issues around the default button map that causes you to toss a grenade unwittingly when the pressure is on and the D-pad function, used for accessing addition weapon options, feels like it could have been better used. But they are relatively minor things fixed by not having clumsy fingers.

The onscreen map is too small and not that well thought out as unless you have a very big screen the direction arrow of yourself appears a bit blunt so that to confuse the player which way they are facing and the colour indicators on the map appear jumbled. Still minor though. Lastly for the criticism is I’d have really liked a squad command option instead of me having to lead the way many times.

Ultimately this is a fairly admirable and decidedly upmarket take on the war genre. You have to love a game that pokes fun at its gaming rival, listen out for the snow mobile crack its really funny. The production values are high the graphics and the whole theatre of war thing is well done and is best seen in the aftermath of battle as the combat smoke sits and both protects you and at times stops you from venturing too much before it clears. You also go from jungles to deserts to the Arctic regions (my fav) in a varied array of missions that are well designed and well rendered.

Combat is well designed and is never repetitive and for gamers like me who always prefer the sniper option the kill shots are awesome. Melee battles are like most in games, frantic but at least if you hit a guy in the chest he is gonna be hurt and multiple shots to you are needed before you die which is good. Just like recent war titles charging in all guns blazing will get you killed and although you can take cover behind anything be aware everything is destructible…everything; like building fall on you. The destructible environment is a very big plus in the game use it to your advantage.

And then we get to the real star of the game the online warfare. I always find it hard to define how good the online component of a game is especially a squad based online experience because it does depend on whom your squad is and how consistent your internet connection is.

But with Battlefield: Bad Company 2 online you can act alone but it’s better with a group of players. And let me just say that again my vote goes Battlefield: Bad Company 2 over recent rivals mainly cause there are fewer glitches and drop outs and no all powerful God mode glitch that lets you kill everything and of course the fun factor.

Final verdict then is in on Battlefield: Bad Company 2 for me and it sits up there as a more enjoyable game than its recently released rival. Its production values are probably in all honesty not as high but it does not take away from the good time romp you will have. Some may be slightly aggrieved at the climatic mission and they have some justification but on the whole, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 sits high up on the echelon of war games and should be celebrated as well as recommended.