Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
April 18,2006 -

Last year, console junkies were treated to Battlefield 2: Modern Combat for the current generation of systems. This year, the game has made the leap to next gen by jumping over to the Xbox 360. With the power of the new Microsoft monster, you might expect this version to be closer than ever to its PC brethren. But for some odd reason EA delivered a near direct port of the current gen Battlefield. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it seems that the power of the 360 goes largely unused in this game.  

The single player campaign has returned in all its boorish glory. The story is the same, with unrest in Kazakhstan being the central theme. The U.S. has sent in troops to help keep the situation under control, but the Chinese are too paranoid to keep out of it so they send in troops as well, and just like that, you have a war. You will play from both ends of the conflict and see exactly how each side uses their media to construe the war in their own way. Overall, the story is one that’s been done a hundred times before, and the mission selection is nearly identical to last year’s iteration.

The gameplay has also remained essentially unchanged from last year. The “hot swapping” feature is back, and it works as well as before. Switching players on the fly is simple and effective. Being able to switch to any soldier in view helps to keep that multi-player Battlefield feel in the single player mode. While the core of the game is nearly identical to the Xbox version, there have been some very minute changes. For starters, the jumping seems to be less effective. Soldiers do not jump nearly as high as they did before, and the timing of jumps seems to be a bit different. This is not a huge deal, but some things that you could jump over before cannot be cleared now, and that's annoying. The only major change is the control scheme.   The button layout has been switched around to better fit the 360’s controller. For those of you who played the original Xbox version, the transition will be difficult, but once you become familiar with it, the new scheme seems to flow just as easily. While the core game is still fun, it would have been nice to see a few new features.

Taking the conflict online is really what Battlefield is all about. Battlefield 2: MC supports 24-player online action over 16 maps, with capture-the-flag and conquest modes. Conquest mode is the main Battlefield mode where teams must fight for various control points on the map. This mode is more strategic than your typical CTF match and it takes quite a bit of teamwork to acquire a victory. While CTF is fun, a majority of your time will be spent with the more involved conquest matches.

Just like the single player campaign, not a lot has changed in the multiplayer realm. All the maps from last year’s game are here, along with the three downloadable maps from the Xbox version. The vehicles are the same, as well, but remain a highlight of the experience. Nothing gets you into Battlefield quite like flying a Blackhawk helicopter into enemy territory. The only notable difference in the online mode is the addition of snowmobiles in the Frostbite level. The snowmobiles are small and quick with machine guns attached to the front. These little devils are exceptionally fun to drive and nearly impossible to use as a weapon. The soldier classes are also the same as before. You have a sniper, support, assault, special-op, and a combat engineer. Each class has their own specialty and they are all equally fun to play. The only class you will hardly ever see on the field is the assault soldier class.

The most obvious change to Battlefield 2: MC is the graphics. The only problem is that the graphics are not really all that much better. While there are better textures and more lighting effects, the game still has the muddy feel of its predecessor. While the draw distance has been improved a bit -- especially while using the sniper scope -- there is still some draw-in when driving vehicles through fields. The character models remain nearly unchanged as well. They do look a bit more polished, but still lack the quality of the models in games like Call of Duty 2.  

The biggest change in the graphics department is the overall presentation of the game. While it's flashier than before, the color scheme hurts Battlefield 2 more than it helps it. The menus are easy enough to navigate, but dark backgrounds with a green font make things hard to read. Any time you finish a multiplayer game and you check your stats, you will be squinting at the screen to see how many points you had. This doesn’t really take away from the experience of the game, but it is extremely annoying.

Just like everything else in this new Battlefield, the sound is basically unchanged. The battle sounds, like gunfire and grenades, are pretty solid and pack enough punch to give you satisfaction, but the annoying calling of captured flags is louder than ever. The sound was apparently re-worked to be more compatible with 5.1 surround sound, but there is almost no difference in the quality at all.

The game is almost identical to its Xbox/PS2 counterpart. While this is not a death sentence, you would expect an Xbox 360 game to have more of that “next gen” feel.   If you have never played the original console version, then you should definitely pick this title up, as it delivers some fun FPS action. On the other hand, if you own the original, don't waste your time with this version. 

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