Battlefield: Bad Company Beta Impressions

[robwright]

Article by Kevin Parrish

The Battlefield series returns with the console title Bad Company, which adds a more prominent single-player storyline and lots of destructible environments. Here's a look at Bad Company's multiplayer beta.

http://www.tomsgames.com/us/2008/04/09/badcompany_betareview/

 

[jkflipflop98]

Were you playing the beta blindfolded, Kevin?

Graphics are really nothing special. It looks like Modern Combat with extra normal maps. It has the same crappy, sluggish controls as Modern Combat. The new things DICE did add this time around are horrible hit detection, a stupid "auto-squad" system where you are randomly assigned who you play with instead of being allowed to - ya know - CHOOSE who you squad with.

The voice chat is a stupid, stupid design decision. This game is supposed to be all about working with your team to cap an objective. Well, good f*ckin luck coordinating when you're only allowed to voice chat with the 3 other guys in your squad. You can't talk to the rest of your team, and squads can't comm with each other.

Did I mention that it takes over 15 perfectly placed M249 SAW rounds to drop someone? Do you know what 15 SAW rounds would do to a human? There would be nothing left, but in this game, you can shake that off and keep on truckin. You can also shoot someone directly in the face with a grenade launcher and they'll live. These are design decisions the developer has made and still defends after being called out on it by many beta testers.

Don't even get me started that you have to f*cking buy. Yes, I said they actually expect you to f*cking BUY INDIVIDUAL GUNS off the Xbox Live! Milkitplace. Not just any guns, but guns that are already finished during the beta test. Guns that will be on the retail disc that you buy, put in your xbox, and can see on all the menus. But you can't use them unless you pay $2 per gun. Not even a "weapons pack" where you get like 10 for $5. . . they want you to buy them one at a time.

Ladies and gentlemen. . . if you're new to the gaming scene. . . this is a prime example of why all gamers HATE EA GAMES. They spend more time trying to figure out a way to squeeze an extra buck out of the videogame hobbiest when they could be fixing boneheaded design moves like taking out prone or getting rid of parachutes.


Damn Rob, how much do you guys pay for a video game journalist? I can do waaaaay better than this joker.

 

[aziraphale]

^Seems like I'm glad this title is crapole only...

 

[xsamitt]

Hi Rob

I was in all honesty looking forward to this game.But of course I can't... PC man all the way.After learning What EA is doing to this title I'm no longer interested.Trying to make us pay for better guns.....and such..I dunno....seems rather excessive.Lots of parents are going to be upset as well when little 14 year old Johnny needs to pay again after 'said dad or mom' has already laid down the money for the game and needs to fork over more stash.
From my perspective as an adult supporting EA when they do things like this only add fuel to the fire...since they will be tempted to keep milking people for money after a game has been bought.

 

[jp182]

I'm actually surprised Rob didn't bring that up as that is a hot topic for this game. I know that he didn't actually "experience" that when he played the beta but it would have been nice to know. It would have also been nice if he mentioned what probably got fixed in the full version, like the voice chat for example sake.

 

[ryanlord]

You guys do know that you can buy the Gold edition of the game when it launches and get all those guns for free right? It's really just a "limited" edition type bonus. They didn't want to leave everyone else out though, so they offer the additional guns at a cost, just so that the limited edition guys don't have a big advantage.

 

[nictron]

No PC = not interested.

Personally I find EA's disrespect for the platform that made then quite disgusting.

 

[aziraphale]

Anyhow; how on earth can anyone seriously be playing FPS on a console? They probably had a little chance with auto aim, health cheat and invisibility. I really don't get that....

 

[quantumsheep]

Anyhow; how on earth can anyone seriously be playing FPS on a console? They probably had a little chance with auto aim, health cheat and invisibility. I really don't get that....

What're you on about, this statement makes no sense!

FPS is perfectly doable on consoles. In fact, i'd rather play CoD4 on 360 than on PC! Look at games such as the Halo series that work perfectly well on a console. Fair enough the PC may be better for precise aiming but it doesn't make a game any more fun.

 

[aziraphale]

Yep; this might be true for Halo; that's probably why I don't like the series at all. It's just something different on a PC...

 

[robwright]

Damn Rob, how much do you guys pay for a video game journalist? I can do waaaaay better than this joker.

Okay, Jkflipflop98 -- put your money where your mouth is. I'm at rwright@bestofmedia.com. We'll see if you're as good as you think you are.

 

[tsd16]

Were you playing the beta blindfolded, Kevin?

Graphics are really nothing special. It looks like Modern Combat with extra normal maps. It has the same crappy, sluggish controls as Modern Combat. The new things DICE did add this time around are horrible hit detection, a stupid "auto-squad" system where you are randomly assigned who you play with instead of being allowed to - ya know - CHOOSE who you squad with.

The voice chat is a stupid, stupid design decision. This game is supposed to be all about working with your team to cap an objective. Well, good f*ckin luck coordinating when you're only allowed to voice chat with the 3 other guys in your squad. You can't talk to the rest of your team, and squads can't comm with each other.

Did I mention that it takes over 15 perfectly placed M249 SAW rounds to drop someone? Do you know what 15 SAW rounds would do to a human? There would be nothing left,

Yes I do know what 15 m249 rounds will do to someone Ive seen it first hand(even more than 15 rounds in some cases), you would for sure be down for the count taking 15 rounds from an m249, there is hardly "nothing left". it would be a body riddled with 15 entry wounds, thats it. The M249 shoots the same 5.56mm NATO round as the M-16A2/4. Now if you want to talk .50 cal then we can talk about arms legs and heads going kablooey.

Back to the topic at head, this selling weapons to the user is BS, honestly thats almost like Blizzard Selling WoW gold and Epic items. No dont rank up and earn the items! Just pay us more money!

 

[nukemaster]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2y8p2Na-Bo

 

[aziraphale]

^Says it all

 

[tsd16]

What're you on about, this statement makes no sense!

FPS is perfectly doable on consoles. In fact, i'd rather play CoD4 on 360 than on PC! Look at games such as the Halo series that work perfectly well on a console. Fair enough the PC may be better for precise aiming but it doesn't make a game any more fun.

There are a couple of reasons it in fact does make it more fun. You can aim without it being freakin frustrating or having to use an auto aim feature. theres nothing like a guy popping out "Hold on hold on, gotta calibrate my analog stick, almost there, almost there, Crap you totally moved". Then auto aim practically eliminates the skill.

 

[exfileme]

As with any review, hands-on preview or blog, this article was merely one gamer's opinion. That's the beauty of Freedom of Speech. Obviously not everyone shares the same opinion as the next person. The sensible thing to do is to research other outlets and get a feel for the average opinion of a product. Don't just take one guy's review and run with it: read several and form your own take. With that said, a beta is just a beta, and you can't accurately judge the game until it's complete. You certainly can't judge how a pizza will actually taste until it's fully cooked.

Thanks to everyone for their feedback. I'm definitely looking forward to this game when it ships in June.

NOTE: remember that EA and DICE have dedicated servers in place for the multiplayer portion. The cost will need to come from somewhere, and providing downloadable content for Microsoft Points is highly probable to offset the expense.

 

[tsd16]

As with any review, hands-on preview or blog, this article was merely one gamer's opinion. That's the beauty of Freedom of Speech. Obviously not everyone shares the same opinion as the next person. The sensible thing to do is to research other outlets and get a feel for the average opinion of a product. Don't just take one guy's review and run with it: read several and form your own take. With that said, a beta is just a beta, and you can't accurately judge the game until it's complete. You certainly can't judge how a pizza will actually taste until it's fully cooked.

Thanks to everyone for their feedback. I'm definitely looking forward to this game when it ships in June.

NOTE: remember that EA and DICE have dedicated servers in place for the multiplayer portion. The cost will need to come from somewhere, and providing downloadable content for Microsoft Points is highly probable to offset the expense.

I agree with alot of what you say, for example I really enjoy bf2142, while a large portion of the community hate it. Im sure there are plenty of games individuals love, while a large majority may hate. It doesn't mean they are "wrong" they are just obviously different.

As far as the paying for new weapons, i do not agree with this. ESPECIALLY for the multiplayer portion. charge a monthly fee if you want then, I just do not like the idea ( i know its just a few bucks per weapon or whatever) Include them and just charge more for the game then. All this is, is a sad attempt to weed more money out of people, I think a monthly fee would be looked upon better. Therein is the problem, with a monthly fee users expect more than what EA/Dice I am sure are willing to offer. Hence going the route of selling weapon addons(upgrades?).

Although different genre's take world of warcraft for example, until you just get burnt out on that game, a FPS (as it stands, cannot compare with the influx of content in said game that requires a monthly fee) Therefore, if there were a monthly fee slapped on an fps, I would expect frequently new maps and weapons. To my knowledge no online FPS's have required a monthly fee (I may be wrong). As it stands, I would never pay a monthly fee for what you currently get with FPS games.

 

[spuddyt]

i would just be stuck playing COD4 forever and ever and ever......

 

[SpinachEater]

Do you know what 15 SAW rounds would do to a human? There would be nothing left, but in this game, you can shake that off and keep on truckin.

You made me laugh, thanks.

Not even a "weapons pack" where you get like 10 for $5. . . they want you to buy them one at a time.

What about BOGO free deals? Instead of medals they should award you half off gun coupons.

There are a couple of reasons it in fact does make it more fun. You can aim without it being freakin frustrating or having to use an auto aim feature. theres nothing like a guy popping out "Hold on hold on, gotta calibrate my analog stick, almost there, almost there, Crap you totally moved". Then auto aim practically eliminates the skill.

I find myself comparing every console FPS with Golden Eye on the 64. IMO, that aiming system was the best that
was ever utilized...apart from the auto-aim. Strikingly, no one else adopted it and stuck with the crapola
traditional style (not sure exactly what you call it) where it makes your motions feel robotic and awkward. Golden Eye was the last console game I enjoyed all because of the controls. That is actually what made me switch to PC gaming, the controls in FPS were never up to par after that.

As far as the paying for new weapons, i do not agree with this. ESPECIALLY for the multiplayer portion. charge a monthly fee if you want then, I just do not like the idea ( i know its just a few bucks per weapon or whatever) Include them and just charge more for the game then.

No, that is not a good idea either. I noticed and strongly dislike this about BF2142. The upgrading system got more frugal. Having to waste an upgrade on grenades...defibs...? FT. That still makes me PO. Now having money involved with upgrades? FT^2. Maybe new skins or uniforms or something like along those lines where it is just extras for additional fun but not when you HAVE to buy better weapons to stay competitive. In no way what so ever should developers be giving you half of a product at full price and charge additional $$$ for "enhacements" that are quite necessary to compete with others. Nothing justifies that act to bleed more money out of the gamers.

On top of that, they are even advertising inside of the games now. Right now I am fine with it because it is pretty subtle and in some cases it adds more realism to the game to see a broken down billboard with real and current movie posters...but how far will we let them go? Are we going to have to sit through a commercial before starting the next game?

 

[hughyhunter]

I hope EA/Dice is reading this..... what are you thinking not coming out with a PC battlefield game? You dissapoint me!

 

[jkflipflop98]

Well, it seems they've heard the furvor over fleecing gamers for guns.

http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/865/865549p1.html

 

[nukchebi0]

They are making a game for PC based off the same engine, although its development obviously started after this ones. Don't be so impatient.

 

[xsamitt]

They are making a game for PC based off the same engine, although its development obviously started after this ones. Don't be so impatient.

While that may be true.....PC users won't be able to play this game.Not too impressed with EA.

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

All this may be a market test too, just to see how well this works/pays off. I cant seriously see this as the future

 

[SpinachEater]

^ back to the Halo strategy