June 2008. As Dice prepares it's newest Battlefield Game, it decides to release a public demo. It is widely downloaded. It took hours upon hours to download it due to the demand, increasing by the minute. The servers were on. Players logged in, clicked 'Find Multiplayer Match', and sat back. What they experienced in those few moments could only be described as magic.
Battlefield Bad Company had this unique style of multiplayer; it was strictly a 'attack/defend points' game mode, but it felt like so much more. You would rush the enemies base, sometimes with a team, sometimes alone. But, no matter the time, you always formed a plan in your head. My typical plan was something along the lines of 'blow the wall, kill them, let teammate arm charges' as I always played demolitions. The assualt person would lead in front of me, killing anyone exposed by the blast. Sniper covered our backs. Each class has a unique role. However, this paragraph is about the gameplay. The team storms the other team's base, which has two crates full of gold hidden somewhere in the base. The defense uses turrets, tanks, and various other gadgets to try and stop them from destroying their gold. The concept was so ridiculous, yet it provided hours upon hours upon hours of entertainment. This is part one of why Battlefield: Bad Company provided the ultimate multiplayer experience.
Secondly, there was the maps. The game shipped with eight maps, each of which took place in a unique setting, some taken from single player, some original, and even a remake of a map from Battlefield 2! The most popular map, the map from the demo, is Oasis, and with good reason! The map is huge as both teams collide! The nice thing is this cool way it builds: Both teams start out even, but as they move back, it follows this pattern in terms of base quality: Attack used the old defense base, which was just a few buildings. Defense takes the city. Attack then takes the city, but defense moves further into the city, making it even. Attack progresses further, defense gets in a town hall like building that is easy to defend and hard to attack. The map design in Battlefield is amazing.Thirdly, and lastly, there are the classes. Assault, Medic, Demolitions, and Recon. These are the thing that makes the game work. Assault is the assualt class, machine guns and grenades as they kill and progress forward. Medic is the support. He carries a machine gun and medpacks, dropping them to those who need healing. There's demolitions, the close combat risk taker, armed with a shotgun and a rocket launcher. The game's destructible enviroments give this class great . Finally, there's the backup, Recon. Armed with a Sniper, the sniper is carefully eliminating the enemies with ease and covering anyone's back whilst they are busy. Ultimately, the classes are one of the three reasons Bad Company's multiplayer was so great.
This is where I get to the point I am trying to make: Bad Company has revolutionized the first person shooter genre. With huge, beautiful maps, this game truly pushed the limit environmentally. The gametypes, although limited, took what was done before and made it even better then they could possibly hope for. The classes were truly varied and each have their own spot on the battlefield. This game is the modern first person shooter. There is no argument. The only question that remains is the following; can Bad Company 2 possibly be better then the first in the series?
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