Review: Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (XBX)

You may notice that under the "developer" tag in Battlefield 2: Modern Combat’s information, Gamestyle has pointed out that the single player game was developed by EA, while the multiplayer portion was developed by Digital Illusions, the creators and developers of the Battlefield games on PC. Gamestyle has done this because it helps you understand why the single player is underwhelming, while the multiplayer is more accomplished.

Battlefield 2: Modern Combat is based on the successful "Battlefield" franchise that PC gamers have enjoyed for a few years now. The PC Battlefield games gained notoriety for their online modes, which have large maps, and many different vehicles for players to use in their battles. On the consoles, the developers have attempted to replicate this as best they can, but obviously due to the lack of power, sacrifices have been made.

These sacrifices are most apparent in the single player, which suffer from bland level design, appalling A.I. and a lack of any real achievement. The single player campaign focuses on a fictional battle between NATO (which is apparently only populated by American soldiers) and China in the Republic of Kazakhstan, and surprisingly players get to take part in the war on both sides of the conflict. While playing both sides of the conflict is a nice change, it doesn’t really help immerse you in the game world at all, since you’re back and forth more often than the ball from Pong.

Mission-wise things are pretty basic, and with the exception of a scant few only require you to move to a certain area and kill everything wearing a different uniform than your own. The vehicles help to provide some much needed entertainment, but again, in all but a few missions that are tailor-made for them, they don’t seem to be much use. However, all of the vehicles, be they jeep, boat, helicopter or snowmobile, are easy to use so their existence doesn’t hamper the experience.

The single player game really doesn’t make you feel like you’ve achieved anything, and there are a few reasons. The useful "hotswap" feature, which allows you to take control of any friendly soldier simply by looking at them (a handy icon appearing above their heads no matter where they are) and pressing a button. Your view then literally flies across the map towards the soldier, and you instantly take control of them. This makes traversing the maps much easier, but the gameplay feel a little hollow. If your current avatar dies, you simply move to the next one, and in most missions you have a constantly respawning tide of them to use and abuse.

The only real advantage to the hotswap feature is if you come across an enemy that your current "class" of soldier (of which there are six) is unable to handle. Attacking a tank with an Assault soldier, kitted out with a machine gun, is a rather foolish idea, but if there is an Engineer nearby, you can hotswap to them and use their bazooka to destroy the tank. Although it won’t feel like much of an achievement, as whatever weapon you use, no “feel” of them. It’s hard to feel like you’re wielding a shotgun if the only discernable difference between it and the assault rifle is its rate of fire.

Online, however, is a completely different story. Up to 24 players can join in the fun on Xbox Live, and we can see why. The vehicles become essential to victory, and Gamestyle itself especially enjoys the aerial dogfights in helicopters. The class of soldier you use really does determine how you fight, with Assault and Engineer soldiers charging in to try and take the battle for the enemy, while Snipers should find the best spot to hide and pick off enemies from afar. The maps all vary in size and while suffering the same blandness that plagues the single player mode, are all memorable, packed with multiple ways to traverse the terrain, and require a modicum of strategy to win.

Unfortunately, there are only two modes that can be played online. In Conquest mode players fight for the ownership of multiple flags on the map, the winning team decided by either capturing all the flags or possessing the most when time expires. This seems to be the most popular mode on Live, as multiple strategies can be used to obtain the flags, and the battle can go back and forth as flag ownership changes when teams perform successful assaults. The other mode is "Capture the Flag" and if you need to ask how that is played, you need to get a new hobby.

The score is giving Gamestyle some trouble, the single player deserves a five, perhaps a six out of ten at best. Meanwhile the multiplayer is incredible fun and will provide hours of entertainment, deserving an eight at least. So, Gamestyle did some very strange mathematics and decided that the overall score below is a fair one.

Rating: 7 / 10

Words by Garry Webber