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But that is the only flaw in what is an otherwise blockbuster campaign to play through. The fundamentals of a solid FPS are all present and all work together as effortlessly as a well oiled machine. Controls and commands are mapped in a sensible manner, aiming is steady and feels natural and the whole handling of weapons is superb. Each feels different yet surprisingly familiar enough to be able to distinguish their advantages when your brandishing them. The variety in weaponry is vast and ranges from the subtle to the extreme, with a choice of machine and shotguns accompanied by snipers and rocket launchers. Reload animations are spot-on, gunfire is believable and the graphical representations are great. Overall, the weapon handling is some of the best we’ve experienced this side of a PC, making BFBC 2 a real triumph in the shooting department.

Destroying the environment is a joy, paving the way to all kinds of battlefield related possibilities. Though linear, you can really use the environment to your advantage in BFBC2, from blowing through walls and buildings for a different angle on the enemy, to simply blowing up the ledge of the building their standing on..or levelling the building altogether with a few well placed shots.
Hitting the right objects can cause total havoc, with masts and other structures toppling on buildings, enemies and plenty of explosion-ready objects. You feel powerful as you take out the wall your foes are using for cover, and even better once you take them out with an accurate shot afterwards.

Incentive to explore environments is offered with different weapon collectibles for you to find and call on throughout the campaign. Once an area is cleared a quick sweep of the dropped weapons and houses, with some help from your mini-map, will yield a huge variety of new weapons to add to your collection, which you can then equip from any of the weapon drop points.

Set pieces in BFBC 2 rock! There are surprise ambushes, cinematic driving sequences and plenty of helicopter related destruction along the way. You’ll go from dense jungle to snowy mountains, where you need to defeat the elements as well as your enemies by finding fire and shelter to keep warm. The game even opens out at one point, with an open-world section for a few missions to break up the intense pace. Each plays out well and provides different challenges, though none deviate too far from the “aim for the head” approach to success.

What really makes Bad Company 2 stand out is the sound design. In a word – wow! It’s both brilliant and, at the risk of sounding as OTT as the game’s protagonists, utterly incomparable. Every detail in the sound department has received more TLC than Paris Hilton’s ugly little puppy..thing. The voice acting is first class, bullets frantically ping around you and the environment at pace, each environmental impact sounds just right and explosions are as epic on the ears as they are on the eyes. Particularly impressive are the moments when your ears are ringing from an explosion, distorting sounds of distant shouts and bullets while you return to normal. Sticking on the surround sound with a proper set up will turn this into one of the best sounding experiences you’ll ever have playing a game. Throw in gorgeous graphics and environments and you’re left with a very immersive, cinematic experience.

Now, imagine all of this, with your friends, online. There’s not much that can be said on Bad Company 2’s multi-player that hasn’t already. It was expected to be great, but they went one better and made it epic..cat having a cheeseburger epic.

You’ll never have the same game twice when you’re online with Battlefield Bad Company 2, as the destructible environments and sheer amount of possibilities available for approaching the enemy more than ensure a varied experience. You can blow your way in, take a helicopter approach, manoeuvre with a bit of stealth..it’s up to whatever you and your team-mates decide.
Team work is really important here, more so than most FPS’s, and this is what sets it apart. Getting your mates together for a few games is a blast, working together to accomplish goals and feeling like little tactical geniuses once you do. It does mean it’s hard to enjoy a game online when you’re playing with strangers though, especially those who don’t have a mic and annoyingly prefer to operate solo.

If you’re not familiar with the staples of a Battlefield multi-player diet, it consists of a healthy dose of air, land and sea battles, as well as player rankings and progression that earns you new gadgets to use. Maps are huge and, here, very prone to destruction. There aren’t going to be any camping points to head towards every time you play here – your enemy will just level the building around you if you do. You choose from one of 4 classes: Assault, Engineer, Medic or Recon, and each comes with weapons and abilities that are key to a successful team. Working together yields much reward; having your engineer fix a vehicle while the medic heals the cover soldier who’s been downed, is just one example of coordination that can determine success or failure.
The modes are pretty standard, but the amount of variety offered each time you play more than compensates.

Bad Company 2 is simply a great game, whether you want a solid single-player experience or are looking for the best multi-player that the FPS genre currently has to offer on consoles. If you’ve already got a ton of FPS’s, or don’t own any because you’re not that keen, you should still add this to your collection.

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