Battlefield: Bad Company Gold Edition (PS3 & Xbox 360)

The Battlefield series has always been a PC-oriented franchise. Battlefield 2: Modern Combat Gold Edition was the first to make the jump to consoles during the twilight of the Xbox and the infancy of the 360. While it was enjoyed by some, the immense praise that the series was accustomed to was missing. Bad Company not only represents the first story-based game in the series, but it's also the first product to utilize the all-new Frostbite engine which is responsible for all of the luscious destruction that I just mentioned.

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Battlefield: Bad Company GOLD EDITION cover

Bad Company follows one Private Preston Marlow, a new recruit to a division of the army known simply as Bad Company, or B-Company for short. It's a group of misfit soldiers -- complementing Marlow are Sarge, Haggard and the love struck Sweet water -- each with his own personality and quipped dialog.

Though the missions in the campaign begin innocently enough with standard seek and destroy objectives, the team's motivations quickly take a turn once the promise of personal wealth enters the equation.It's interesting to see how DICE dances around the politically charged climate of present day. Especially when you consider that your group of soldiers is essentially abandoned by United States military command fairly early on.

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destroying every thing

If Bad Company's crack shot meres (21st-century leprechauns whose gold the gamer and his trio of misfit American allies want to appropriate) reacted to their ever-changing battlefield, the game could squash all charges of gimmickry. Again, this is the difference between noteworthy items for the backs of retail boxes and fully realized, defining features;

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The difference between an opponent who believably runs through holes blown through a farmhouse and one who needn't ever move because he knows -- and always will know -- both where you are and that he'll hit you with every bullet he fires. More sentry gun than soldier, unsurprising and incapable of being surprised, Bad Company's bad guys leech the fun from one firefight after another. In a game of this less-linear, slightly scripted make and model, behavior matters most.

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Nice Costume

War is intense yet the characters in Bad Company are constantly joking around and making fun of one another during battle. The comedy bit just doesn't quite fit in with the incredible level of action on screen.

Battlefield: Bad Company (GOLD EDITION) isn't necessarily trying to be as hard-edged as the drama-charged Call of Duty 4. When Marlow begins his adventure he is immediately introduced to his trusty health injector. Players can whip that sucker out, slam it into Preston's chest and his health is instantly restored. While you'll need to wait a handful of seconds before repeating the process, there are moments when you'll feel like all you're doing is running around and sticking yourself with that precious needle. Not exactly something you'd see on CNN war footage.

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Jackpot

Next up is the respawn system which will remind many of the cryo chambers found in BioShock. When you die in most single-player games the world resets to the point of your last saved checkpoint. Not so in Bad Company. Instead you'll essentially respawn back onto the field of battle with any damage that you may have caused in your previous life still intact and any downed enemies still deader than a doornail.

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Battlefield: Bad Company GOLD EDITION

Where the gameplay of Bad Company positively separates itself from the throng of other war-based releases is the destructibility. At this point it sounds almost cliché but the Frostbite engine does indeed change the way you play. Hiding behind walls is no longer safe for you or your enemies. I can't tell you how many times my dwindling health sent me retreating into a house, only to have the walls shredded by an onslaught of tank shells.

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getting beating

The key component to BF: Bad Company is in the destructable environments. This feature alone sells the title and will, no doubt, be a staple requirement in future FPS tactical fighters. At first, you’ll notice everyone firing at buildings and walls just to poke holes in them, Because they can. Destructable environments is much like “new car smell,” eventually you’ll get used to it. However, the advantages you receive in battle are far beyond anything you’ve experienced in a first person shooter to date.

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MAKING HOLE IN THE WALLS

In a stand off with an annoying ground troup hiding behind a wall with a rocket launcher? Drop a shell into the wall and reveal your opponent like a plastic toy in a box of Fruity Pebbles. Watch them run as they try again and again to hide behind the destructable environments while you slowly crumble the walls around them.

If you find the palm trees getting in your way you can mow them down like a scene straight out of Predator or just drive the tank through them and start your own path less traveled.

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Destroy more then Just the palm tree

There's no doubt that the destruction wouldn't have such a profound impact if it didn't look and sound so damn good. Bad Company isn't a graphical masterpiece by any means, but launching a grenade into the side of a wall and watching the debris and smoke spew out of the formerly whole structure is a sight to see. DICE also did a good job of placing plenty of explosive barrels, crates and gasoline tanks around the environment so there's never of shortage of things that go boom.

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Happy to throw it

The overall design of Bad Company – and indeed, the entire Battlefield series – is based on flexibility. While hardly an open-world sandbox type of game, the levels are definitely not just corridors. Well, at some parts they are. But most of the time you have a lot of options on how to tackle an objective.

The vehicle selection is fairly broad in terms of weaponry. You can take a fast boat up the river, jump in a Jeep, Hummers, Helicopters, Tanks and others. Unfortunately, everything but the tanks and helicopters require you to find a friend to do any real damage. We used the Humvee to get from point A to point B quickly with less emphisis on using it in tactical battle situations.

chopper vs tank
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HUMMER

There isn’t too much to say on the maps and modes yet, the retail version is said to come with eight maps, we’ve seen one: Oasis. We’re also only given the game mode Gold Rush where the attackers have to destroy two crates filled with gold.

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The computer-controlled players follow a similar path with regard to their intelligence. There are moments when they'll be oblivious to your presence despite the fact that you're aiming at their head from five feet away, and others when they'll form solid attack groups and use their surroundings to their advantage. It's a bit of a mixed bag.

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Try to bet the tank

Closing Comments
Battlefield: Bad Company is a great addition to the long-running series, despite the fact that it leaves the comfy confines of the PC world. The added storyline gives newfound depth to the formerly shallow single-player mode, despite the fact that the dramatization pales in comparison to what we’ve seen from Call of Duty 4. Impressive. Destructable environments are like sweet cherries on a dessert of awesome. You’ll race through the desert, arching shells at the enemy, sniping the faces off your opponent and calling in mortar to rain down hell.



Features

• Cinematic single-player experience -- A deep single-player campaign loaded with darkhumor follows a wayward band of ordinary soldiers who risk it all on a quest for revenge and personal gain
  
• War, your way -- Battlefield: Bad Company sandbox environments are fully destructible, meaning structures can be demolished down to its foundation. Gamers can shape the battlefield to match their play style – the possibilities are literally endless.
  
• Genre-defining multiplayer Gold Rush mode -- Support for 24 players online in a world designed to take full advantage of the game's massively destructible environments featuring expansive maps that'll keep players on the battlefield hours on end as they either defend their gold or destroy their enemies' treasures.
  
• New vehicles, weapons and toys -- Land, air or sea, dozens of new tools are waiting for explosive experimentation. Battlefield: Bad Company gives gamers the building blocks to get creative and usher in a new era of their own "Battlefield moments"
  
• Frostbite game engine -- DICE's Frostbite game engine raises the bar for next-gen gaming, with stunning HD graphics that bring characters, vehicles, and environments to life like never before.
  
• Free downloadable content -- DICE will deliver the classic and highly-popular Battlefield Conquest Mode post-launch to continue the intense online multiplayer action.