I couldn’t help but get the impression while playing Battlefield: Bad Company 2 that its developer, Digital Illusions CE, was playfully prodding Infinity Ward, maker of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare games.
At one point our protagonists—the same crew of misfit grunts who, in the original Battlefield: Bad Company, went AWOL so that they could hunt down some mercenary gold—consider handing off their latest assignment (a more noble mission that involves securing a new weapon of mass destruction), to a different unit. However, the idea is kiboshed when one of them, a Texan named Haggard, jokes, “They’ll just call in some pussy special ops team with heartbeat sensors on their guns.”
As anyone who has played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 knows, its elite troopers are big fans of the heartbeat sensor.
Then, later on, when our motley jarheads are about to take a ride through the jungle on a quartet of four-wheeled ATVs and one of them mentions something about snowmobiles, it’s Haggard again who says, “snowmobiles are for sissies.”
You know, like those snowmobiles we ride down the side of a mountain in Modern Warfare 2.
Stripped of context and inflection, these taunts might seem mean spirited, but I don’t think that was DICE’s intent. Heard within the game they’re just jokes with double meanings, the subtler of which I’d guess many players won’t even pick up on. Even if they do, they’ll likely take it as it was meant; a wink and good-natured jab at the competition.
See, the Bad Company games are all about having fun. Unlike many military-themed shooters that strive to create a hyper realistic combat simulation, Bad Company 2’s primary goal is to make players smile, both with witty dialogue and often outrageous action. (Exhibit A: the action-packed but whimsically scored launch trailer, above.)
Our characters may be misfits who always get stuck with crap jobs, but they’re an affable, mischievous bunch molded after the sort of stereotypes found in old war movies. There’s the seemingly dumb but amusing southerner (Haggard, mentioned above), the brainy guy with glasses, the experienced squad leader who just wants to make it home alive, and the player’s character, a well-meaning voice of reason who steps up whenever stepping up is necessary.
They crack wise throughout the campaign, and there are times when they consider just quitting, but they always end up pulling through and doing the right thing in the end. It’s a little like the video game equivalent of The Dirty Dozen.
This philosophy of keeping things light is even more evident in its play.
Here’s what Bad Company 2 does exceptionally well: It lets us blow stuff up. Pretty much everything in the game—from trees to buildings to fence posts—can be demolished if you have enough time and the right kind of weapon (and we usually do—this isn’t the sort of game that skimps on explosive ammunition or red barrels with flames painted on their sides). Some achievements and trophies are awarded simply for doing things like bringing down a certain number of houses.
Better still, the unparalleled demolition gives the game a unique brand of tactics. Many modern shooters reward players for biding their time in cover and waiting for perfect moment to attack. Not this one. Stay where you are for very long and the enemy will blow away your cover, leaving you defenceless. You have to stay on the move, regularly jogging from one wall or building to the next.
Of course, the same applies to your enemies. They cannot hide from you. Why wait for them to pop their heads from cover when you can collapse buildings on them or pulverize the walls they’re squatting behind?
And don’t let all of this wonderfully wanton destruction fool you into thinking that DICE has thrown realism out the door.
All projectiles are actual game entities. Whereas many shooters use painted trails to fool players into thinking that a bullet just traveled through the game world, virtual bullets really do travel through Bad Company 2’s environments, and they’re acted upon by environmental forces, such as gravity. (Hence, why your long range sniper shots often hit the ground in front of your target. You need to aim a bit higher to compensate for Newton's law.)
