My father got the recommendation years ago to check out this awesome new game called Battlefield 1942. At the time, my brother and I tried it as well, and my initial awe at jumping out of an airplane and parachuting down to the ground wore off relatively quickly, and the size and scope of the battles just didn't click with me. Battlefield: Bad Company shows how far the series has evolved and grown.

Battlefield: Bad Company feels like a PC port in many ways, but it's been done right. The humor thrown in is done with the finesse of a professional comedian, the writing in the game is well done, and DICE seemed to take a page from Infinity Ward (wisely so, looking at the success of COD4), and made their campaign look like a movie, with interactive features. The characters are archetypal, but admittedly so. A line from sweetwater points this out quite well: "Way to take the cliched leader roll, sir."

The online features of the Battlefield series was always the killer for me, I preferred a more close-knit game, where I could see the person I was shooting at, and vice versa. However the size of the maps, and the way they did the multiplayer makes it feel cozy, while still keeping the massive scope of the game that Battlefield fans have come to enjoy. Another nice feature DICE threw in was the in-game achievements and unlockable weapons that are in COD4, they are slightly different in BBC however, and in my opinion have their own advantages, for example: you gain unlock points to purchase either additional weapons for your class or unlock certain class weapons i.e. the laser designator. Another nice feature, is that the attacking team has a well of lives to draw from to complete the objectives of taking the enemies gold crates. This feature on the console will almost surely encourage clan games because playing with a noob who gets 15 kills in a game damages your chances of winning.

Now for the disadvantages. As I said, this game plays a bit like a port. It's refreshing, but confusing as well. When driving a vehicle the left trigger and bumper represent drive and reverse (reminiscent of the PC's W and S keys). It takes a bit of getting used too. In the campaign, you get to fly a helicopter as well. Cool right? Wrong. The helicopter is made to seem realistic in that it's hard to steady yourself for a shot, but it's too difficult at some points and you'll find yourself throwing up your hands in frustration as you were taken down, again. Another feature, nice for people like me, but still a disadvantage is that the common realism of sniper scoped movement has been taken out. So your human character has the all too unhuman ability to keep a rock steady hand. This is balanced out a bit by a seemingly realistic lag between shot and hit/miss. You literally have to lead shots to kill a running enemy.

In multiplayer, again, the apparent disadvantage is an idiotic teammate eating up all of your teams live's. The idea of 100% destructible environments is cool, but annoying at times when trying to hide. No hotkeys to call for a healing hand from a teammate takes out the traditional role of the battlefield series, relying on you instead to compete with others and the preset voices playing on the game. And a bit of lag is to be found on occasion. More than once I've found myself trying to get into a vehicle, press the enter button (B on the 360) several times, and then get in and right back out of the vehicle.

Overall, despite the admittedly minor problems with the game; Battlefield: Bad Company is one of the best put out by EA in recent years, and is a definite buy whether you're a FPS fan or a old Battlefield fan.