By Phillip Cabrera
Published: March 16, 2010

The war is officially ON! Swedish developer DICE has declared war on Infinity Ward as it pulls out all the stops with its latest edition in the Battlefield franchise. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (BC2) sees the return of the lovable, foul-mouthed misfits from B Squad as they travel across the world to try and prevent World War III from starting. Many people will be looking to compare this epic adventure to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (MW2), and they would be right to do so. But BC2 is its own beast in both single and multiplayer. The single player campaign has a few elements of stealth included, but the main thing that they want you to do is go in guns a-blazing and destroying anything in front of you. The over-the-top action supersedes even that of MW2. But one of the real gems with BC2 is the dialogue. When you have the characters Haggard and Sweetwater going over one of their verbal exchanges, like the one that they have about the movie Predator, it’s comedic genius.

The multiplayer side of BC2 is just as deep as MW2, if not more. If you go in with an MW2 mind frame, you will be creamed over and over again. While it is lacking the variety of game modes from MW2, Bad Company 2 sticks to its roots and requires you to use team based tactics to obtain your objectives. One thing that definitely separates this game is the use of vehicles. Cars, quads, tanks and helicopters are at your disposal.

So, if you want big explosions, over-the-top-action, some funny as hell exchanges between some lovable characters and if you’re sick and tired of that other shooter, then Bad Company 2 is a no-brainer. Is it going to pass up the 25 million plus units of MW2? Probably not. But numbers should not be a selling point for a gamer looking for an enjoyable experience. If you’re looking for a roller coaster ride in the comfort of your own home, then Battlefield: Bad Company 2 should be in your game console by the time you finish reading this.