Battlefield: Bad Company

So, this week I'm taking a look at Battlefield: Bad Company; a game whose sequel is the biggest contender to Modern Warfare 2's best modern warfare game crown. And there are a lot out there these days, or there will be.
So, lets take a look at the first Battlefield: Bad Company.

Battlefield: Bad Company is a first person shooter, developed by EA DICE. Bad Company puts players in the shoes of a soldier fighting a war between America and Russia, and has him fighting Russians, Middle Eastern forces, and Mercenaries. Before i start with the actual review, i wanna know why games developers dislike the Russians so much; they seem to be taking their place as cannon fodder enemies for so many games these days.

STORY
Battlefield: BC gives players control of Preston Marlowe, a soldier who has been transferred to Bad Company, a squad of ragtag soldiers who are sent into battle before anyone to clear the path for the important forces. Your particular squad is made up of 3 companions, Haggard; the explosives expert who's quite clearly from the South, Sweetwater, the token walking-encyclopedia, and Sgt Redford, who talks so often about his retirement that you'll find yourself waiting for the second his ass gets capped.
Which is kind of a kick in the nads when you get to the end of the game.
The story as a whole isn't the weakest I've experienced as a gamer, but when you introduce the search for gold into what would appear to be a realistic war game, it just loses alot of its seriousness.

PRESENTATION
The landscape provided in BC looks pretty cool, and rather realistic; however its all really repetitive. Players travel mainly through outdoor areas, and they all feel so same-y. Characters all look distinct , and npc's move and act like you would expect enemies to act.
The music gets repetitive really quickly, specifically the menu music. Voice acting is of quite a high standard, particularly Sarge and Haggard; but others like Marlowe and Sweetwater really start to get on your nerves. Marlowe really came off as a bit of a whiny prick, and Sweetwater sounds like a nerd, but that's probably intended.
Sound effects in this game are pretty awesome, and really convey the idea of a savage battlefield.

GAMEPLAY
The gameplay is really where Bad Company shines. Theres a huge variety of weapons and equipment to use, along with many vehicles to pilot along the way. Controls are a tad clunky, but if you can get past this, theres a lot of fun to be had. My favourite part of the gameplay has to be the destructible environments, however they may not be as great as they seem. Theres a hell of a lot of dust each time you explode a wall open, and then theres no large chunks of wall to be found. It's like the destructo-physics fairy just magically teleported the wall away.

The worst aspect of the gameplay is probably the controls. Melee attacks shouldn't need to be equipped to be used, and its easier to click down a control stick than press a button. Also, having to equip a grenade before you throw it may be the difference between keeping your nipples or losing them to Russian gunfire.
Speaking of Russian gunfire, enemies seem to have scoped, xray, infrared laser vision. You'll be shot in so many different directions by opponents who are seemingly hundreds or metres away.

This is all balanced out, however, by the magic life preserving injection Preston carries with him. It makes every encounter easy as all hell, provided you can find cover for long enough to jab yourself. And the amazing thing is that it recharges and theres no limit of uses. This makes the game far too easy, even on Hard. Along with this is the checkpoint system, where if you die, not only will you go back to there, but any work you did along the way will still be there. It really makes the game too easy.

REPLAYABILTY
OK, so Bad Company gives the player the illusion of a sandbox. And with that, comes rewards for exploration; you have the option to go out and find bars of gold, as well as lots of collectible weapons. That's really for all of the trophy/achievement whores out there. Aside from that, theres only the multiplayer that will hold you. And it will hold you; BF:BC's multiplayer is extremely high quality; especially the unique mode of Gold Rush, where you have attackers trying to obtain gold crates while defenders defend. As each crate falls, more of the map is unlocked, and its a really fun game to play.

OVERVIEW
Battlefield: Bad Company is an exceptional game, with an interesting, if a little retarded, storyline; exciting gameplay and intense multiplayer action. Although, the developers made the mistake of making this such an easy game, even on the hardest difficulty level. And some character and presentation settings just bugged the hell out of me.