Battlefield 2 is the second game in the 'Battlefield' series. The first, Battlefield 1942, was set during World War II. However the BF series enters the chapter of modern warfare with this new instalment, as BF2 is set in a future fictional conflict where the US and European Union militaries fight against the M.E.C. (Middle Eastern Coalition) and the People's Liberation Army of China. In my opinion, the game's most noticeable & major flaw is the lack of any story or singleplayer campaign. This means that the player cannot be immersed through a plot that hooks him or her in and keeps them involved with a group of characters and how they progress through the game. There's none of that.
The game does have singleplayer instant battles, but those are basically battles between two teams of bots, with the exception that one team has you on their team (which is usually the winning team, as the game's bots aren't too dumb - they're quite alright actually, they just can't even be compared to the skill of most human players out there). So this game's focus is obviously on online multiplayer. With that said, the multiplayer is fantastic. Each map can support either up to 32 or 64 players at a time… which is massive. Don't expect to survive long against so many other players. The maps are simply huge and they offer plenty of perfect sniper positions, defensive locations and some even very high vantage points.
Gameplay of Battlefield 2 is simply tons of fun! Imagine you can choose from 7 different infantry classes (Assault, Special Forces, Sniper, Engineer, Support, Medic and Anti-Tank). Each of these comes with its own set of weaponry and thrown explosives. Some also get special abilities, for example: the Engineer, who can repair vehicles, or the Medic who can revive fallen allies if they are critically wounded and nearing death. Once you are on the battlefield and kicking, you can either travel on-foot towards the enemy team's respawn points and capture them, or get into one of the 30 available vehicles! These include tanks, jeeps, buggies, jets, choppers, boats, armoured cars and more.
Then imagine that the 63 other players (on the same map) have access to everything you do too, then you can get a good idea of what the gameplay and combat of Battlefield 2 is like; chaotic, action-packed and explosive. You will see people teaming up in squads and travelling together, flanking enemy groups & capturing their bases. Tanks and armoured cars annihilating infantry, as well as choppers picking off lone soldiers using chainguns, or jets carpet bombing enemy capture points. Even though the player cannot immerse himself/herself through a story or a bunch of characters, the atmosphere and adrenaline of a large-scale battle is definitely here. One thing I really have to give merit for is never being able to feel completely safe during combat.
So what makes Battlefield 2 different from all those other, world conflict, first-person shooters that you should buy it? Nothing - really. It isn't original or very unique. The only thing that makes it stand out, at a first glance, is that this is one of the only games that have first-person gunplay, land vehicles and aircraft available for everyone in every multiplayer session. And the maps are of course very well crafted and detailed, some are even beautiful. The visuals show no impressive art style, but on the technical side - for a 2005 game of this scale - they're really good. There is also quite a lot of replay value, as gameplay is highly entertaining and you can unlock new weapons & earn medals the more you play.
Although there's really nothing that unique or original about this game, Battlefield 2 does what so many other games try to do so well that it's enough to make it worthwhile. The sheer amount of fun and hours of entertainment this game offers is enough to consider buying it. Besides, the satisfaction of spawning, jumping into a jeep and running over your favourite teammate simply never gets old. Should you get this game? If you want a deep story… or any story at all, with interesting characters and a strong atmosphere to keep you hooked in - you will be disappointed when you play it. On the other hand, if you're looking for hours of online fun and something to play with a group of friends - then you will receive a fantastic experience that is worth every bit of money you spend on it.
The Good:
+ Gameplay is entertaining, action-packed and explosive
+ So many vehicles to control and weapons to use
+ The atmosphere of a Battlefield is well-crafted
+ Maps are huge and always offer a lot of good sniping positions
+ Multiplayer supports up to 64 online players
+ With so many enemies, every map is always in chaos
+ Controls are basic and easy-to-learn for newcomers
+ Visuals are good on the technical side
The Bad:
- Singleplayer instant battles support only up to 16 players
- No singleplayer campaign, no story, no characters
- Bots in singleplayer aren't very smart or tactical
- Aircraft owns everything and feels very unbalanced
- Rewards offered in multiplayer aren't as satisfying as they could be
- Loading times for servers are surprisingly long
- Hard to find players on huge maps when playing unpopular servers
- The playable armies are annoying stereotypes
Overall, if you're not looking for multiplayer or online fun, then you won't find much else to keep you invested in Battlefield 2. The sense of a real battlefield is recreated in this game beautifully… but it's a real shame that it can only be fully realized in multiplayer.
OVERALL RATING – 8.5/10 (Great)
NEW GS RATING – 8/10