If you can actually get Battlefield 2 to work, you're in for a treat.
From a gameplay perspective, Battlefield 2 follows the tried-and-true formula established by 1942. Each map is divided into various control locations, as pointed out by a flagpole. Players choose a side and enter the battlefield, using either air, sea or land based systems. Acquiring these control locations depletes the enemy's points until either side reaches zero and the game is called. Pretty standard fare for anyone who's ever tried their hand at previous Battlefields. Luckily, DICE has tweaked the gameplay somewhat. Needless to say, the biggest difference is the setting and various vehicles under your command. The skies are filled with jet fighters and helicopters, roaming the seas are aircraft carriers and landing crafts (unfortunately, DICE has gotten rid of submarines, destroyers and frigates, thus disabling all maritime warfare) and naturally soldiers, tanks and whatnot scurry across the maps in a desperate attempt to grab as much land as possible. Unfortunately, this transition also means the game has lost it's trademark comic book feel, which was a nice touch in the original.
Among the additions are a few excellent features. To promote more team based gameplay, DICE incorporated squads to BF2. Players can create squads ranging from 1 to 6 members. Leading each squad is a squad leader, who has the ability to give orders and appoint objectives to his underlings. Each squad has a dedicated VoIP channel, meaning all members can coordinate their movements with one another, with the squad leader being the only one able to talk directly to the commander, as well as ask for various reinforcements, air drops and orders via a point-and-click system. Speaking of commanders, it is an exclusive role awarded to one player from each side, with the highest ranked players having first dibs. Luckily, if a commander turns out to be a total failure as a tactician, other players can vote to have him kicked from his position. Commanders play the game like any other grunt, in that they choose a kit, fight, die and spawn just like everyone else. The difference is, they coordinate with all the squad leaders, giving them objectives, orders and supplying them with artillery barrages, satellite scans, UAV reconnaissance, as well as supply and vehicle drops. Also making a welcome appearance is the global ranking system and unlockable weapons and awards. Global ranking tracks all your statistics in the game (kills, weapon usage, and other achievements) and awards or deducts (for killing or hurting teammates) points according to performance. Once a player has amassed enough points, he/she advances in rank (ranks are based on the USMC military ranks, ranging from Private to General). The advantage in this system is of course that higher ranked gamers have precedence for the commander position, as well as the ability to unlock new weapons each time you advance in rank. Players are also awarded ribbons and medals for their various actions, yet these are largely just for show.
Graphically Battlefield 2 would earn a 10, if it weren't for the numerous stability and graphical issues. The game has an incredible amount of detail, all the way from the outfits of soldiers to the little nuances of an M1A2 Abrams tank. Draw distance is also commendable, and with a rig powerful enough, the game runs relatively smoothly. Unfortunately, this is where the smoothness ends. The game was shipped in such a buggy and glitch ridden state, that most of the time it becomes unplayable. I've had numerous play sessions in which the game crashed at least five times in as many minutes. I guess both EA and DICE are to blame, but releasing a game in this state is absolutely unforgivable. Luckily, the game has a slew of patches out, but this hardly makes up for the damage done on release. The game also features one of the weirdest rag doll systems I've ever seen. Instead of crumbling to the ground like an actual dying person, players wildly flail their arms and legs, whilst bouncing around the countryside.
Run-of-the-mill. That would describe BF2's sound world pretty accurately. Weapon and vehicle sounds are ok, but lack the proper punch expected from war games. Add to this the rather monotonous voiceovers and you've got yourself an average game from a pure aural point-of-view. The only saving grace is the music, which is inspired and fitting.
Was Battlefield 2 worth the wait? I'd like to say yes, seeing as the game has a lot of potential. The setting is fresh, the gameplay is spot on and the additions are all excellent, not to mention the graphical fidelity. Sadly, the game would've needed months and months of additional play testing and tweaking to actually make it playable. I blew a gasket more than once trying to get this beast running. Add to that the fact that the game also suffers from some extremely poor design choices (key binding being one of them), and it would be hard for me to say BF2 was actually worth the wait.