Game Review : Battlefield Bad Company

I got this game 2 weeks ago and it is all I have been playing since. I even have yet to try my new warhawk update that had new game play features in it. So what is it about battlefield bad company that has me so hooked on it.

Aside from being the 1st time that the franchise has launched the game for console only, it even boast a true single player story. The single player story is about this new guy that has just been sent to 'B' company, aka Bad company. He joins a squad consisting of what the army deem undesirables and expendable.

The mission then takes a turn somewhere after the 1st mission and it becomes a personal quest of the squad for some gold bulliums. This leads the team to go AWOL and tresspasses deep into enemy territory. Of course throughout the game your squad mates will say something silly or idiotic that detracts the seriousness of enemy fire and artillery going of around you.

Almost everything in game is destructable, from buildings to bridges to walls. Aside from a few wooden boxes that will not go no matter what you do to them, almost everything is destructable, heck even the roads and ground deform to explosives and arty shells. Gone are the days that hiding behind a wall of a building will save you from a grenade attack.

The gem in the game is not the single player experience but the multiplayer one like all other battlefield games. My 1st foray into this franchise is battlefield 2142 but I gave up halfway as the specs of my pc was not very good and the achievements in that game were hard to get and promotion was slow.

They seem to fix that problem in BC, as you can get promoted a lot faster and that means you earn unlocks faster too. Some of these unlocks are essential for each class like the respective gadgets that each class can unlock. Be it the artillery laser for the support class, or the C4 for the specialist, these unlocks are invaluble and you will need them almost immediately.

Then there are the weapons that you can unlock with your unlock points. Most of the weapons are good enuff execpt for those inteh sniper class, which you will definitely need to unlock its silenced automatic rifle. Though the zoom for this rifle is not as far as most rifles. the automatic feature is a blessing.

There are also 5 other weapons that you either get when you hit rank 25 or if you bought teh gold edition of the game and there are 5 more weapons that can be unlock for free through various methods stated on their offical webpage. The only 2 bonus weapons I did not get was the one for the specialist and sniper, as one requires you to play the demo version of the multiplayer game and the other requires you to pre order the game to get the unlock code.

Like all other games of the franchise you play against other players through teh internet. BC supports 24 players at anyone time. A lot less than the 64 I was used to in 2142. Still the action is intense and the game play is very fun or frustating depending on your skill level. There is Squad chat whereby you can tok to your own squad members. Though a team chat is welcomed.

The current game type for mutiplayer is called gold rush as sides take turn to play attacker or defender to stashes of gold. Each side has to attack or defend gold boxes from the other side to win. A vareity of vehicles and stationary weapons platform will aid in your battles. Most of these vehicles you will regconize when you see them. There is even a gunboat for you to do a coastal approach.

Overall the game is not as fantasic has MGS4 or as gritty and long lasting as GTA4, but the mutiplayer of this game is absolutely fantastic. You get to pit your self against real players cooperating or not, depending on how you like to play, collecting trophies and achievements along the way and ranking up when you get sufficient points. The best part is, that its not as tedious to get most of the trophies and badges ingame.

I rate this game 4 consoles out of 5

Graduation

Every year around this time, I will be busy doing duties to cover the graduation ceremonies. Every year I see new faces gleaming with happiness as they get their certs and leave this place.

To them I guess its very magical, to graduate, to go on stage get a fake paper roll and take a similarly fake photo. Then to top it all off you get a pop of streamers and some balloons falling from teh ceiling. Everyone is cheering, everyone is happy.

Then there is a person like me, whom work in the backstages of such events. The magic was lost some where in the 10th or so ceremony I 'attended'. Sometimes I perch myself on the upper floor to watch the comotions below.

I often wonder if these ppl realise that after 'this' day they will be slogging for soem cooperation out there, that their lives are going to be very routine from now on. That they are now truely on their own fending for themselves.

Game Review : Metal Gear Solid 4

Metal Gear Solid 4 is an exclusive PS3 released game. for fans whom have been following the MGS saga since it took on the 3D format in the PSX version in Metal Gear Solid, you will not be disappointed with this latest(and maybe final) installment of the series.

This time round you will be playing as snake and only snake, unlike in MGS2 where you played snake momentarily and then Raiden for the better part of the game. Though Raiden does make a come bak in this game, as most ppl have seen in one of the initial trailers konami released, you will not be able to use or control him at all. Though being a cybernetically enhanced super ninja does sound like a hoot to boot, but no...

The game is slated to be a 30hr game, but I managed to complete it within that time frame on normal mode 1st time round. A lot of the game is spent watching all its pretty cutscenes. It feels like a movie more than a game and lil miss whiney complains that there is too much cutscene. me on the other hand like the beautifully rendered cutscenes and they tie up lots of loose ends from the previous games.

You even get to go back to shadow moses island from MGS1 but now in beeauitully render 3D and atmosphere to boot. There was also an easter egg on coming to that act which will make some of the fans chuckle. I do like running through that particular level with current gen graphics.

As for the game play, the way it works now is that the action and stealth adspect of the game is very streamlined. You even get a choice on how you want to play it. You can run and gun even in FPS view. If that does not suit your cuppa tea you can then sneak pass every single person and even not kill anyone.

I myself enjoy to do a bit of both but in my 1st run through I normally killed the next bad guy I encountered. The designers of MGS4 concentrated on the dynamics of the characters in game, rather than having you run through a huge map try to get from one point to the other.

You will need to learn how to use most of your gadgets you have at hand to complete certain tasks. Though its not as open ended as GTA4, it still has its own merits. 1 thing that really surprised my was that if you shot a person in teh arm, he will drop it as though its injured. Then there is the ability to hold up a guy from behind and pat him down for items.

As for the gadgets I mentioned b4, you get a vast array of stuff that you can use. Of these the most important will be the solid eye, which acts as an enemy radar, NVG or bino, deoending on which mode you set it in. Then there is your trusty metal gear Mk II, which you can use to explore and retrieve items for you in relative safety. The Mk II even comes with optical camoflauge.

Among all these gadgets the most impressive and important one wil be your octocamo suit. This suit allows you to blend into yoru surroundings like a chameleon. All you need to do is to press against a wall or the floor and it will blend in with the surroundings. There is even a gauge to tell you how many percent are you covered and at 99% you can almost let an enemy soldier walk right past you without seeing you.

Then there is the drebin system that allows you to gain drebin points. These points are used to buy larger guns or more ammo for your weapons. They even allow you to get upgrades for weapons that can be upgraded. This will be a neat feature esp when you are in a pinch and you need more ammo to dig in for a long defense. you simply just go to the online shop and buy the ammo you need and it is immediately in your inventory.

Although the game felt short and the scole is pretty small, gameplay feels a bit linear, MGS4 makes up in all the beautiful rendering the negine makes. Plus the gripping story line, it all adds up and makes this game one of teh best to have came out in 2008. I will give this game a 5 out of 5 consoles for all the little details they have added to give this game the much needed relism.