Battlefield 2 – PC – Preview


E3 2004 Previews
Two
years ago, at my first E3, I had the good fortune of covering EA’s second tier
of games.  Among the less-than-spectacular titles aimed at kids and carbon copy
third-person shooters was a (then) little known title named Battlefield: 1942. 
As the PR person dragged me from game to game, I had to stop her at
Battlefield.  There was no mistaking it – it was going to be one of the biggest
hits of the season, and EA didn’t realize it.  At this year’s E3, I experienced
a similar dejavu.  As I was traveling through EA titles, I had to specifically
request a sneak peek to see Battlefield 2.  The results, I’m happy to report,
are the same.  This game is going to ROCK.

Lars Gustavsson, the Lead
Producer for Battlefield 2, was shocked when copies of the original flew off the
shelf.  He realized one thing in particular: “The most important thing to bring
back was the fun factor.”  Unlike other WWII FPS’s, Battlefield was just a heck
of a lot of fun to play.  Jumping from vehicle to vehicle, sniping, and blowing
stuff up at a frenetic pace appealed to all gamers, so he realized that this was
the number one priority.  A second important factor for the sequel was a
complete overhaul of the engine.  “The old Battlefield engine was good, but it
couldn’t handle what we wanted to do for Battlefield 2.”  So the engine was
given a makeover, satisfying the entire team and allowing them to do what they
do best – make kick-ass shooters.  The third element he wanted to add was the
necessity for cooperative team play.  The first game often ended up being a
free-for-all, which was fun, but adding some new team elements was essential for
the Swedish developers.

 

Players this year can play
as Americans, Chinese, or a fictionalized Middle East Coalition, and the maps
will take place in China and the Middle East.  There will be more than thirty
modern vehicles to commandeer in the air, ground, and sea and a whole new
arsenal of modern weaponry to catch up with the times including laser-designated
bombs… Air strike, baby! 

 

The demonstration started
off innocently enough.  Lars went through the setup screen with various kits,
medals, and gear.  The difference in this year’s version is a reward system. 
Players no longer lose medals when they log off – play the next day and you’ll
hold rank.  Play as the same soldier kit and achieve the level of God among the
online community, all the while unlocking medals, weapons, and vehicle decals to
let ‘em know who’s killing ‘em.  Rank can also be compared between soldier class
and even region.  Lars smiled after moving up rank from overall to Swedes.  With
everything set, he started the in-game demonstration.

 

Another member of the
development team moved a soldier (in first-person mode) through the level, which
is much more urbanized than anything in the original.  A closer look revealed
the insane amount of detail in the city.  The buildings aren’t just huts or
bunkers, they are real city buildings, and they look fantastic.  A third team
member sauntered on the screen, our first glimpse at another soldier, and once
again, the details have been quintupled.  These soldiers look like soldiers. 
And they’re authentic to the last drop.  The two moved towards a tank, which
was, once again, incredible looking.  Lars promised that the same tank would
look different under the control of different troops.  Just because it’s the
same kind of tank, doesn’t mean it should look the same.  These differences can
amount to small scratches or team decals, and Lars pointed out the familiar
markings of the Red Baron to drive his point home.  The idea being see a
familiar team’s logo and you may just want to run if you know their reputation. 
The team is also very proud of the new lighting system.  Dynamic lighting hits
everything.  Telephone wires cast shadows on tanks or anything underneath them.

 

The second soldier moved
behind what could be described as aluminum fencing.  Fellow GameZone writer Rob
“Tequila Gimlet” Watkins complained, “In Battlefield: Vietnam, it sucked to know
that someone was hiding in a bamboo hut, and I couldn’t just shoot the damn
thing and kill him inside.”  Well Rob, worry no more.  Lars’ character fired
several rounds through the aluminum, killing the other soldier and leaving
bullet holes in the building.  The game features “material penetration”, which
encourages soldiers to find real cover, and not just concealment.

 

The two soldiers then moved
into a town square and another empty tank was there to meet them.  As though on
cue, Lars began to speak of the new sound engine and a helicopter flew from
behind the soldiers into our view.  Sound is going to play a big part of the
game, as identifying a helicopter from sound only will be a huge advantage to
ground troops.  Lars’ character hopped into the new tank and took to the
turret.  He targeted the helicopter and the system locked on – a symbol of the
use of modern weaponry in the game.  The tank fired a few heat-seeking missiles
at the chopper, at which point the chopper dropped some decoy flares.  The
missiles, which looked nothing short of awesome, chased the dummies and exploded
into the ground, some two thousand yards away.  Lars pointed out that at some
point, “the helicopter will run out (of decoy flares)”, and the next round of
missiles sent the chopper plummeting to the ground in a ball of flames. 

 

Team play has been
accentuated by using squads.  A player may start a squad and invite others to
join with just a few keystrokes.  Should the player join, a green arrow
signifies the location of the team member, encouraging the idea of “covering
your teammate’s ass”.  Squad leaders can also send simple orders such as where
another member should go, be it on the visual screen or the overhead map.  It’s
a cinch, and helps keep up the fun factor.  Teammates can also give warning of
nearby enemies, and distinguish between different vehicles or troops (“There’s a
tank nearby” or “Chopper incoming”) and also point out if they THOUGHT they saw
something.  If everything works well and gamers accept this team-oriented
gameplay, this supposedly “fun” game, can be one of the greatest war simulators
to date. 

     

Just when we thought
everything was in the clear, Lars’ character began unloading rounds into his
teammate.  When the team member was dead, Lars’ medic pulled out electrode
paddles, the same paddles doctors use to revive patients, and brought the
soldier to life.  It’s an addition they’re working on, but it was hilarious to
witness. 

    

There was nothing discussed
about the single player campaign, but Lars assured me that a team was hard at
work on it, citing the weaknesses in the original version’s solo missions. 

   

I was right about
Battlefield: 1942, and I can easily say I’ll be right about the sequel. 
Battlefield 2 should be ready for the PC next May.

 

         

  


For All E3 2004
Previews