• The best FPS games (opens in new tab) of all time

But as I’m about to get chopped down by another unseen biplane in Battlefield 5, or decimated by a Tiger tank from across an impassable expanse, my shellshocked mind retreats to a time when gung-ho heroics never felt out of reach; when a single moment of derring-do by even a two-man squad could take down a tank or swing the tide of a battle. I think about the tight, shamelessly console-friendly game that was 2010’s Battlefield: Bad Company 2 on Xbox 360.

Just a bit of a scrap?

In a way, Bad Company 2 had no right to be as good as it is. Previous Battlefield games already had higher 64-player limits, jets and sprawling maps, so removing all of that surely seemed like a backward step. This wasn’t such an issue with the console-exclusive Bad Company, but when it was announced in 2009 that the sequel would be the latest Battlefield game for both console and PC, the game came in for scrutiny, rubbing shoulders with the mainline series on PC. Is a battle with up to 24 players even a battle, or is it just a bit of a scrap?

Bad Company 2 went on to earn its stripes with distinction, and nine years since its debut it still stands as a demonstration that a Battlefield experience isn’t defined by scale and spectacle, but the amount of memorable moments that it pulls you into. Every aspect of Bad Company 2 – from its slim, slithery maps to its almost completely destructible buildings – coordinated to keep creating these moments.

Battle lines

To accommodate Rush, the new defenders-versus-attackers mode, most maps appeared almost linear on the spawn screen. While this was deceptive to an extent, with a high density of buildings allowing for all kinds of flanking opportunities, it also meant that the frontlines were more clearly defined than in other outings. It was tougher to encircle the enemy, while restricting air vehicles to dangerous but vulnerable choppers and UAVs removed that feeling that your assaults or stalwart defence would be undone by an intervention from some unexpected angle.

YouTuber / Streamer JackFrags explains why Battlefield Bad Company 2 is so beloved by fans of DICE’s series

More so than its siblings, Bad Company 2 was a game of toy soldiers, encouraging you to act out war fantasies like shooting choppers out of the sky in tanks, or quad-biking behind enemy lines and hitting a ramp to launch you into a flag’s capture perimeter. With slower movement and everything packed in closer, Bad Company 2 narrowed the power gap between infantry and vehicles, and every game would throw up multiple opportunities to take out tanks in a team or jump out from a crumbling building to slap up a UAV with C4 before scurrying off into a nearby alley.

Urgency and escapades

However, the threat of death was ever-present, as the game does away with the prone position and almost entirely removed bullet drop. Bad Company 2 more than compensated for its lack of size, replacing unpredictability and spectacle with urgency and escapades. Sadly, the game is dormant on Xbox these days (though servers are still up and it’s part of the Xbox One backward compatible games (opens in new tab) list, so there’s always hope). The best way to play it today is on PC, where a large community is still embroiled in its condensed skirmishes.

With Battlefield 5 so far not quite living up to expectations, it could mean the next game in the series will shake things up in order to get the juggernaut going again. It’s highly unlikely that EA DICE will pare things back to this degree, but that doesn’t mean it can’t learn from it and offer a gleaming twist on the formula that made Bad Company 2 so successful. 

Bad Company 3 may be a wish too far, but for those like me who appreciate this spin-off’s quirks, a new entry would need to hold onto the spirit of this series outlier: slower-paced, smaller-scaled and offering more evenly matched interactions between man and machine that can make even a halfway decent player feel like a hero. 

This feature is taken from Official Xbox Magazine – get your issue delivered every month and save up to 55% on a print and digital subscription (opens in new tab)

Looking for more on DICE’s legendary FPS series? See where Battlefield Bad Company 2 placed in our ranking of the best Battlefield games. 

The post Why Battlefield Bad Company 2 made us feel more like heroes than Battlefield 5s cannon-fodder appeared first on Game News.

Why? I’ve already said it: I own you. Battlefield’s dogtag system is one of the few ways to keep a permanent record of the enemies that you’ve taken down in a multiplayer game. Not only do you get to cycle through the tags you’ve collected, occasionally laughing at the Gamertag / PSN ID / Origin ID that someone has chosen for themselves (seriously, were there 3 other players called ‘xxJuStIcE_Lrdxx’, so you went for xxJuStIcE_Lrdxx4’. Individuality FTW, right?), but you also recall memories of a specific session. In other words: you remember how you got the tag.

One of my favourite tag steals was in Bad Company 2 (opens in new tab), Arica Harbour map. It was a game of Rush, I was defending the second phase (in the town) and I got picked off by the same camping asshole four times, as he sat in the rocks on the hillside, not helping his team win. I was furious. I was determined to claim his tag. So I spent ages sneaking around the bottom edge of town, keeping away from conflict, getting myself in a position to strike. Asshole Recon was being kept alive by a Medic, who I dispatched quietly before finally claiming my nemesis’ dogtag and the tag of his asshole friend, also camping in the same rocks. Triple dogtag get.

That’s the only time I killed this guy. He outscored me 4-1. But he never got my tag, and I claimed his, gloriously. It’s something I’ll remember long after he’s forgotten that match. While it’s no real achievement on my behalf, it’s a memory I still have from a game that gave me many happy hours of multiplayer carnage. It’s a lasting token of enjoyment from a moment of superiority. That’s the essence of the dogtag system.

Other online shooters, like Call of Duty, simply don’t offer that kind of recall. They’re impersonal experiences that ask you to constantly kill as you try to fill up a near-infinite XP progression system. To me, its just meaningless grind and other players are digital meat–they may as well be smart AI bots who occasionally fling blood-curdling racist / homophobic slurs at you. When you’re playing online the idea is that you’re pitting your skills either directly against (or in cooperation with) other human players. But you rarely get the sense of that, unless you’re in squads with real friends. Until, that is, you outsmart an opponent in Battlefield and get close enough to claim his or her ‘tags. If you’re really lucky, you’ll make them mad enough to seek revenge and that’s when the very human micro-battles begin. They come back for you, they seek you out on the battlefield. Can you think of any other in-game reward that triggers such strong human emotions? They’re few and far between.

In more recent iterations of Battlefield, DICE has added extra details to the dogtag system. You can add specialist tags to indicate where your skills and interests lie (are you a headshot expert, a tank killer, a provider of endless ammo?), and in BF4 that personalisation is even deeper. There’s even a more elaborate animation that sees you aggressively ripping the tag off your enemy’s neck as you end their life with a blade. I hope you’ll forgive me for skimming over the moral implications of this one–it’s just a game, and that’s definitely a separate editorial.

The Beta also shows off the ability to indicate what country you’re from, and there are loads more ‘skill’ tags to unlock too. The more information you choose to share only increases my desire to claim your tag. I want to know how you play, where you’re from, and if you’re better at Battlefield than me. Taking any dogtag is enjoyable… taking one from a player significantly higher ranked than you is a rare thrill.

While I’m no fan of the new knife counter-kill system, which allows you to counter a knife kill with the simple tap of a button, I can appreciate the added dimension it brings to dogtag collecting. If you don’t hit a player completely by surprise (essentially, from behind–so no random melee charging in BF4, folks), you could lose your tag to them. You feel stupid, clumsy. You may even lose the game by giving your life away cheaply at a key moment, instead of just hosing your enemy with a burst of carbine fire. Moreover, you have to really want to collect a player’s tag. Counter-kills have made it even more personal.

So keep your special golden guns and bizarre new character outfits–the only in-game collectable I really want is hanging around your neck, and somewhere out there I’m waiting to claim it. Again… only if you’re playing Battlefield.

You know that crazed dogtag collector at parties who talks too much? Drink in hand, way too enthusiastic, ponderously well-educated in topics no one in their right mind should know about? Loud? Well, that guy’s occasionally us. GR Editorials is a semi-regular feature where we share our informed insights on the news at hand. Sharp, funny, and finger-on-the-pulse, it’s the information you need to know even when you don’t know you need it.

The post Why Battlefields dogtags are the most satisfying rewards in video games appeared first on Game News.

Ending next Monday, January 9, the promotion’s highlights include half-off DLC for the original Dragon Age, Mass Effect 2, and Dead Space 2; as well as equal savings on full XBLA releases like DeathSpank, Shank, and Gatling Gears. Newer content includes expansion packs for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 and NCAA Football 12. Check out the full list below:

Dragon Age: Origins: $14.99
Dragon Age: Origins – Witch Hunt: 320 MSP
Dragon Age 2 – Legacy: 400 MSP
Mass Effect 2 – Arrival: 280 MSP
Battlefield: Bad Company 2: $14.99
Battlefield: Bad Company 2:Vietnam: 600 MSP
Burnout Crash: 400 MSP
Dead Space 2 – Severed: 280 MSP
DeathSpank: 600 MSP
Gatling Gears: 400 MSP
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit: $22.49
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit – Armed and Dangerous: 280 MSP
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit – Lamborghini Untamed: 280 MSP
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit – Porsche Unleashed: 280 MSP
Shank: 600 MSP
Risk Factions: 400 MSP
Monopoly Streets: $22.49
Zuma: 200 MSP
Heavy Weapon : 400 MSP
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 – Birdie Pack: 600 MSP
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 – Eagle Pack: 1200 MSP
NCAA Football 12 – All Dynasty Time Savers – 600 MSP
NCAA Football 12 – Power Pack: 1000 MSP

Granted, it’s not the biggest sale going, but it’s a good way to catch up on some of EA’s older fare. Further breakdowns of each offer are listed on the XBLA’s website here (opens in new tab) and here (opens in new tab).

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