Axis Addiction: Bad Company 2

I've spent the past several nights playing some Battlefield: Bad Company 2. So far the multiplayer has grabbed me more than Modern Warfare 2 ever did. It does have a bit of a grinding element that's been a little tough. The medic class allows you to eventually distribute med-kits and use a defibrillator to revive fallen teammates. However, before that, you're just a jerk with a horrible gun. Actually, that's kind of how all the classes are in their first incarnation... if you're at this stage, keep playing, it gets much better.

I've become, what I would consider, a pretty solid player at the Medic class. Medics default with light machine guns... initially you have a 100 round clip. The first weapon upgrade delivers a 200 round clip. This is exactly as awesome as it sounds. There have been many times where I've caught an unsuspecting enemy squad running around a corner and just mowed down all of them. At that range I typically don't even have to aim down the sights. I just hold down the trigger until there's a big pile of dead. I know it sounds fun... and that's because it is. In addition to tearing through enemies, the medic also has the ability to use a defibrillator to revive fallen friends (or comrades, depending on your team). This is key, as the two biggest game modes, Rush and Conquest, have a shared pool of lives (referred to as tickets) between you and your teammates. When those run out, you lose. Using the defibrillator to bring back your teammates keeps you from spending a ticket.

In addition to the medic, there is the Assault class, Engineer class, and Recon class. Assault class can distribute ammo to his teammates. If you're working well together this becomes important because you're probably living long enough to participate in extended firefights, which means you're likely tearing through a lot of ammo. The Engineer class can repair vehicles with his repair tool, or completely fuck them up (with a repair tool or RPG)... whichever the situation calls for. Engineers also eventually gain the ability to lay down tank mines. I haven't gotten to that point yet, but my cohorts who have make it sound like a hell of a lot of fun. Mostly because there is typically a large amount of time between laying the mine and scoring a kill. I imagine it's very rewarding to just randomly gain some points, and to know that somewhere on the map, somebody is dead and pissed. The Recon class carries high powered sniper rifles and motion detectors. The detectors can be used to spot enemies, which your whole team can see, when they get within the detection range. Also, since sniper rifles have a high powered zoom, it's often the responsibility of the Recon class to spot enemies. This is done by pressing the "back" button when an enemy is in sight. A red arrow appears over the opposing soldiers' heads for all the world to see.

So, in case you couldn't tell, I've had an awesome time with Battlefield: Bad Company 2. I went ahead and wrapped up the single player campaign yesterday. It's entertaining, but in no way is it the biggest appeal of the game. Now I'm just going to have to find a way to juggle my multi-player addiction and study time for my upcoming licensing exam. Wish me luck!

Also, I plan to write another post that will encompass some more specific adventures of ours in Bad Company 2. Right now, I just wanted to give everybody a taste of how things work.