So yesterday, another FPS has come out to grace the market, Battlefield Bad Company 2. With a release date of March, 2 2010 this is an interesting business strategy for EA studios. The developer giant, EA, is releasing BBC2 early in the year, nearly 4 months after the release of MW2 and they are claiming to be bringing a different FPS experience than any other.  Of course I played BBC and I did enjoy the gameplay but I always felt like it was missing something. When I play a game that catches my attention I can almost feel it instantly, like it “speaks” to me through the controller. To me BBC just never felt quite right, never had that key component that made me say, “I have to play this game!” With all this hype for a new BBC, what I was really wondering is, “What is actually different?”

“STOCKHOLM, Mar 02, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE)—DICE, an Electronic Arts Inc. studio /quotes/comstock/15*!erts/quotes/nls/erts (ERTS 17.02, +0.15, +0.89%) , today announced that Battlefield: Bad Company(TM) 2 is now available at retail stores in North America. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has received worldwide acclaim for its intense first-person modern warfare, spectacular destructible environments and seamless multiplayer experience supported by dedicated servers.”

According to Market Watch this game is “Defined by its increasingly intense vehicular warfare, destruction, variety of weapons and huge sandbox environments, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 promises to be one of the finest online FPS games of 2010. Its dedicated servers that allow for smooth, seamless online play help it stand out among the competition.”

Oh Really?

So what you are telling me is that there is NO player hosting? No more host advantage? No more host shotgun? No more host dashboarding? Is that what they mean by that? Also, if that enemy thinks he can hide from my tank behind that wall can I blow it to smithereens?  OMG, by Geroge I think they’re on to something here!

With a vehicle list rivaled by few this game could get seriously interesting.  There are enough land, air and sea faring vehicles to wet anyone’s appetite.

LAND
HMMWV 4WD
Vodnik 4WD
Cobra 4WD
Quad Bike
M3A3 Bradley
BMD-3 Bakhcha
M1A2 Abrams
T-90 MBT

AIR
AH-64 Apache
MI-28 Havoc
UH-60 Blackhawk
MI-24 Hind

SEA
Personal Watercraft
Patrol Boat

After a short stint on the demo I can say I am VERY impressed. The gameplay is very smooth, the vehicles are destructive, there is a plethora of guns, the weapons are very accurate and most importantly the game makes me want to play it more. I feel like this game will be a major hit of 2010 and I give kudos to EA. This game really feels like they tried to make a game that people can almost seamlessly come from other FPS games and enjoy.

We shall see how this game fares against the other FPS giants but I think I will have many sleepless nights on this one!