Battlefield 2: Modern Combat is a first-person shooter entry into the Battlefield series, developed by Digital Illusions CE. Initially released for Xbox and PlayStation 2 on October 25 2005 in North America, Modern Combat is the first Battlefield game for video game consoles. On April 11 2006, an updated version of the game was released for the Xbox 360 featuring improved graphics and online features. A PlayStation Portable version was announced in 2005, but was canceled. Instead, DICE will be developing Battlefield: Bad Company for Playstation 3, Playstation Portable, and Xbox 360.
| Battlefield 2: Modern Combat | |
|---|---|
| Battlefield 2: Modern Combat for Xbox | |
| Developer(s) | Digital Illusions |
| Publisher(s) | EA Games |
| Engine | RenderWare |
| Platform(s) | PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360 |
| Release | October 25 2005 (NA) |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single Player, Multiplayer (Multiplayer holds 24 players via Xbox Live or PlayStation Online) |
Overview
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat is a drastically different "version" of the PC game of the same name, with an actual storyline, revolving around a modern war between NATO, and China. (The unified "Middle Eastern Coalition", or MEC, and the European Union are playable only in multiplayer). The single player portion of the game is set in the country of Kazakhstan, where players assume control of one of two armies, The People's Republic of China and NATO. In the multiplayer portion of the game, each of the four armies is playable. The further a player progresses into the campaign, the more stars they earn, which in turn give the player the benefit of useful upgrades. The highest attainable rank in single player is "Battlefield General". Initially, this rank is not visible to the player until they have reached the required number of stars to attain it. Early in the game, upgrades are fairly minor such as health being multiplied by 1.5 for a short amount of time. In order to activate these upgrades the player must kill a number of enemies in quick succession to bring up their multiplier. Upgrades to firepower are also attainable, and the player is awarded with extra damage, explosive bullets, faster reloading, faster rate of fire, and other such abilities. If the rank of Battlefield General is reached, the most overwhelming upgrade is invulnerability. Once reached, the player must simply kill an enemy often enough to hold onto the upgrade, and avoid death.
Xbox 360 version
On April 11 2006, EA released an updated version of Battlefield 2: Modern Combat for the Xbox 360. Aside from a graphical leap, Modern Combat is essentially the same game as on the Xbox and PS2. The main new feature was the inclusion of three new maps, available on the Xbox version only by download, new vehicles, and enhanced graphics and Xbox Live support including statistic tracking and clan support. Also introduced are 1000 achievement points for players to add to their Gamer Score via 46 achievements. A video comparison of the two versions is available at the TeamXbox website. However the Playstation Portable variant of Battlefield 2 has been canceled by EA Games.[citation needed]
Online rank and awards
In Battlefield 2: Modern Combat a player can obtain many ranks. Starting from the lowest, (Private) and begin moving all the way to the highest, (5 Star General). The way it works is an individual must obtain three criteria: Score, Medals, and PPH (Points Per Hour). Score can be obtained in two ways: a) Killing an enemy (one point per kill) or b) Capturing or neutralizing an enemy flag(s) (three points per capture) and (two points for neutralization). However, during Capture the Flag mode, points can be obtained in three ways: a) Picking up a flag and scoring it (two points for picking up) and (five for scoring), b) Killing an enemy who is carrying a flag (three points awarded) and (one point for returning flag), or c) Killing an enemy located near your or the opposing base. The ranks are as follows:
- Private
- Private First Class
- Corporal
- Sergeant
- Sergeant 1st Class
- Master Sergeant
- Sergeant Major
- Command Sergeant Major
- Warrant Officer
- Chief Warrant Officer
- Second Lieutenant
- First Lieutenant
- Captain
- Major
- Lieutenant Colonel
- Colonel
- Brigadier General
- Major General
- Lieutenant General
- 5-star General
Online
Multiplayer Gameplay
Multiplayer differs heavily from Campaign mode, the single player aspect of BF2:MC. The game offers only two game modes, Conquest, and Capture the Flag. Both game modes support 24 players, 12 per side.
Like the game itself says, it changes online, and it is shown throughout gameplay. Various features such as sounds, movement, weaponry, and even different buttons are used different ways in multiplayer to better fit the competitors.
In Conquest, the maps are at their full size, and are quite large. The goal is to capture a majority of the flags scattered across the map. There are two counters, which show the tickets remaining on either side. The tickets decrease by 1 for each death on the corresponding side, and by progressively more, depending on the number of flags either team has. The more flags one team has, the faster the other's tickets will decrease. If both sides have an equal number of flags, neither team's tickets will decrease, unless a member of one team dies, in which case one ticket is subtracted from the victim's team. Vehicles are readily available in this mode, and there are multiple types of maps, such as "Incursion" maps, in which every flag owned by only one of the teams is capturable. The advantage to the side with no permanent positions is the fact that they start with all of them in their possession, save one permanent position, owned by the opposite team. "Backstab," "Deadly Pass," and "Bridge Too Far" appear to be the most played maps.
In Capture the Flag, players battle on a scaled down version of any one of the maps. There are only two positions, one on each side, which house each team's flag. There are multiple spawns in each position. Instead of the flags being mounted on flagpoles, as in Conquest mode, they are instead small flags perched on small bases. When a player walks over a flag, it is automatically picked up. The player carrying it must return it to their own base. The flag may only be captured if the capturing team's flag is still at their base, and not taken by their opponent.
Scoring In CTF, each teams earns one point per kill, as in Conquest. If a flag carrier is killed, the killer receives 3 points for killing him. Players gain one point for returning their team's flag by touching it. Players attain one point for assisting in capturing a flag, (returning their team's flag just before a teammate captures the enemy's). Two points are gained for killing an enemy who is attacking a teammate carrying the enemy flag. If an enemy is in the flag zone, the area surrounding the flag, killing him earns two points.
In Conquest, players get 1 point per kill. Players get 2 points for killing someone if they are in the vicinity of a flag owned by the player's team. Players get 5 points total for capturing a flag, two for neutralizing it and three for capturing it. Players who approach a flag being captured by one of their teammates, reducing the capture time, gain 1 point for assisting in flag capture.
Universal Scoring For destroying up a vehicle with an enemy inside, players get 2 points, plus an additional point for every other enemy inside. If the player destroys an enemy's vehicle, within a certain amount of time after he exits it, the player gains one point, plus additional points if the enemy was carrying a flag.
For Team killing, or betrayal, the killer loses one point. a second TK (Team Kill) will subtract 2 points, a third will subtract 3 points, a fourth, minus 6 points. The player will continue losing 6 points per team kill, until being kicked from the server after losing 24 points to team killing. However, this may take a while. To speed up the kicking process, infuriated teammates may vote to kick the player.
Updates and Patches
Sometime in mid-January, EA quietly updated the BF2 MC servers for PS2 only. Many players were complaining mostly of glitches and lag problems, which in turn ruined the game and caused many to quit. Some players discovered and exploited a glitch which caused the server they were in to crash. Other players discovered "quick switching" for the sniper rifle and the shotgun, and also "infinite ammo/extended magazine" glitches. Some even tried to sue because of complaints that later players who purchased the game "couldn't enjoy the online component" because when they logged on they found no servers.
To combat this, EA updated the servers once again, and completed removed the ability to quick-switch with sniper rifles and shotguns. Players could no longer do the extended clip glitches, because now when weapon kits are picked up, the player must reload even if the weapon was originally fully loaded. Some players keep trying to crash servers, and EA has almost stopped this. Servers are now available around the clock, and players have reported that they can also create servers and clan-matches again. When word of this update happened, many players resumed playing the game online.
EA previously updated the game constantly with news updates and server/game fixes/updates, but this one in particular has been praised by many. It has been seen as a long time in coming as EA had previously shunned the community and only acted at the prospect of losing money. This update changes the way many people play due to the popularity of the quickswitch. Quickswitching is when the player switches weapons in the sniper rifle ot shotgun kit repeatadly so they do not have to pump the shotgun barrel again. It could be described as a rapid fire sniper rifle or shotgun.
Reception
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat was generally given favorable reviews by many reviewers, however it was not nearly as well received by critics as and other BF game was, in particular its PC counter-part, which was the best received of all the Battlefield games.
Multiplayer, being the main part of the Battlefield series, was given good reviews. The original Xbox version was the second most played Xbox Live game of 2006.
The Xbox 360 version of the game did not receive better reviews, some sites even gave it a lower score. Most reviewers complained that the 360 version did not feature that many new things: Only 3 maps, a minor graphics update, and a new snowmobile, none of which justified the extra cost.
Gamerankings [1] has Battlefield 2: Modern Combat as 80.7 for PS2, 80.6 for the Xbox and 77 for the Xbox 360.