I finally played this after owning it and not touching it for...around 7 years, I think. I am a huge fan of the first game and I have no reason for waiting to play this as long as I did.
It maintains all the best parts of the last game. The tone is still fun, the characters are as good as ever, the dialogue is laugh-out-loud funny, the graphics are still really great, and the sound design remains some of the best in all of video games.
The plot isn't quite as memorable this time around, and it's a little rocky on the delivery sometimes, but it's serviceable. It's got some cool ideas to it!
Other notes...
Good friendly AI. Almost too good. They are very useful and can basically take out the enemies for you if you leave them to it. But they charge ahead too much and they get in your sights a lot. Enemy AI stands around exposed a lot, but they also do a good job of making you keep your head down.
Sound. Graphics. Amazing. Destructible environments are just as fun to play with as last time, and they still look awesome. For a ten year old game, it looks terrific, and that sound...however, there is a surprising amount of pop-in visually, from distances I wouldn't expect, including from enemies that are within shooting range and pop in and out depending on when you zoom in or out. And there were more than a few times where a sound effect simply didn't play because of a glitch or whatever.
Weapons: still not authentic with reload animations but now in the other direction. Before, he would needlessly reload every time as though he ran the gun to empty. This time, he never reloads it that way even if it was empty. (Some guns retain the original issue.)
Some magazine counts restored to normal. Shell casings eject into your vision instead of away from it. Bullet drop effects are awesome. Just about every single gun looks, sounds, and feels powerful. I'm happy using any of them.
Enemies have great death animations as well as wounding nicely. I enjoy when shooter enemies can take hits and stagger but still come back. It feels more realistic and adds a bit of challenge. And fun.
Characters say "fuck" a lot. I'm pretty sure the first game is T and the characters speak accordingly. This time around they really lean into the M rating, which wouldn't bother me except at times it's like every other line. It stuck out and distracted me.
It has a way of capturing amusing, offbeat, seemingly irrelevant military stuff that makes it so funny. Feels a little like it was influenced by Generation Kill. Seems like military consulted on it. Only someone who had served would have the grizzled infantry sergeant crack a joke about PowerPoint.
Some of the best minigun content ever. As games go on, they get more authentic with how miniguns work. When a gun shoots approximately 6,000 rounds a minute, or 100 rounds a second, it looks and sounds a certain way. And it has a certain effect. Most games don't really capture it, but hoo boy. BC2 brings it.
Final thoughts: gameplay-wise, first person shooters don't get much better. I never got bored shredding my way through enemies, and I actually found myself wanting more. Throw in the humor, characters, and excellent production values, and you got a stew going...
P.S. Oh! And that ending...awesome level and awesome final moment. Felt COD-esque but not as overblown.
It maintains all the best parts of the last game. The tone is still fun, the characters are as good as ever, the dialogue is laugh-out-loud funny, the graphics are still really great, and the sound design remains some of the best in all of video games.
The plot isn't quite as memorable this time around, and it's a little rocky on the delivery sometimes, but it's serviceable. It's got some cool ideas to it!
Other notes...
Good friendly AI. Almost too good. They are very useful and can basically take out the enemies for you if you leave them to it. But they charge ahead too much and they get in your sights a lot. Enemy AI stands around exposed a lot, but they also do a good job of making you keep your head down.
Sound. Graphics. Amazing. Destructible environments are just as fun to play with as last time, and they still look awesome. For a ten year old game, it looks terrific, and that sound...however, there is a surprising amount of pop-in visually, from distances I wouldn't expect, including from enemies that are within shooting range and pop in and out depending on when you zoom in or out. And there were more than a few times where a sound effect simply didn't play because of a glitch or whatever.
Weapons: still not authentic with reload animations but now in the other direction. Before, he would needlessly reload every time as though he ran the gun to empty. This time, he never reloads it that way even if it was empty. (Some guns retain the original issue.)
Some magazine counts restored to normal. Shell casings eject into your vision instead of away from it. Bullet drop effects are awesome. Just about every single gun looks, sounds, and feels powerful. I'm happy using any of them.
Enemies have great death animations as well as wounding nicely. I enjoy when shooter enemies can take hits and stagger but still come back. It feels more realistic and adds a bit of challenge. And fun.
Characters say "fuck" a lot. I'm pretty sure the first game is T and the characters speak accordingly. This time around they really lean into the M rating, which wouldn't bother me except at times it's like every other line. It stuck out and distracted me.
It has a way of capturing amusing, offbeat, seemingly irrelevant military stuff that makes it so funny. Feels a little like it was influenced by Generation Kill. Seems like military consulted on it. Only someone who had served would have the grizzled infantry sergeant crack a joke about PowerPoint.
Some of the best minigun content ever. As games go on, they get more authentic with how miniguns work. When a gun shoots approximately 6,000 rounds a minute, or 100 rounds a second, it looks and sounds a certain way. And it has a certain effect. Most games don't really capture it, but hoo boy. BC2 brings it.
Final thoughts: gameplay-wise, first person shooters don't get much better. I never got bored shredding my way through enemies, and I actually found myself wanting more. Throw in the humor, characters, and excellent production values, and you got a stew going...
P.S. Oh! And that ending...awesome level and awesome final moment. Felt COD-esque but not as overblown.