Although there may be some jokes here mixed in with Three’s Company, Battlefield: Bad Company should not be taken lightly as DICE’s newest entry in the series. With closed beta sessions and now a demo to be released, Electronic Arts is giving gamers plenty of chances to get in on the action that Battlefield: Bad Company has to offer. DICE is back and brings with it its continually updated Frostbite engine. Remember Criterion’s Black on the Playstation 2? Think about the destructible moments in that game, and multiply those experiences by ten. Players are in for one thrill ride after another as you they are thrown into a battlefield that won’t soon be forgotten. GamePlasma was able to spend some time on the demo a few days earlier then its June 5^th release. Here are some impressions and what we thought of the experience thus far…

Welcome Maggots!

It is almost impossible not to notice the power of the Frostbite engine at work in Battlefield: Bad Company. The demo gives you the experience of the first few levels of the game. Along with the added multiplayer, there is a lot to do here before the game releases in a couple of weeks. Destructible environments are every gamer’s dream and there are plenty to go around. Unfortunately, you are constrained to a certain point; while you may be to destroy as much as possible, buildings and other objects will remain intact so you are not fighting in a complete wasteland. The amount of detail that has gone into the destruction within the game is quite remarkable.

The demo’s single player campaign, as mentioned before, offers around 2-3 levels of gameplay to get you used to the game’s overall feel. You join a disgruntled group of soldiers that were ignored by the military and sent as cannon fodder to the frontlines so you aren’t expected to last very long. You must take every mission as it comes to you with no questions asked. With some dark humor and what seem to be very likable characters, it looks like Battlefield: Bad Company won’t miss a step.

Players are encouraged-- no, begged-- to wreak as much havoc as possible once they’re dropped into battle. Just remember not to get too distracted by the destruction, as you could find yourself in a bit of trouble whether in the multiplayer or single player in the case of you getting killed more than enough times. Vehicles play a big role in these environments as well, as there are a lot to choose from. They come in many different kinds, including land, sea, and air. Although jets aren’t available in the game, you can still deal a good amount of damage by using a helicopter.

Try not to cower in fear and hide yourself in one of the little houses you might see in the maps. Skilled players will find you; if they have a tank handy, they can easily dispatch you with extreme prejudice. It may be a bit difficult to get used to the on-screen radar for those that are not skilled enough to do without it. You will unfortunately spend most of your time trying to read the radar rather then worrying about your skin as you get riddled by a thousand bullets. Multiplayer will support a robust 24 player matches.

The game looks beautiful with detailed graphics and character models. Environments seem to be all ironed out and it doesn’t seem to cost the 360 version an arm or a leg in terms of processing power to load textures and various objects. Voice acting seems to be spot on, and so far gives that cinematic experience; it can only get better from here.

Conclusion

Battlefield: Bad Company lays it all on the line and gives you probably one of the most detailed first person experiences you’ve seen yet. Multiplayer matches experienced virtually no lag; however, playing it as early as we did might have accounted for this. Upon the demo’s release, the servers most likely will be subject to the standard EA lag experience, based on the number of players connecting. There might be a few things here and there to iron out; but, the title should have a fine launch come its June 25^th release. Look for our full review shortly thereafter.

Written by: Jereme Puik, Staff Writer