There comes a time when you are waiting for a game that will bring a breath of fresh air to an already crowded market full of first person shooters, a game that will take combat games to a new level and to be perfectly honest a game that delivers what it promises. Well, look no further because EA’s Battlefield could be that game.

Gameplay

Many Xbox owners who have Live might have experienced Battlefield 2 via a LIVE demo disk supplied a few months back with the Official Xbox Magazine, wetting their appetite for the real thing and building up demand because it showed how smoothly this game played and what you could do within the game, but before we jump ahead of ourselves and comment on the Live game play, let’s take a look at what is on offer for offline gaming.

Battlefield 2: Modern Combat has a campaign story mode focusing on the Kazakhstan region of Russia. It’s a war zone due to the area being heavy in natural resources with the Chinese very interested in taking control. To oppose the Chinese, you have the combined forces of NATO but don’t relax yet because through out the campaign you will swap between controlling NATO and the Chinese. Sounds fairly ordinary so far until you make your first “hot swap” and than it’s “wow, oh my god, this is so cool”. Hot Swapping is the ability to change control of one soldier to any other friendly soldier within a direct line of sight highlighted by a white icon above that character. This means that no longer do you have to issue out orders hoping that the A.I. will understand them and carry them out immediately, nor do you have to search high and low for a different weapon because the one you are using is either out of ammo or is not powerful enough to take out the enemy. Now, you can hot swap to an engineer with a rocket launcher to take out that tank and swap instantly to another soldier to clean up the mess such as a sniper. As well as being able to control any friendly soldier you can also use any vehicle, whether they are yours or the enemy. A good example of this is the mission where you must take over the airport because as soon as you enter the airfield, if you are not quick enough, two helicopters take off but it is possible to shoot the pilot and take one of the birds for yourself and rain havoc against the enemy. Some vehicles allow you to swap position so you don’t care for driving, you could always let the AI do that whilst you blow away everything in sight with the machine gun. Every mission must be completed to move on but how you do it is entirely up to you and is scored according to time taken, teamwork, and accuracy. Stars are awarded to how well you have done which are than converted into rank, the more stars you have equates to the higher in rank you become. As well as the campaign mode, you will unlock many of the side games which involve vehicles driven from one point to another within a certain time frame and hot swapping.

How many times have we (the gamers) been promised a LIVE experience like no other and with the ability to play within an environment capable of supporting up to 24 players? The answer is quite a few times, only to be let down towards the launch but not in this case. You must choose to fight for one of four military powers – United States, Chinese, European Union and the Middle East Coalition. Choosing a class of soldier is nothing to worry about as you are able to change it time and time again after every death thus eliminating the need for hot swapping. Each class brings pros and cons but all compliment each other within a team. As well as some of the special features attached to certain classes like calling in air strikes and fixing vehicles, you can be certain at one time or another you will climb into one of the many vehicles scattered around the map.

Graphics

From the get-go I was just amazed at how much detail was presented and how well the game flowed considering soldiers and tanks are constantly moving along the ground, helicopters flying around above your head and all within a nicely textured map. The animation is superb with everything in the right proportions and the HUD is clear and effective.

Sound

Gunfire and radio messages are clear and audible alongside a soundtrack one would associate with a any type of war film. You know that time has been taken to make sure this game sounds right from the very beginning and it shows.

Longevity

How long have you got? The single player campaign can last for some time especially if you are trying to always improve your original score to further your career in the rankings. Than there is LIVE.

Overall

Battlefield 2 should be the benchmark for any future first person war shooter on the Xbox. If you are still not sure about this game, than go rent it out but I promise you it will blow you away. The only thing stopping me recommending this as a must buy is that this game will be coming out on the 360 but of course, if you are not going to be buying that machine than if you like war games, this is the ultimate buy!!

Pros:

• Hot Swapping.
  
• LIVE.
  
• Over 30 Vehicles and 50 weapons.
  
• Constant Action.