I never buy a game upon release (well, I had Halo 3 available on release, but it wasn't me that bought it!) so by the time I purchased Bad Company 2 in Early-Mid July for the 360, I had been given ample time to read up on reviews and a Universe of gameplay videos to watch. Did it eventually live up to the shiny expectations floating around my mind? Yes, it certainly did... in the Multiplayer alone. I don't even feel the need to review Singleplayer, because it was worth the £29 buy for the online action alone.
So what makes it fun? Well for one thing, I'll jump right in and say the availability of air transport was extreamly refreshing. That's right COD fans, no killstreaks needed (on that note, there are no killstreaks to give high ranking players an unfair advantage, huzzah)! But not just that, the gadgets, the specilisations (or "perks" if you will) and most certainly Destruction 2.0 make an interesting online experience even moreso. I am now also in a position to play this, In the few weeks I've owned the game, I've clocked in more online than Modern Warfare 2 since November 2010 - and I've certainly had more fun.
Squad based gaming is always risky, and sometimes, it's downright silly. In one "Rush" match for example, a whole 4 players (one "squad") spent their time spamming C4 on vehicles and driving off over hills and blowing them up. But no matter, three clicks later and I was in another game on the same map with no progress lost. Great! Another small annoyance is the ability to go up to backstab an enemy player, only for that enemy player to be surrounded by 3 freshly spawned squad members. Back to the spawn screen I go. Nevertheless, this hasn't stopped me loving the game.
Mortar Strikes, Motion Sensors, Defibulators, Ammo Packs and everything else in between unlocking achievements and gathering the dogtags of the players you have killed with your not-so-trusty combat knife. Many would argue that Call of Duty has the defining online multiplayer experience. But now I gladly say, after being a CoD fan myself for many years, it isn't. Have you even tried Battlefield: Bad Company 2? The unpredictable and unique moments in this game really can't be found anywhere else.
Easily a 5/5 stars from me. See you on the battlefield!