Battlefield 2: Two tribes go to war

By Guy Cocker on 11 July 2005, 12:29pm

Every once in a while, a computer game comes along that takes over your life. Perhaps it's because we're pretty new to online gaming, but we're eating, sleeping and drinking Battlefield 2 at the moment. It's a staggeringly addictive PC shooter that supports up to 64 players in one online game -- offering an incredibly atmospheric warzone in which there's always something going on.

It helps that you can explore this virtual world in a variety of vehicles, including a helicopter and even a jet fighter. The best thing is you don't even have to pilot them -- leave the tricky 'copter driving to someone who knows what they're doing and take care of pounding a nearby tank with heat-seeking missiles. Unfortunately, it works the other way round too -- there's usually some expert on the ground with a pile of anti-aircraft missiles that's ready to add multiple kills to his score tally.

It's this attention to detail that makes Battlefield 2 so amazing to play -- the game changes every time and using team planning to halt an enemy attack is immensely satisfying. You can choose to play as three different forces -- the US, China or the Middle East Coalition -- and each has their own characteristics from artillery to vehicles. So it's all about modern warfare, meaning you can try and scale the massive maps on foot, but you're better off jumping into a tank.

Like a complete rookie, our first day was spent dying in a variety of ways, be it from a sniper on a distant roof or a set of mines placed on the entrance to an objective. But as long as you follow the elected Commander and stick in teams, you can usually get away with being fairly poor. You can also ask for help from teammates thanks to VoIP support, or if you're feeling particularly authoritative, issue commands for an attack. As our helicopter panned by an enemy outpost and our team filled numerous tanks with lead, we couldn't resist shouting "I love the smell of napalm in the morning!"

When we actually manage to pilot a helicopter without crashing it five seconds later, we'll bring you our full, explosive review. -GC

Update: this review is now live here.