Get a sneak peak at the upcoming Battlefield 2 from EA games.
First person shooter games are always difficult to execute on handheld devices, no less a touchscreen. However, EA has impressed me with Battlefield 2. The controls are relatively simple and are very responsive, even more so than usual shooters. The sensitivity gives the player the ability to play quickly and accurately at the same time. None of this “stop, shoot, run, stop, shoot” etc. If you enjoy the stop and shoot method, using the “Aiming Down Sight” (ADS) ability will make you giggle like a school girl. Another function that impressed me was the auto-aim. Many games have auto-aim that is too strong, which I find ends up throwing the player off. EA made the aiming helpful without it interfering with normal gameplay.
I was very pleased by the visuals of the game. They were definitely improved from the original screenshots we showed in our “coming soon” article. The animations and character models were much smoother than many of the other FPS on the iPhone. Also, the weapons and environments looked very crisp and console-like. Other games, such as NOVA or Modern Combat, are having their visuals and gameplay bested by EA .
Apart from good looks, Battlefield also offers challenging, fun, and even competitive gameplay. With 14 single player levels across 5 different zones, the campaign may keep some players happy. But what about the multiplayer? I wasn’t able to experience it myself, but I’m told it will feature 2-4 player FFA and squad deathmatches at launch . This actually seems like a small online offering, even if it is supported on wifi, 3G, and bluetooth. We’ll have to wait and see how fleshed out the multiplayer is. Hopefully it’s better put together than Gameloft’s offerings in the Modern Combat series. Nonetheless, Battlefield Bad Company 2 is a promising title for the iPhone.
BC2 will be out this month. The price has yet to be announced.
