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Developer: Digital Illusions
Publisher: EA Games
Genre: FPS
Region: NTSC
Format:
Release Date: 11 Apr 06
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- The blockbuster PC shooter gets ported to the consoles, and now its 360's turn. Although it retains all the good stuff, the game does not get any next-gen treatment at all.
Overview
Well there are so many games out on the PC that you just never really think about going to the consoles. To be honest when I looked at the Battlefield series from Digital Illusions, I never thought this great PC experience would make that somewhat dangerous transition. But alas when I did hear about this transition for Battlefield from PC to the consoles, I figured that this was going to be a tough task for Digital Illusions to pull off. Well having already successfully brought Battlefield 2: Modern Combat to the current gen systems was one thing, but could DICE make the game a great next gen product on the 360? Read our full review to find out!
Gameplay
Well let's take some time and talk about the Battlefield series, which began as Battlefield 1942, which to this day is one of the most popular first person shooters to play online. Then came Battlefield Vietnam, which felt more like an expansion to 1942 and didn't receive high raise as the original. And just last year from Digital Illusions came Battlefield 2, which brought back plenty of the past glory to the PC with amazing visuals and solid gameplay all the way around the board. Well now the series is making the transition to the console, which means the game may have to alter its focus to both single and multiplayer, something that has normally been just multiplayer. So the big question is, is the game up to the challenge.
Well let's start with the single player portion of the game, which can be considered really the most pathetic part of all three PC games. This time around Modern Combat actually offers a storyline, which is a typical futuristic political storyline where the world is in chaos, mainly focusing on China in this game. Basically you go through this single player game with one focus in mind, taking out your opponents. What is neat about this game is the ability to hot swap, which has never been done in a FPS before but I could see it becoming very popular in years to come. Basically what this allows you to switch players on the fly. So let's say you see a tank coming up, you can then switch to an engineer if he is in the line of sight. I loved this idea and got so used to it that when I played other FPS, I wished they had this in their game.
The single player experience is not all that long, but it is entertaining from start to finish. The ability to hot swap adds quite a bit of strategy to the game, and similar to the previous Battlefield games allows you to really enjoy all the different types of soldiers in the game. The game really does a great job of allowing you to be very involved in your battles, and it really feels like you have a significant impact in their outcome. Sure the single player mode isn't overly long, but it was enjoyable while it lasted. I was a bit surprised to see the mode basically unchanged for the 360 version, which offered really no incentives to go back and play if you have already played through it.
The one thing that you can see changed from the current consoles to the Xbox 360 is the multiplayer, which is much more successful on the Xbox 360. The online plays feels much more structured on the Xbox 360 and doesn't feel as jumbled together a feeling I got when playing the game on the PS2. The online play has a few different modes to choose from and supports up to 24 players online, which is a good solid number. I played in quite a few games where there were 24 players and the experiences were solid. Lag is also less of an issue in the 360 version, which is good and the gameplay still remains entertaining.
For those expecting huge upgrades to the gameplay from the previous game, you will probably be in for a bit of a letdown. The game feels smooth but nothing considerably better than the current gen versions. The gameplay still allows for a good fast paced action packed experience that isn't perfect, but is still a good solid FPS experience.
Graphics
I have to say I was expecting more from Modern Combat on the 360 in the visual area of the game. When looking at the game standing still, you could make the argument that there has been a lot of work put into making the game look "next gen". But when the game begins to get moving and you start becoming more observant, you can just see things that still needed the upgrading. The game still looks very good with some very nice water effects and much more detailed character models, but the game as a whole does not keep up with some of the other next generation Xbox 360 titles.
Fun Factor
For those who enjoy the Battlefield formula both on the PC and on the consoles, you will find yourself finding a lot to enjoy on the 360 version. The biggest upgrade to the game is the multiplayer, which is a much more in depth and structured system than before. The game plays a whole lot better online and the leaderboard structure leads a lot of incentive to be playing this game online for hours. The single player experience isn't bad but then again it doesn't offer anything we haven't seen before in a FPS. So the final product is still a fun experience mainly because of the huge improvements in the multiplayer of the game.
Overall
I have to say that my overall impression of Battlefield 2: Modern Combat is a game that does use some of the new ideas of the 360 to its advantage, but at the same time keeps the game close to its current gen roots. If you are a huge fan of the Battlefield multiplayer and haven't already dished out the fifty dollars for the current generation copy, then going out and picking up a copy of Modern Combat for the 360 won't be a bad idea.
- Gameplay
8.0 - Graphics
7.0 - Fun Factor
8.0 - Overall
8.0
