Battlefield 2142

where is my jetpack

Let me start off by saying I am a huge fan of Battlefield 2. I love the tiered, teamwork-heavy gameplay, and despite the giant bug-disguised-as-a-server-browser that still plagues the game a year after release, it's one of the few games that I've played for more than 200 hours1.

So this 2142 business (out today!) has me sort of torn. All the new unlocks and squad bonuses sound great. No more constant bombing from players in unstoppable jets? That sounds good, too. But then the demo came out and stupidly didn't include any method of moving up in rank, so there's no way to access any of the unlocks, and thus the vast majority of the new features and equipment is not in the demo. Isn't the entire idea behind a demo to give players an indication of how the final game will be? Good thinking, DICE. On top of that, the single demo map is really boring, and the gameplay just feels off. Joshua LaTendresse over at Games Radar says it best:

The feel of being on foot can be best described as "swimmy" - moving around feels thick and unresponsive, and heaven help you if you are on a moving Titan. Worse still, most of the futuristic weapons feel insubstantial, sound like sewing machines and don't often hit what they're aimed at.

The whole game is basically just an overgrown Battlefield 2 mod (another issue drawing a lot of heat from fans), so it's strange that they'd decide to tweak something as basic as moving and shooting.

Finally, there's this scandal that came out yesterday about the game potentially scanning things like your browsing history to better target its in-game ads. I doubt they're doing anything malicious with the data, but the fact that they feel it's necessary is really the last straw. (The mandatory advertising doesn't even bring the cost of the game down.) I'll be fine with good old Battlefield 2 for now.

Plus there aren't even any FRICKIN' LASERS.

Update: The future battlefield keeps getting better: Heartless Gamer reports that a new patch (the second in as many days since release) recommends that, for compatibility reasons, players uninstall a Windows security update that prevented hackers from commandeering your PC. WTF?

1 Number of hours spent playing World of Warcraft since 2004: 0

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