Brute force with laughs

Game of the week: Battlefield: Bad Company 2, 16 cert, EA/Dice PS3 (also Xbox 360, PC) ****

While many military combat games feel like they've taken a leaf from Saving Private Ryanor Band of Brothers, the tongue-in-cheek Bad Companyseries owes more to the likes of Kelly's Heroes. Battlefield: Bad Company 2has a lot to offer: the graphics are exquisite and the gameplay diverse. And it's got personality.

The story is familiar stuff, involving the hunt for a mystery object traversing various international locations. There’s a gratifying variety to the missions, from stealth to blitz, from attacking and defending buildings, to hostage rescue and commandeering gun nests and vehicles. Not one level outstays its welcome, and there are numerous ways to achieve the objectives, rewarding tactical nous as well as good marksmanship.

More than most other first-person-shooters, the environment in Bad Company 2feels tangible and real. The weapons are an embarrassment of riches and, with the right firepower, you can turn an entire building to rubble, the crashing bricks and mortar making sweet music with the creaking metal roofs and water towers. Unsurprisingly, walls offer less protection than you'd think (both for you and the enemy). Play it with headphones or surround sound if you can.

The controls for the combat segments are ideal: the simple logic of left-button-zoom and right-button-fire makes for completely instinctive gameplay. The vehicles, while generally nimble, are less user-friendly, with the joypad’s buttons (instead of sticks) used for acceleration and reverse. Generally, however, the game mechanics are almost flawless, with a nice sense of gravity, terrain and weapons’ cause and effect.

The tone of Bad Company 2is a lot less self-serious than in other games of the genre. The sense of humour that made the first instalment so memorable is present and accounted for. With reasonably memorable characters and playful dialogue, the lags between shoot-outs are agreeable, as the characters spend the rare quiet moments discussing the relative merits of Predatorand The Iliad.

If only the game was just a little bit more generous with its save points: don’t expect to be rewarded for surviving a skirmish, because it might be a while before you can save the game again. Also, an offline two-player game (co-op or competitive) would have been welcome.

As for the online element, casual gamers shouldn't even consider going online until they've played the game on their own for a few hours. Bad Company 2is less fun than Halo online, but definitely comparable to Modern Warfare 2. The online experience is immersive and extensive, but undeniably difficult for non-veterans.

A feisty, witty shooter with attitude, Battlefield: Bad Company 2is both a satisfying one-player game and a challenging online experience. Recommended.