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Community => Games & Programming => Game Reviews => Topic started by: Spanky on Monday, February 01, 2010, 02:20:02 AM

Title: Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta/Retail
Post by: Spanky on Monday, February 01, 2010, 02:20:02 AM
I found a beta key giveaway on Slickdeals so I figured I would try the game out. I can't really say a whole lot about the game because it's hard to experience with such a low frame-rate. I have an overclocked dual-core and their minimum requirements is a 2.0GHz dualcore but even with that, it's still CPU heavy. I think it's still beta and they have some CPU work they need to figure out before release. I know it's not my graphics card, maybe it's my net. I see only 1 way to see ping to a server and that's a steady number before you join, mine was about 200ms. I don't know if a high latency gives you low frame-rate in this engine or not. Anyway, onto the half-assed review:

It's a big step up from BF2. The sound and physics are superb. The graphics are good but they could have spent more time on them. I feel like they did a tradeoff with physics > graphics. The buildings and many other objects are destructable (as my screenshots will show) and there's several explosive items laying around to help with that. I guess they've taken the airborne approach with the game because on one team you spawn from the air. Aside from that I can't say a whole lot since I got owned up the ass with 10 fps and single-player on a multiplayer server isn't that fun with 18 fps :) Oh, there's no single-player in the Beta.

Onto the screenshots:
Menu Screens:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-01-31%2022-17-48-08.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-01-31%2022-20-43-15.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-01-31%2022-21-31-29.png

Suicide via explosion:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-01-31%2022-33-38-24.png

Mid-air Spawn:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-01-31%2022-21-47-48.png

Explosions:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-01-31%2022-22-18-89.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-01-31%2022-22-51-41.png

ATV Driving:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-01-31%2022-23-38-67.png

Destruction: (before & after)
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-01-31%2022-25-56-74.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-01-31%2022-24-39-61.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-01-31%2022-25-02-40.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-01-31%2022-29-55-26.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-01-31%2022-30-06-30.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-01-31%2022-30-42-51.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-01-31%2022-32-23-03.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-01-31%2022-32-59-48.png

Objective:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-01-31%2022-26-21-08.png


Retail Singleplayer Review:
I just got this and started playing it. All in all, it's much better than the Beta hinted at. I think it has by far some of the best animations I've seen in a game. The guns are firmly planted in their hands (unlike MW2 @ the end) which makes it all the more believeable. I just barely started it but the beginning almost drew me away. It starts off with some secret mission back in WW2 which IMO feels like a miniaturized and militarized verison of LOST. The graphics are pretty fun, the trees are kinda lame but the effects are mind blowing and there are plenty of "woah shit" moments. Like they could have done better on a few things but everything in general comes together to make any scene excellent. Below are some screenshots:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-03-14%2017-10-34-06.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-03-14%2017-10-54-78.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-03-14%2017-11-06-75.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-03-14%2017-11-14-61.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-03-14%2017-12-31-82.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-03-14%2017-14-14-67.png

I'll post up some more as I play the game but so far I'm really enjoying it.


Update...
Man I'm really enjoying this game. With the physics you can make your own dugout, make new paths to flank the enemys... I'm just truly enjoying this game. I have a couple more shots as well as a video that references MW2 which is kinda funny :) Enjoy:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-03-14%2019-32-20-23.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-03-15%2018-41-01-87.png
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3BBt7tLnYA&fmt=22
Title: Re: Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta
Post by: Alex on Monday, February 01, 2010, 14:56:53 PM
That's a shame. I was afraid that there were going to be frame rate issues. Look like I'm buying this one for xbox 360. There is a multiplayer demo for 360 and It is a blast playing with your friends in a squad.
Title: Re: Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta
Post by: Spanky on Monday, February 01, 2010, 16:59:44 PM
Yea, I'll probably lower settings and try to play.
Title: Re: Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta
Post by: Dialects on Monday, February 01, 2010, 17:21:33 PM
There's a demo of this in PS3 as well.

I'll give that a try!
Title: Re: Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta
Post by: Alex on Wednesday, February 03, 2010, 20:52:03 PM
I just got a beta key from file planet. I want to see how well this will run on my computer before deciding what system to buy it for.
Title: Re: Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta
Post by: Thor on Thursday, February 04, 2010, 19:56:12 PM
Choose wisely killaman ( XBOX 360 imo!!)
Title: Re: Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta
Post by: Spanky on Thursday, February 04, 2010, 19:57:50 PM
XBOX 360 imo!!
Yea, because FPS games that require precision are much more enjoyable with a thumbstick.
Title: Re: Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta
Post by: Alex on Thursday, February 04, 2010, 21:32:11 PM
XBOX 360 imo!!
Yea, because FPS games that require precision are much more enjoyable with a thumbstick.

I know right? consoles suck for FPS games. The only reason I would even think about buying an FPS game for 360 would be if my friends have it or my PC can't run the game.
Title: Re: Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta
Post by: Alex on Monday, February 15, 2010, 23:19:18 PM
I opened up fraps while playing the beta and noticed that I was only getting 15-20 fps. It's on low at 1440x900  :-X I thought it was a bit choppy before but I didn't expect 15 fps. I didn't expect it to be this hard on requirements. Time for me to get a new computer I guess, but first I need a job.  :'(
Title: Re: Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta
Post by: Spanky on Tuesday, February 16, 2010, 00:46:08 AM
Yea, I'm feeling like that too. I know I could probably lower the settings in the game but I also know I really need a quad-core processor. At least, if I remember correctly, you have an "ok" OEM dual-core right now and starting from scratch wouldn't be a huge loss. I feel rather stuck having poured money into a quality motherboard and DDR2 RAM. $260 for the best CPU I can run and then later have to buy a whole new computer or $450+ to start with new mid-end components and then be in the same situation I am now when Intel releases a new chip and program requirements rise. Bleh. Here's a tip: remind yourself you don't have any money so you can't do anything either way, it tends to go away after a while :)
Title: Re: Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta/Retail
Post by: Spanky on Sunday, March 14, 2010, 20:33:29 PM
Added retail review onto first post. Some screenshots may take a minute or to to fully upload.
Title: Re: Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta/Retail
Post by: Alex on Sunday, March 14, 2010, 20:35:23 PM
good review. The only thing stopping me from buying this game is how bad the beta ran on my PC.
Title: Re: Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta/Retail
Post by: Spanky on Sunday, March 14, 2010, 21:06:16 PM
I'd say go for it in all honesty. I was running 27-60% CPU usage in singleplayer (keep in mind, that's a 3.37GHz quad core with Google Chrome, Trillian, X-Fire and RDC open). The 27% I saw while in-game and waiting for a wave of enemy soldiers, once they arrived it went up and peaked at 60%. I'm sure online is easier on hardware since I don't imagine there's much AI. The game is easy on RAM but graphics... it's a bit harsh but at least there's quality settings.
Title: Re: Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta/Retail
Post by: Alex on Sunday, March 14, 2010, 21:08:32 PM
in the beta, the quality settings never helped me. It was the same FPS on low, medium and high. Which was un-playable.
Title: Re: Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta/Retail
Post by: Spanky on Sunday, March 14, 2010, 22:30:27 PM
I say that's from CPU usage which I know they've optimized since the Beta.
Title: Re: Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta/Retail
Post by: Spanky on Monday, March 15, 2010, 02:32:46 AM
i run it fine (from what i can tell)
never notice any shit fps
Again, probably because you're playing multiplayer at 1024x768 and not the highest settings. That screenshot doesn't show anything since you don't have a FPS meter. Maybe come back with some CPU usage stats?

dont know much about computers and specs and such but....
You should learn or just type it out, oh wait, you probably like showing people that price tag in there huh?

It's one thing to say "it works for me" and it's another to say "it works for me, here's my specs and here's how much it demands from my system" so perhaps others can look at that and do a bit of quick math to get a rough idea if they can run it or not.
Title: Re: Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta/Retail
Post by: Spanky on Monday, March 15, 2010, 14:35:20 PM
next time i play it i will tell u how much cpu and ram it uses mr nothings good enough for me  ::)

Well, really, I mean get a bit more specific. There's a wide range of computers that can play the game and simply saying that they all can do it isn't too helpful. Resolution, game quality settings, FPS in various zones are all helpful in other determining if their computer can or not. Playable can mean anything from 640x480 on the lowest settings and getting 20FPS all the way up to 7680x1600 with the highest settings including full anti-aliasing at 60FPS (monitor refresh rate, another topic). It just kinda annoys me when people say bland statements that don't really have much information. Sorry if you caught the wrong end of my stick.
Title: Re: Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta/Retail
Post by: Spanky on Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 03:03:20 AM
Added screenshots & a video.
Title: Re: Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta/Retail
Post by: Alex on Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 07:01:08 AM
Well, when I play my games I don't go under 1440x900. Anything under that resolution looks terrible and is not worth playing in my opinion. In the beta I was pulling 15-25 fps on low settings. That's not good. They should have spent more time optimizing the engine for the PC.

Title: Re: Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta/Retail
Post by: Spanky on Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 14:23:54 PM
beta...optimizing

Those words don't go together :) Try the retail game.

what settings would make it look the best :)

The first step is running your monitor at native resolution, this usually means the highest it supports. If you run lower than native, some resolutions don't scale well and your monitor has to use like 1.5 pixels for 1 pixel which doesn't work and looks crappy like Killaman said. Some lower-than-native resolutions look ok but I know on every LCD I've seen, the highest always looks the best.

Second step to run the game at the highest settings, an example is here:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/GameShots/BFBC2Game%202010-03-16%2011-18-58-36.png
Title: Re: Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta/Retail
Post by: Alex on Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 14:49:41 PM
Unlike you spanky, I buy most of my games. If I buy BC2 and it doesn't run well, I can't return it. I'm stuck with something I can't run. On top of that, I do not have a job. Making it hard for me to buy games in the first place.