TeAM YYePG

Don’t worry, most people still don’t
know how to properly fly aircraft.
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REVIEWS
screaming alarm clock. I bang the snooze
button, popping smoke grenades, six per side.
Then nothing. He hoodwinked me into
wasting my countermeasures so he could
wire-guide his Predator home. Before I can
hop out, I hear the parts clatter.
On foot, you’ll feel rounds slap your Kevlar, but
you can fire a few back before keeling over. In the
sky, chaff and flares afford careless flyboys a second
chance. It might take months to say for sure,
but so far, BF2’s rock-paper-scissors science
seems sound—more so than stealth-heavy
Vietnam’s hide-and-seek, and maybe even more
so than 1942’s groundbreaking balance. This is
warfare in an age of camera-guided hardware,
but if developer DICE has learned a lesson with
its iterations of the series, it’s that hands-on
COMMAND AND CONQUER
60 > COMPUTER GAMING WORLD
Environments in the sequel are more expansive than ever before, but
with up to 64 players running around simultaneously, it won’t be hard to
find yourself in the middle of an intense firefight.
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know-how has to have its place, that too much
“automatic” makes war hell instead of the helluva
good time we all want. And it shows. Buggies
slide sideways around corners, and gunships dart
and fire down into the fray—wheeled or winged,
vehicles here handle with finesse. But as with
1942’s tricky Messerschmitts, mastering them
takes more than an explanation of what does
what. It takes skill and a sixth sense to know
what works and when. It takes practice, and I’m
only too happy to have more. / Shawn Elliott
Land, sea, and air war as you like it.
VERDICT
With a competent commander calling
the shots, Battlefield 2 sizzles. As a
commander (in which case competency
isn’t an issue, eh?), it’s a bloody riot.
Regular supply drops, up-to-the-second
recon, artillery support and how it
boosts morale—that’s all its own reward.
There’s more to the role than real-time
strategy with live troops, though. A
slightly self-serving leader, unafraid to
abuse his authority and have a better time because of it, exposes himself to
enemy fire. He uses satellites to spot camouflaged snipers during duels. He
sits shotgun in a bomber, pointing the pilot directly over dense accumulations
of enemy armor, and then toggles to overhead view as the 100pounders
touch down.
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Some commanders suck. Still, it’s hard to
blame Battlefield 2 for human error.
Medics are one of the many classes available. They’re usually meant to
help, but there’s nothing more horrifying than being killed by an enemy
healer with deadly defibrillators.
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FIVE REASONS
BATTLEFIELD 2
ISN’T ALL IT
CAN BE
EVEN 5-STAR GAMES HAVE THEIR
NOTEWORTHY SNAFUS...
Maps load slower than molasses—1GB
1RAM or more is recommended. Good
thing, then, that games between evenly
matched teams last so long.
Sometimes the slightest scrape with
2friendly forces (e.g., touching a nearstationary
tank) results in a KIA. Keep
clear, forgive allies for innocent accidents,
and cross your fingers that they’ll repay
the courtesy.
BF2 runs remarkably well on weaker
3 rigs, but decreased draw distance puts
players at a significant disadvantage.
The shadows go all wonky even on
4powerful PCs with maxed-out settings.
Solo play is fun but still so much filler
5next to the online mode.