Gamespy gives Battlefield 2 a perfect score

[if76]

Gamespy gives Battlefield 2 five out of five stars in a review (http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/battlefield-2/626911p1.html) written by someone whose constant use of the 1st person plural pronoun "we" probably means he never touched a public server.

While the steep technical requirements might be an issue for some, what ultimately matters is the game itself and how it plays, and Battlefield 2 sets a new high watermark for online play. Once you strap into an F/A-18 and rocket over the landscape, once you're crouched next to a tank trying valiantly to repair it while bullets ping off of the armor inches above your head, once you defend a waypoint and ask for new orders from your commander over the radio, all of those nitpicks about map balance or sniper power fade.
Someone at DICE needs to play a RTS and learn how to make a commander interface!

Editor: What's MEC's commander mode like? Orbital? Or fire signal?

[Kermit]

I'm sure it's a very objective review but I'll pass.
On other news: I noticed ASE added "support" for the bf2 demo You can refresh the server list etc. but when you try to join a server it says you can't use ASE to connect and starts up the demo where you just have to use the ingame serverlist, great.

[Liquidize105]

Making people follow orders is hard enough in a controled environment like natural selection's, now imagine BF2's open space.

It's worth mentioning that NS has been meticulously tweaked and balanced. BF2 doesn't need as much of that since its 2 sides are identical, nonetheless I'd say expect a halfway decent game with a lot of wrinkled edges.

As for me personally, the requirements for the game to run at a desirable resolution are too high. To put it simply: It's not worth it.

[Maskatron]

I'm all over this game, sorry naysayers. It's a good thing that I'm not even intrested in many games at the moment, because I feel like it's going to take the majority of my game time for awhile.

[Borys]

Demo rules. Best reason to upgrade your rig. 1 GB of RAM is really recommended. 512 is way below what I consider to be playable.

[CapnAJ]

Love the demo, runs smooth as butter on my year old rig. 1GB of RAM is a must though.

[Evil Avatar]

all of those nitpicks about map balance or sniper power fade.

Anyone who can say something like this never played the game. Map balance doesn't count? Sniper power doesn't count? What kind of a shithead would say something like that???

[genocidalrobot]

I really, really dislike reviews with perfect scores. this game is not fucking perfect. I'm not going to say anything else though - I preordered after playing the demo.

[Chagrinful]

I love how these morons give some things PERFECT scores and still list GLARING serious issues under the CONS it's like these fools don't know how to properly score a game or something :O *shock*...NOT REALLY, if a game has 5 stars is should have minor cons like: made me go poo poo, the buttons didn't work right, my nose is making red! Or something else that really has nothing to do with the game directly, 5 stars used to mean something in the days long gone, now sadly all it means is how much money a dev has sunk into the reviewer.

[Wyrm]

It certainly does not deserve a perfect rating, at least not yet.

There is sooooo much stuff wrong with it right now that needs fixing. Balancing, the net code, buggy ass interface, and all kinds of little stuff.

[Goronmon]

Well, if the 5 out of 5 relates to how fun a game is, I'd have to agree with them, since thats pretty much the only thing that matters when it comes down to it.

Though, the server selection screen is the work of the devil :mad:

[XxSATANxX]

I think they have trained enough of us with machines that could run Doom 3 and HL2 and fry cry that they don't need our biz. Thanks for the demo really! I have to pass.

[ÜberJumper]

It's far from perfect, but it's the most fun I've had gaming in a long while.

My list of bad:

- No way for the current squad leader to promote someone to replace him as squad leader.
- No command line interface to support IRC or other such methods of server connection. Gamespy needs to be shot for writing this into their contract. DICE/EA needs to have their head examined. Why do they provide a mediocre browser that costs them money to support and implement, when all they need to do is provide a command line interface.
- GLARINGLY obvious bugs. Including one in which friendly soldiers show up in red text (the client is losing track of who's on who's team).

Other than that, so far I love it!

[Klade]

Well when you consider that the horrible server list that is both buggy and crazy slow IS the work of gamespy I can understand why they would give the game a perfect score with only modest amounts of bribery.

[Bone]

The demo doesn't support command line because they didn't want people trying to send parameters to the game in the demo. This would prevent running mods, for one thing.

Someone earlier said the net code needed fixing, but running this demo on our own server, the 64 player BF2 demo runs smoother (network-wise) than 46 player Desert Combat.

[mindstrike]

Uber.. I hear you there on the mis-labeled player... Been slapped for TKing, and a WTF match starts...

And maybe its me, but 2 shots of the Anti-Tank weap on a APC in the rear.. should blow it up.... argh...

Still, I will be picking this one up.. and hope for the love of my right nut.. Dice supports this after the sale and fixes some things..

Heck, maybe the old Trauma guys will get together again, and make a Desert Combat 2.0.... ;P

[Kefkataran]

Anyone who can say something like this never played the game. Map balance doesn't count? Sniper power doesn't count? What kind of a shithead would say something like that???

Um... I think he was saying they end up not mattering as much as you'd think they would in light of how fun the game is. Because you're having fun, your initial concerns about these things end up not amunting to as much as you were initially concerned they would. I'm no fan of Gamespy or really Battlefield 2 either, but do we need to make with the shithead-calling really?

[netcraazzy]

- GLARINGLY obvious bugs. Including one in which friendly soldiers show up in red text (the client is losing track of who's on who's team).


I had that happen to my friend and I the other day. I got a TK before I noticed the guy with red text was on MY f'ing team. My friend actually got banned from the server for TKing because of it. Very aggravating.

[Malovech]

It is more than clear to me now that reviews are bought, maybe not directly but via advertising dollars. This game in no way deserves the ratings it's getting.

Points against this game:

it varies very little in gameplay than the original BF
it demands hardware requirements of a game twice it's visual quality
You float around instead of running and the gun physics and damage model are idiotic (unload a whole clip into someone to kill them? Come on!)
it still uses GamespyArcade, the worst server browser software in the history of online gaming.

Anyone who plays this game is a fool, you are being served up crap and liking it.

[bone4ahead]

It is more than clear to me now that reviews are bought, maybe not directly but via advertising dollars. This game in no way deserves the ratings it's getting.

Points against this game:

it varies very little in gameplay than the original BF
it demands hardware requirements of a game twice it's visual quality
You float around instead of running and the gun physics and damage model are idiotic (unload a whole clip into someone to kill them? Come on!)
it still uses GamespyArcade, the worst server browser software in the history of online gaming.

Anyone who plays this game is a fool, you are being served up crap and liking it.

You are an idiot. I think the game deserves a perfect score because its the most fun I've had playing a multiplayer game since... well.. BattleField 1942. Battlefield 1942 got mostly high 80's and low 90's scores because of the bugs, but all those pale in comparison to how much fun these games are. If you don't like it please go back to your PS2.
And I bet you have a Geforce 4 ;)

Yes, the gameply is similar to Battlefield 1942, but that's why I love it so much. I think the graphics are really awesome and they run smooth on setup on max detail. They're better than Half-life 2 IMHO. Its got dynamic shadows and lighting to boot. I have no idea what your talking about when you say "float around" and "unload a whole clip to kill them". It usually takes 4-6 shots to kill. And remember, use your Counter-Strike skills! Aim for the head. Unfortunetly I must agree, Gamespy Arcade sucks. :(

[Kefkataran]

I think the game deserves a perfect score because its the most fun I've had playing a multiplayer game since... well.. BattleField 1942.

Except that's not what reviewing games is really about. I mean to be a truly good reviewer of anything, you're not just reviewing how much fun you had or how much you personally liked it -- you're taking a strong look at technical aspects. As in, how well was the game truly designed. If there's really all sorts of glaring bugs like people are talking about, that's going to take away from the score ina good review.

[if76]

Ok two things: first off I'm running on a 1.7ghz machine with 512MB of memory with a Radeon 9800 (not at all top of the line). When I started the game it defaulted to 800x600 with all the settings on low except the draw distance so I tried it out and the game ran smooth as butter.

It was completely playable in every way and the smooth animations made up for the low detail. I don't know what everyone's complaining about.

As for the game being perfect I'm wondering who hear has tried to play as the commander.

[Skookum]

it varies very little in gameplay than the original BF


Feels a lot different to me. Sprinting. No more running alongside a vehicle while it's going at max speed. HUD in aircraft. Much greater variation in vehicle weapons and infantry weapons.


it demands hardware requirements of a game twice it's visual quality

They're steep, granted, but the visuals here are certainly a lot more detailed than in BFV. You can actually hide in the shadows in BF2. And hiding in foliage is much more effective.


You float around instead of running and the gun physics and damage model are idiotic (unload a whole clip into someone to kill them? Come on!)
The physics are certainly better than BFV or BF1942. No more damage from running downstairs and I have yet to become stuck running over a curb. But I totally agee about the weapons damage. A full clip from a rifle to subdue an enemy is ridiculous.

As for your last points, I've never used Gamespy's browser, but the in-game browser does crash and is slow and awkward. Overall, I still think it's a huge improvement over BFV/BF1942. The Squad function alone is worth trying out with some friends.

[TRiLoGY]

A full clip from a rifle to subdue an enemy is ridiculous.

Yeah, I found this too.. I even Sniped someone in the head twice and they didnt die..

[netcraazzy]

Just got done reading the review. Honestly I think you guys put way too much emphasis on the final number. It was a competent review and he did a good job of pointing out what makes the game fun as well as some of the downsides. I read the review for the review, not for the stupid number at the end. I really wish that review sites would just post a review and not even bother with some numeric score. A review is an opinion, it's the reviewers opinion on how good he/she though the game was. It disturbs me when people start flipping out, implying that somebody has been bought out, simply because a reviewer's OPINION of the game happens to be different than their own.

[Ernst_Jager]

I love being Spawn camped by a few tanks or Helicopters.

[Mrbunchypants]

anyone have pics of the commander screen?

[kathode]

Five out of five stars is not a perfect game, in the same way that five out of five stars for a movie doesn't make that the world's best movie. I don't see why people are so up in arms over it. Are you saying no game should ever be higher than 4.5 stars? Weak.

[morose]

Agreed kathode. And I think people need to stop with the "it's just BF1942 all over again!" crap. Sure, the game is evolutionary instead of revolutionary. So what? The additions of the squads and commander, plus the new vehicles and infantry stuff are excellent. I loved BF1942, and this is like BF1942++. What's the downside to that? Unless you didn't like BF1942 in the first place. Which is fine, it's an opinion, but I don't think they set out to make a game that would alienate the folks who really liked the first one just to find more market in people who didn't.

[Aries7777]

Who cares what they say, they are not god and a perfect rewview is not the end of the world. Play the game for yourself and make up your own mind.

[GoblinToe]

Demo was a snoozefest. I passed on purchasing it because it's More Of The Same.

It would have been nice if they added some more RTS features like base and fortification building a la Natural Selection. The whole time I was playing the demo I kept thinking, "The old HL mod Firearms makes this brand new game play like absolutely shit."

At least in Firearms you could design your character with whatever kit you could dream up, it had artillery, and you gained promotions that actually meant something while you played (you could improve your kit), it had medic resuscitation (via a cool helicopter pickup that blew away the BF2 paddle crap), etc. All of this like FIVE YEARS AGO. Ok, Firearms didn't have the vehicles, but the vehicles don't really add much gameplay, IMHO. So what's new here for 5 years time? Not a whole hell of a lot.

I'll save my money, thanks.

[fndarkone]

the commander screen does suck. i tried it a couple of times, got confused and got mutany votes against me. the votes never pass out of apathy, heh. i should probably read a tutorial on how to use that freaking screen before i try it again.

[Shifteh]

Wow, who bought these guys out? There are so many issues: UI is terrible, connections drop constantly, the game, for being a RAM hog, isn't particularly pretty, and computers that can run it just barely are often capable of running HL2 and Doom 3 at full blast.

I'd give it a 7 out of 10, maybe.

[Wyrm]

The thing I'm worried about mainly is online play for several reasons.

1) If you arent playing with people you know, even if the other players are good, it's going to be disorganized and pointless. Voice chat helps, as does the command chair, but most servers will just have people bitching about who could be better, or how the current commander sucks so hard.
2) There's a good chance hardly anyone will even listen to the commander, which is also good.
3) People will request over and over and over the UAV, which will get annoying in about 5 minutes. It's already annoying and I've only played the demo.

The thing is, even with all those problems, the game is still incredibly fun to play. I played with some guys at a LAN (which helps deter the buggy ass net code),and it was a freakin blast. Definitely worth playing if you've got a group of guys you know to play it with.

[Phades]

Five out of five stars is not a perfect game, in the same way that five out of five stars for a movie doesn't make that the world's best movie. I don't see why people are so up in arms over it. Are you saying no game should ever be higher than 4.5 stars? Weak.

THANK YOU!!!!! Finally someone who understands that a star system is different than a ten point system like IGN or Gamespots. This type of system treats a game review more like a movie review which makes much more sense to me. No game is perfect, so equating this top score with the reviewer saying the game is perfect is stupid. There's always room for improvement. This is why I think that Gamespy has the best rating system of the major sites.

Based purely off the demo, I think this is right on. I'd absolutely consider this a top-tier game (the only thing that 5-stars means). I love the game already and I haven't even played the full version yet. Since I know it will only get better with more maps,options, and bug fixes, that bodes well.

[ÜberJumper]

Oh, one other biggie that's bugging me because I'm not sure if it's implemented or not.

The "radio" network is *almost* perfect... with one major problem... the command push. The problem is that squad leaders can talk up net to the commander, and the commander can talk down net to the squad leaders, but there's no cross talk between squad leaders on the command push. IMO, Dice/EA REALLY needs to fix this.

It's a major problem when it comes to coordinating attacks with team-mates... our group is already running nearly two full squads at a time, and without an adequate commander who can relay messages quickly between squads (which involves a lot of uneccesary repetition). I want to stick to EA/Dice's built in voice comms, as it's really easy to use, and it makes sense, except for the lack of a commanders circuit.

As for commander screen, it's the same for US and MEC as far as I can tell. It seems pretty good to me, but someone mentioned there's a 3d mode to it??? Commander's should practice in single player first before going online and trying to lead their forces to glory.

[Phades]

Oh, one other biggie that's bugging me because I'm not sure if it's implemented or not.

The "radio" network is *almost* perfect... with one major problem... the command push. The problem is that squad leaders can talk up net to the commander, and the commander can talk down net to the squad leaders, but there's no cross talk between squad leaders on the command push. IMO, Dice/EA REALLY needs to fix this.

It's a major problem when it comes to coordinating attacks with team-mates... our group is already running nearly two full squads at a time, and without an adequate commander who can relay messages quickly between squads (which involves a lot of uneccesary repetition). I want to stick to EA/Dice's built in voice comms, as it's really easy to use, and it makes sense, except for the lack of a commanders circuit.

As for commander screen, it's the same for US and MEC as far as I can tell. It seems pretty good to me, but someone mentioned there's a 3d mode to it??? Commander's should practice in single player first before going online and trying to lead their forces to glory.


I completely agree with your comments about the voice chat. I thought that should be in there too. Squad leaderss should be a member of the same voice channel. This would help a lot with coordination. There's definitely improvement to be made with the command structure they've put in but it's still a pretty good start.

The 3d view is seen if you zoom in far enough.

[if76]

The biggest problem I've been having when commander is over half the team not joining squads. There should be a way to give orders to people who aren't in squads.

[snubber]

squad leaders can't talk to other squad leaders? lame.

[51|RandoM]

Game is a lot of fun.

It doesn't take a full clip to kill somebody. It might take YOU a full clip to put 2-3 rounds on target, but that is your problem, not the game's problem. I usually play the assault guy, it only take a 3 round burst to put anybody down...if you put all 3 bullets on the target.

Any time I've gotten a headshot with any of the sniper rifles, the guy has gone down in 1 hit.

Oh, and 2 at rounds in the back of an APC will set it on fire, leading shortly to it exploding. If it didn't blow up, somebody was repairing it at the same time, either by hand, or with a box of supplies.

Tanks, on the other hand, seem almost impossible to take down with just the AT weapon. Two rounds for an APC, think tank is 4, maybe 5. I don't even waste AT rounds on them, just switch over to special forces and stick c4 on it to blow him up. You can also switch to engineer and put at mines around him and make him move.

[chechenepiphany]

One of the things I love to do is put 4 or 5 c4 packs on the hood of a hummer and drive it up to a tank. Then you hop out, run 5 feet, go prone and blow it. So fun.

[Phades]

One of the things I love to do is put 4 or 5 c4 packs on the hood of a hummer and drive it up to a tank. Then you hop out, run 5 feet, go prone and blow it. So fun.

I love doing that too. It's very satisfying because you just know that tank driver thinks that he's got you and you're screwed. Then, death. Makes me smile every time I'm running off and I see that smoking wreck I've left.