System Performance
The Battlefield franchise is known to be system
intensive. With an array of textures and models
mixed with a heavily coded engine, it is clearly
a bumpy road to reach smooth gameplay for the
majority of gamers. Previously, I had considered
myself one of the few lucky ones who were able
to run the game smoothly without a hassle. The
game requires the same system specs as Battlefield
2, however many have reported lower frame rates
with BF2: SF than with BF2. So I decided to put
it to the test. The system I was using goes as
follows:
• Pentium IV 3.0GHz (Northwood Core)
• 1GB Kingston V.R
• Sapphire ATI Radeon 9800PRO 128mb
Before, I was running Battlefield 2 on the default
‘High’ settings with AA disabled with
no problems whatsoever. When it came to BF2: SF,
this seemed to have randomly been a problem. On
several occasions, I had experienced slight system
lag. People have also reported slow downs after
activating/deactivating the night vision goggles.
Obviously these are small bugs that EA will be
working on in a future patch, and we’ll
just have to wait for them to be fixed.
Gameplay…What’s New?
First and foremost, BF2: SF offers 8 whole new
maps. Because of the high demand for infantry
fighting by fans, EA decided to deeply emphasize
on ground fighting. Yes that’s correct;
fighter jet bombers will no longer aggravate you
with their constant bombing runs.
Some maps will seem slightly familiar, being
inspired by popular Battlefield 2 maps including
Mashtur City and Strike at Karkland. However,
others have been inspired by totally different
concepts. For instance, one of my favorite maps
would be Iron Gator; a map in which MEC forces
will have to infiltrate a carrier protected by
Navy Seals. Be prepared for some of the most intense
combat you’ve ever experienced. Teamwork,
as usual, is essential for victory.
Other maps were clearly inspired by typical situations
meant to be dealt with by Special Forces. For
instance, one scenario has you capturing a cargo
plane in an airport in the middle of the night.
EA has also succeeded in delivering a plethora
of atmospheres when it comes to the maps made
available by using and playing with certain effects,
such as fog and sunlight. Basically, if you were
a fan of the infantry combat in Battlefield 2,
you won’t be upset.
6 new armed forces have been put at your disposal
this time around. EA seems to have done their
research as they were able to port some of the
most popular armies out there mixed with fictional
forces inspired by militant and insurgency groups
from today’s world. Included in the game
will be the British SAS, American Navy Seals,
MEC Special Forces, Insurgent Group, Rebels and
the famous Russian Spetsnaz. Although having all
these forces was an achievement by EA, I didn’t
quite feel much a difference while playing with
each army. Maybe this was because to keep the
game balanced, there really couldn’t be
a superior/inferior force. But at the end of the
day, there really isn’t much difference
playing as a seal or as an insurgent, aside from
different weapons of course. This is maybe the
biggest fault in the game. EA clearly used the
array of armies it offered to attract the public,
ironically though, it seems that little was done
to really make you feel the distinction from the
world’s super powers.
With new armies you can expect to see new weapons
and vehicles as well, weapons and vehicles that
not even Hollywood can imagine. For instance,
zip lines are truly creative devices. Ever dream
of being able to reach that building right in
front of you by using a simple cord? Just like
Sam Fisher! At first, I thought that this would
be a bit eerie to have such a feature in a massively
played online shooter. Surprisingly though, EA
was able to balance the use of zip lines quite
well, by making it only useable in areas where
you don’t run chances of constantly getting
killed or anything along those corners. Tear gas
and flash bangs are also new in the game. These
weapons are a bit annoying. Unlike in real life,
you can’t really tell when someone is about
to throw one in the game, so some might get quite
frustrated.
Another new feature is night vision goggles.
Nothing much to say here, they work well at night,
but this is clearly not something we haven’t
seen before in other games. Though there is one
unique aspect to this feature, your night vision
goggles have batteries that eventually run out.
Finally, the new vehicles and weapons make for
a nice treat. These are nothing fresh to the gaming
industry, but adapt well to each army they’re
designated to. For instance, the Insurgent group
will use Technicals to transport themselves, while
British SAS will use a more modern ATV look-alike.
Unfortunately, for aviation fans, there are only
two new air vehicles. More precisely; helicopters.
The AH-64 Apache and famous Mi-24 are now available.
Not much difference here between previous attack
helicopters in the game. All in all, the new additions
in BF2: SF are satisfactory, delivering more than
an average mod would.
Sound & Graphics
Because, theoretically, an expansion pack and
the original game are suppose to share the same
system requirements, it is rare that we see a
major difference when it comes to the sound and
graphics department.
Graphically, some might say that BF2: SF has
lost some of its touches. The mass amount of rendering
the environments require in the newly made maps,
make it that certain objects look less crisper
than they did in the original game. I also noticed
that when it came to certain new vehicles, it
seemed that less attention was made on small details.
It’s not a major problem, but certainly
does enforce certain speculation that the game
was slightly rushed out.
Audio wise, there isn’t much to brag about.
The radio chatter of the new armies was well recorded
and as usual, care was put into being able to
properly distinguish the sounds of different guns.
With a stronger emphasis on infantry combat, I
thought that EA might do something to try to raise
the popularity of using a microphone (which can
get very useful). Unfortunately though, like in
Battlefield 2, the mic feature has little to no
popularity.
Conclusion
BF2: SF delivers a worthy amount of features
that make it a moderate addition to the Battlefield
series. It’s sure to satisfy the majority
of fans of the franchise and also manages to show
how flexible the Battlefield engine can be. One
thing is for sure though; if you’re one
of those gamers who relies heavily on vehicles
you might get a bit bored of the game. Luckily,
EA is currently working on a Euro Nation booster
pack that will appeal to aviation freaks in the
near future.
| Game play |
18/20 |
| Graphics |
17/20 |
| Sound |
13/20 |
| Value |
17/20 |
| Preference |
16/20 |
| Overall |
81/100 |
