Reviewed: Battlefield: Bad Company 2 – Onslaught (360)

Finally, we have a game that is something different to the Modern Warfare franchise in the form of Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

The differences between Modern Warfare 2 and Battlefield are vast with Battlefield opting for a more strategic approach to your shooter, providing glorious destructable playgrounds that are balanced in design.  The one problem with the game was that there were no co-op missions, something that Modern Warfare 2 has and something, I feel, that needed to be addressed.

So with the introduction of Onslaught, DICE has finally given the Battlefield officienado something a little extra to sink their teeth into.  Something that will help new players to the game become a little more familiar with the multiplayer layout before they go hurtling in to the world of highly skilled players that are willing to take your head off if you don’t work as a team.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is all about team play, in multiplayer and of course Onslaught.  The DLC is created from 4 maps from the multiplayer element and set over four different difficulties.  Best described as a cross between the Rush and Conquest gametypes with a hoarde model thrown into the mix, players are asked to choose their most effective class, work as a team to clear the area of enemy and take the flag base whilst holding off waves of enemies before moving onto the next base.  If one of your team dies then there is a certain period before a respawn and if your whole team dies then you have to start again.

The gameplay itself is frantic as enemies armed with rpg’s, assault rifles, sniper rifles and military hardware try to stop your progress.  To say that the whole thing is chaotic is an understatement.  You and your team mates will be pinned down more times than a MMA fighter as you work together to diffuse the situation giving you some breathing space to start getting their flag down and putting yours up, before the next wave of back ups come in to stop you achieving your goal.  The DLC also allows you to bring in your unlocked weapons from the multiplayer side of things but if you think that you are going to get ranked up by killing loads of AI then think again.  Although XP scores come up for kills etc, this will not be added to your overall stats.

There is no room for the merc here.  Any run and gun types will get stopped in their tracks pretty soon, putting more pressure on your team mates before you can join the action again.  Ammo boxes will need to be in constant supply as well as some RPG’s for taking out armoured vehicles, unless, of course, you have a vehicle yourself then it makes things a little easier.

Onslaught, I feel, is a big step in the right direction but there are a few concerns and these will unfortunately drop my score down somewhat.  The biggest concern for me was the fact that all the spawns points seem to be static.   There is no deviation from the first time you play it to the last.  The Left 4 Dead series encourages replay value by not having anything the same each time you play.  The beautiful AI director in this changes the environment, makes you walk different paths, spawns zombies in different places to make the game feel different every time you play.  Onslaught has the same spawns over and over again, so the more familiar you get with a particular map the more you know where everything will spawn.  This was a concern that I voiced to DICE and I feel that because of the timed run element to the DLC, they have kept it all static for a reason.  This is something that may go against it in time unless they start adding new maps to the gametype very quickly.

We have also had some bugs on the Isla Innocentes map where we got a constant respawn of enemies between two flags and half of our team could not register a bullet hit.  I am sure this will be addressed pretty soon but was a little annoying all the same.

Overall, Onslaught is forward thinking in its approach and great fun to play with a team.  It also makes for great competitions between friends and gets you thinking how you need to approach the multiplayer part of the game.  800 points is not a lot of money for what this is.  Some may feel cheated that it is four maps they have run 1,000 times before and no deviations to make it fresh.  For me, it is a seedling that will grow.  You are paying for the gametype and remember that DICE has already said that maps are free so any additions to this will not cost you.

If you own Bad Company 2 then you will need to make the purchase.  It is a must and I am sure that in time we will see this grow into something beautiful.