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This
download-only booster pack is worth sitting in a foxhole
for. by Cole
Smith
March
25, 2006 - Battlefield
2: Euro Force is not an expansion pack to Battlefield
2 but a booster pack that can only be purchased online.
It adds new content while retaining the same gameplay
formula without treading old ground.
New
maps, new vehicles and a new army, the Europeans,
have all been added. Compared to a regular expansion
pack, the new content is a little thin but this is
called a booster pack and it's sure to give Battlefield
II's gameplay a boost. At less than ten bucks it's
a lot cheaper than a night out at the movies, and
it will last a hell of a lot longer. Servers are already
incorporating these three new maps into the game which
means that if you don't have this booster pack to
act as an upgrade, you're going to have to find another
server that doesn't use the new maps. While this is
a great booster pack it doesn't set out to fix all
of the main game's glitches. You'll experience some
flaws, crashes, bugs and some new balance issues that
favor specific classes.
The
warring factions now include the U.S., China, the
Middle Eastern Coalition and the European Army. Out
of the three maps there is only one in which the Europeans
can take on the Chinese. This is the Great Wall map
which takes place in, on, and around the Great Wall
of China. The Wall itself figures prominently into
the game as it can be used as a barrier, vantage point
and even as a form or urban combat when troops take
to the interior of the walls. Troops can fight it
out on top of the walls without worry about what's
going on below. Inside the wall there are very few
exits and entrances which makes for perfect places
to plant mines.
Operation
Smoke Screen takes place in the burning oil fields.
The thick smoke obliterates sections of the map depending
on wind conditions. This map is relatively big and
really widens the scope of combat to include vehicles
such as tanks, jeeps and aircraft. The Taraba Quarry
is the most open of all maps but it takes place in
a large canyon which teams can exploit for tactical
advantages if they travel its perimeter. You can think
of this map as a desert map where armored vehicles
and aircraft rule. Infantry can still deal with armored
vehicles by using anti-armor weapons which are very
effective. Choppers can really turn the tide of battle
by targeting the spawn points and firing continually
at them. These attack helicopters are virtually impossible
to shoot down with a machinegun and the antitank missiles
are not available for use in this booster pack. Before
you can get the chopper to show any signs of damage
you'll be at the mercy of its cannons. This gives
the choppers an unfair advantage over the infantry.
I hope the developers patch the antiaircraft missiles
back in.
Jet
fighters are also virtually invulnerable. They can
make mincemeat out of tanks. The only way to stop
these hellions of the sky is to fight fire with fire.
Let your infantry deal with the enemy's armored division
on their own and send your pilots into dogfights with
the enemy aircraft. Not only will this help to preserve
some of your tanks but the aerial combat is cool to
watch.
The
Europeans bring new weapons to the game including
the Benelli M4, HK 21 light machine gun, FAMAS, P90
rifles and the Super 90 shotgun. New vehicles include
the Leopard 2A6 and Challenger 2 mini-battle tanks,
the Tiger HAP attack chopper and the Typhoon T1 fighter.
The weapons are a nice diversion and add some variety
but there's not one weapon that is superior to anything
found in the main game. Maybe you will prefer the
Super 90 shotgun for it's destructive capabilities,
but for my money, I want my hands wrapped around a
machinegun. I don't even care which model.
The
game suffers from occasional bugs such as automatically
being labeled as Private upon entering the game. Then
there's the red color-coded bug that display players
in red instead of blue. I also experienced a crash
in the second day of play. Talking to other players
they said that was common. And speaking of speaking
to other players, it's imperative that you team up
with players that use microphones to communicate with
each other instead of the keyboard. This game is fast-paced
and it's a lot more convenient to keep your trigger
finger on your firing mechanism than on the keyboard.
You also won't find a buddy list online. If you want
to keep track of your favorite players you're going
to have to access a different program which is a pain
in the butt since it should be standard issue in a
game such as this.
From
a production standpoint, the game is nearly flawless.
The environments are rich, the character models are
realistic and they display fluid animation. The weapons
are very easy to control and they really pack a sonic
punch.
Battlefield
is definitely one of the best action games in the
market. You can play it alone or with more than 60
other people online. It's intense and a lot of fun,
yet you don't have to slog though repeat missions
to level-up your character's attributes. There is
literally hundreds of hour of gameplay here. The fact
that many servers are now integrating these maps almost
forces you to have to purchase this upgrade especially
if you've found a favorite server and don't want to
switch. You can expect more of these booster packs
in the future in an attempt to get you to spend more
money. But if all of them provide this amount of content
for less than ten bucks, then it's money well spent.
Features:
- The
battle expands in this first booster pack to 2005's
hit game Battlefield 2™. Take the powerful
new Euro Force into action as you battle for control
of all-new Asian locations.
- The
all-new Euro Force Army, with a full arsenal of
the latest technology.
- 3
new maps, from battles in the Taraba Quarry and
Operation Smoke Screen to close-quarters mayhem
around the Great Wall of China.
- 4
new vehicles including the Leopard battle tank,
Eurofighter Typhoon, and Tiger attack chopper.
- 7
new weapons including FAMAS and P90 rifles.
By
Cole Smith
CCC
Senior Writer
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