Battlefield: Bad Company
Encyclopedia
Battlefield: Bad Company is a first-person shooter
developed by EA DICE for PlayStation 3
and Xbox 360
. It was released in North America on June 23 2008, followed by a European release on June 26. The game was hinted at just before the release of Battlefield 2
, and then announced sixteen months later. A sequel, Battlefield: Bad Company 2
was released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows on March 2, 2010.
Bad Company puts the player in a fictional war between the United States of America
and the Russian Federation
, where players will lead a squad of soldiers fighting Russians, MEC (Middle East Coalition) troops and Legionnaire mercenaries
.
The game applies some new features to the franchise, including an environment that can be almost destroyed (besides the very basic supports of buildings and certain metallic structures like antennae), and a single-player storyline. The single-player campaign and some multiplayer maps take place in Europe, in the fictional Eastern European country of Serdaristan, and an unnamed fictional Middle Eastern country of the MEC in a city called Sadiz, which is located somewhere on the Caspian Sea
.
. It follows a four man squad from "B" Company of the 222nd Army battalion
, more commonly known as "Bad Company", composed of troublemakers whose use in the battlefield is limited to the role of cannon fodder
. Private Preston Smith is the game's protagonist and the average soldier. Private Terrence Sweetwater, the more intelligent but nervous soldier serves as a foil
to Private George Gordon Haggard, Jr., also known as Haggard, a pyromania
c and the comic relief of the story. Sergeant Samuel D. Redford is the leader of the squad. He is the first ever to volunteer for his position, in exchange for shortening his term of service and has only three days left to serve.
bars. Transported to a dock farther away from the US Army, they spot more Legionnaires loading a supply truck with gold. The truck ends up driving past the border into nearby Serdaristan, a neutral state
in the conflict. Haggard, however, excitedly runs after the trucks for gold, single-handedly invading a neutral country.
The squad pursues Haggard to stop him from causing further damage. When they get a hold of him, mission coordinator Mike-One-Juliet calls Redford, stating that he would be subject to a court martial for Haggard's offense, as well as raising his service time. Seeing as they have no other choice but to run, Redford suggests that they pursue the gold even further to a harbour and a ship that is loaded with gold. The group fight their way there only to get caught by U.S. forces. A deal is made that the squad will have their charges dropped if they investigate Serdaristan, since the squad is officially AWOL, removing U.S. liability. The squad's orders are to capture the eccentric dictator of Serdaristan, Zavomir Serdar. Soon Serdaristan is considered at war after shooting down the squad's UH-60 Black Hawk transport helicopter, and the group advance to the dictator's palace by way of his personal golf course, where he tells them that the Legionnaires had invaded in order to pay for his bill. As they attempt to escape, they are informed that the U.S. Army is severing all ties with them and that they must find a way out on their own. The squad escapes with Serdar on his golden Mil Mi-24
helicopter, pursued by the Legionnaires.
Serdar reluctantly directs them to Serdaristan's military nexus, where the helicopter is used to destroy an oil refinery and the country's internet service station. After a long flight, the helicopter is shot down by a black Ka-52 helicopter in Russia. Preston wakes up alone and, with help from Mike-One-Juliet, is reunited with his squad at a monastery. Serdar, however, was captured and the squad saves him from execution by the Legionnaires. Escaping in a boat, they leave Serdar on a small, isolated island as the exile he was seeking and arrive in Sadiz, a city under construction somewhere on the Caspian Sea
. On the beach, the squad spots the ship they saw earlier in Serdaristan. Advancing past resistance, they learn that the U.S. Army is also mounting an offensive there and fear competition for the gold. They then make a deal to share some of the gold with Mike-One-Juliet in exchange for mission support.
After slowing down the U.S. Army's offensive by blowing up two bridges, the squad reaches a gold-filled garage but is attacked by the Legionnaire leader in his personal Ka-52, the same helicopter from before. Preston manages to shoot down The Legionnaire and the squad returns to the gold, only to find the U.S. Army loading it into supply trucks. Presuming defeat, they are spotted by the commanding officer. Preston convinces him that they are army operatives and the officer orders them to take a truck and join the convoy. The squad happily obliges, and soon leave the convoy with their gold filled truck. Meanwhile at the Ka-52 crash site, The Legionnaire rises from the burning wreckage with a vengeful expression, seemingly unhurt.
The Conquest game mode returned to Bad Company due to overwhelming requests from players during the beta testing. Conquest was the prevalent game-mode in many of the preceding Battlefield games, and involves reducing the opponents' "ticket" meter by scoring kills and capturing strategically placed flags. This mode was available as a free download post-launch, the release date was August 7, 2008. The Conquest pack included modified versions of the Ascension, End of the Line, Oasis and Harvest Day maps.
A new map pack featuring more conquest maps, and trophies for both offline and online play on the PlayStation 3 version, was released on October 30, 2008, and the Xbox 360 version releasing on October 31, 2008. The maps included 4 modified singleplayer maps such as Acta non Verba, Ghost Town, Par for the Course, and Crossing Over.
(corporal, sergeant, Colonel
etc.).
Unlock credits may be obtained by ranking up and then the aforementioned credits may be used to unlock weapons. However, the weapons included with the Find All Five program may not be unlocked using these credits. Unlock credits are not granted with every rank. A particular selection of five weapons may be unlocked only by ranking up to Rank 25 or by purchasing the Gold Edition.
, the number of soldier classes is small compared to previous games in the series, resulting in a combination of the classic soldier classes. The classes in this game are:
Each class wields a main weapon of choice (maximum of five optional guns per class), three secondary weapons/gadgets, and a knife for quick kills. With a knife one can rank up faster than with any other weapon, since one receives both the standard points for a kill as well as the slain player's dog tags (which grant a hefty point bonus, depending on their level).
s, armored cars, attack helicopters, patrol boats, mobile anti-aircraft weapon system. Unlike some previous versions in the Battlefield series, fixed-wing aircraft
such as fighter jets and bomber planes are not available in this game.
automatic shotgun, M60
general purpose machine gun, QBU-88
sniper rifle and silenced Uzi sub-machine gun.
The five events from EA's website instruct the users to participate in the Battlefield Veteran's program, check the player's stats online after playing the game, register for the BF newsletter, pre-order the game through participating stores, and get to rank 4 in the demo.
Upon learning about this system, many players were angered as it meant that a potential in-game advantage would be given to players willing to pay extra money for pre-orders, or share their personal information when signing up for the newsletter.
On September 11, 2008, Battlefield: Bad Companys website revealed that three of the Find All Five codes would be released due to lack of availability. These three guns were the QBU-88 Sniper Rifle, M60 Light Machine Gun and the Silenced Mini Uzi Sub-Machine Gun. The USAS12 Full-Automatic Shotgun code was leaked later. The F2000 Assault Rifle is being withheld as an exclusive weapon for veterans of the series.
The weapon unlock codes can be found at badcompany.ea.com.
score of 83% for the Xbox 360 version and 84% for the PlayStation 3. A large portion of praise went to the game's realistically destructible environments, impressive weapons, variety of gameplay and vehicles, and its "extraordinary" multiplayer gameplay. Criticism was mainly on a sluggish opening and graphics.
IGN noted several flaws in the game, but still gave the game a very positive score of 8.6. Giant Bomb
gave it a 5/5 saying, "It looks great, has fun characters, a load of interesting weaponry, and works nicely whether you’re playing alone or with a squad."
Official PlayStation Magazine gave 90 score noting "It's not the best-looking game, it's clunky in its controls, but it delivers where it counts with a fun experience that will keep you entertained through to its conclusion". Gamespot
praised the game with a score of 8.5 "Great" noting "Battlefield Bad Company is the most fun, addictive shooter released so far this year". 1UP criticized the game's poor AI with an average score "75" saying "With a thumping sound and sudden cloud of dust, grenades erase whole sections of houses. Bullets, however, stop dead in the thinnest wood slat. But what Bad Company needs isn't a trip to a real-life firing range -- it's its inflexible A.I. that requires the lessons".
and the song "Mad World
" called "Bad World" and the third parodied Rainbow Six
called "Rainbow Sprinkles".
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
developed by EA DICE for PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. It was released in North America on June 23 2008, followed by a European release on June 26. The game was hinted at just before the release of Battlefield 2
Battlefield 2
Battlefield 2 is a computer game by the Swedish developer Digital Illusions CE . During development, Trauma Studios contributed to the development of the game after it was acquired by DICE...
, and then announced sixteen months later. A sequel, Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by the Swedish firm EA Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, iOS and Mac OS X systems. It is a direct sequel to Battlefield: Bad Company and is part of the...
was released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows on March 2, 2010.
Bad Company puts the player in a fictional war between the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the Russian Federation
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, where players will lead a squad of soldiers fighting Russians, MEC (Middle East Coalition) troops and Legionnaire mercenaries
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
.
The game applies some new features to the franchise, including an environment that can be almost destroyed (besides the very basic supports of buildings and certain metallic structures like antennae), and a single-player storyline. The single-player campaign and some multiplayer maps take place in Europe, in the fictional Eastern European country of Serdaristan, and an unnamed fictional Middle Eastern country of the MEC in a city called Sadiz, which is located somewhere on the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
.
Gameplay
In the game, players can hold one primary weapon which each has its own secondary, along with a combat knife, grenades and other picked up explosives and devices. Players start with 100 health, which is reduced by damage. Wounded players heal by using the LIFE-2 auto-injector. The environment is almost entirely destructible, but bullets cannot go through most walls. The ammunition system uses a bullet calculator, shown on the HUD, and players can endlessly repair vehicles with power tools unless they are completely destroyed. Airstrikes and Mortar Strikes can also be utilized.Setting
The game is set in a near future war between the Russian Federation and the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It follows a four man squad from "B" Company of the 222nd Army battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
, more commonly known as "Bad Company", composed of troublemakers whose use in the battlefield is limited to the role of cannon fodder
Cannon fodder
Cannon fodder is an informal, derogatory term for military personnel who are regarded or treated as expendable in the face of enemy fire. The term is generally used in situations where soldiers are forced to deliberately fight against hopeless odds in an effort to achieve a strategic goal...
. Private Preston Smith is the game's protagonist and the average soldier. Private Terrence Sweetwater, the more intelligent but nervous soldier serves as a foil
Foil (literature)
In fiction, a foil is a character who contrasts with another character in order to highlight particular qualities of another character....
to Private George Gordon Haggard, Jr., also known as Haggard, a pyromania
Pyromania
Pyromania in more extreme circumstances can be an impulse control disorder to deliberately start fires to relieve tension or for gratification or relief. The term pyromania comes from the Greek word πῦρ . Pyromania and pyromaniacs are distinct from arson, the pursuit of personal, monetary or...
c and the comic relief of the story. Sergeant Samuel D. Redford is the leader of the squad. He is the first ever to volunteer for his position, in exchange for shortening his term of service and has only three days left to serve.
Story
Preston Marlowe is transferred to Bad Company and embarks on his first mission with his new squad. They begin by seizing Russian artillery positions and turning the guns on advancing enemy armor. Proceeding to knock out several anti-air batteries, clearing the way for advancing armor and taking control of the city of Zabograd, the group stumble upon a Legionnaire encampment; mercenaries whose leader is The Legionnaire, a ruthless commander. The Legionnaires are possibly the deadliest army in the world, according to Sweetwater, who also mentions how each is paid in solid goldGold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
bars. Transported to a dock farther away from the US Army, they spot more Legionnaires loading a supply truck with gold. The truck ends up driving past the border into nearby Serdaristan, a neutral state
Neutral country
A neutral power in a particular war is a sovereign state which declares itself to be neutral towards the belligerents. A non-belligerent state does not need to be neutral. The rights and duties of a neutral power are defined in Sections 5 and 13 of the Hague Convention of 1907...
in the conflict. Haggard, however, excitedly runs after the trucks for gold, single-handedly invading a neutral country.
The squad pursues Haggard to stop him from causing further damage. When they get a hold of him, mission coordinator Mike-One-Juliet calls Redford, stating that he would be subject to a court martial for Haggard's offense, as well as raising his service time. Seeing as they have no other choice but to run, Redford suggests that they pursue the gold even further to a harbour and a ship that is loaded with gold. The group fight their way there only to get caught by U.S. forces. A deal is made that the squad will have their charges dropped if they investigate Serdaristan, since the squad is officially AWOL, removing U.S. liability. The squad's orders are to capture the eccentric dictator of Serdaristan, Zavomir Serdar. Soon Serdaristan is considered at war after shooting down the squad's UH-60 Black Hawk transport helicopter, and the group advance to the dictator's palace by way of his personal golf course, where he tells them that the Legionnaires had invaded in order to pay for his bill. As they attempt to escape, they are informed that the U.S. Army is severing all ties with them and that they must find a way out on their own. The squad escapes with Serdar on his golden Mil Mi-24
Mil Mi-24
The Mil Mi-24 is a large helicopter gunship and attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for 8 passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and operated since 1972 by the Soviet Air Force, its successors, and by over thirty other nations.In NATO circles the export...
helicopter, pursued by the Legionnaires.
Serdar reluctantly directs them to Serdaristan's military nexus, where the helicopter is used to destroy an oil refinery and the country's internet service station. After a long flight, the helicopter is shot down by a black Ka-52 helicopter in Russia. Preston wakes up alone and, with help from Mike-One-Juliet, is reunited with his squad at a monastery. Serdar, however, was captured and the squad saves him from execution by the Legionnaires. Escaping in a boat, they leave Serdar on a small, isolated island as the exile he was seeking and arrive in Sadiz, a city under construction somewhere on the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
. On the beach, the squad spots the ship they saw earlier in Serdaristan. Advancing past resistance, they learn that the U.S. Army is also mounting an offensive there and fear competition for the gold. They then make a deal to share some of the gold with Mike-One-Juliet in exchange for mission support.
After slowing down the U.S. Army's offensive by blowing up two bridges, the squad reaches a gold-filled garage but is attacked by the Legionnaire leader in his personal Ka-52, the same helicopter from before. Preston manages to shoot down The Legionnaire and the squad returns to the gold, only to find the U.S. Army loading it into supply trucks. Presuming defeat, they are spotted by the commanding officer. Preston convinces him that they are army operatives and the officer orders them to take a truck and join the convoy. The squad happily obliges, and soon leave the convoy with their gold filled truck. Meanwhile at the Ka-52 crash site, The Legionnaire rises from the burning wreckage with a vengeful expression, seemingly unhurt.
Characters
- Private Preston Marlowe: The protagonist of the game. Marlowe was put in Bad Company for damaging a General's limousine while joyriding in a helicopter.
- Private Terrence Sweetwater: Put in B-Company for uploading a virus on a military secured network. He is a generally intelligent soldier with a dry sense of humor who also loves to talk a lot.
- Private George Gordon Haggard, Jr: Haggard often provides comic relief and is a pyromanic. Haggard was put in B-Company for blowing up "the biggest ammo dump east of ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
". It is mentioned in the Gold Edition manual under Haggard's profile that he blew up the officer's latrineLatrineA latrine is a communal facility containing one or more commonly many toilets which may be simple pit toilets or in the case of the United States Armed Forces any toilet including modern flush toilets...
with a claymore mine. - Sergeant Clarence D. Redford: The leader of the squad. He is the first to volunteer for his position, despite the company's high mortality rate. In exchange, the Army would shorten his term of service. Redford shows his love of fishingFishingFishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, and at the start of the game has only three days left until the end of his service. - Mike-One-Juliet: The squad's commander, she tells the player what to do in the beginning missions, and helps the squad obtain the gold once they go AWOL.
- Zavimir Serdar: Dictator of the fictional state of Serdaristan, he is captured by the squad and he subsequently loans them his golden Mi-24 to help them find the gold and to escape his palace which was under invasion from the Legionnaire Mercenaries.
- The Legionnaire: Leader of the Legionnaire mercenaries, he is the main antagonist of the game. He makes few appearances, and his last appearance is at the end of the final mission where the player must shoot him down in his Ka-52 helicopter. It is revealed at the end of the game that he survives the crash, relatively unharmed, and uses a vengeful glare as he gets up.
Multiplayer
Multiplayer supports up to 24 players. Gold Rush was the only multiplayer mode included in the initial release of Battlefield: Bad Company. The setup of the game is an Attackers vs. Defenders scenario. The eight initial maps are Harvest Day, Over and Out, End of the Line, Ascension, Valley Run, Deconstruction, Oasis, and Final Ignition, each with destructible environments, certain atmospheres, and vehicles. One team must defend two crates filled with gold while the other team attempts to destroy the crates. Once the crates are destroyed, more of the map is available to fight on with new crates appearing, along with added reinforcement numbers. The attacking team has a limited amount of respawns to achieve their goal of capturing the 3-5 gold stashes either by setting charges or simply destroying the 2 crates of gold at each base. The defending team has an unlimited amount of respawns available, but their goal is to exhaust the attacking teams respawns.The Conquest game mode returned to Bad Company due to overwhelming requests from players during the beta testing. Conquest was the prevalent game-mode in many of the preceding Battlefield games, and involves reducing the opponents' "ticket" meter by scoring kills and capturing strategically placed flags. This mode was available as a free download post-launch, the release date was August 7, 2008. The Conquest pack included modified versions of the Ascension, End of the Line, Oasis and Harvest Day maps.
A new map pack featuring more conquest maps, and trophies for both offline and online play on the PlayStation 3 version, was released on October 30, 2008, and the Xbox 360 version releasing on October 31, 2008. The maps included 4 modified singleplayer maps such as Acta non Verba, Ghost Town, Par for the Course, and Crossing Over.
Ranks
The game has 25 ranks, each from the U.S. ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
(corporal, sergeant, Colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
etc.).
Unlock credits may be obtained by ranking up and then the aforementioned credits may be used to unlock weapons. However, the weapons included with the Find All Five program may not be unlocked using these credits. Unlock credits are not granted with every rank. A particular selection of five weapons may be unlocked only by ranking up to Rank 25 or by purchasing the Gold Edition.
Awards
Players can earn different types of awards. Trophies are awarded for multiple kills in a certain class, kills to defend an objective and for other team-related actions. These can be awarded to the player multiple times during the game. Patches can be earned for gaining certain trophies and then completing certain criteria in an online match. Patches can only be awarded once to a player. Wildcards are awarded once to a player for a combination of many different criteria. These are harder than trophies and patches to unlock. In addition to these in-game awards, the game is compatible with achievements for the Xbox 360 and trophies for the PlayStation 3.Classes
In a move similar to Battlefield 2142Battlefield 2142
Battlefield 2142 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Digital Illusions CE and produced by Electronic Arts . It is the fourth game in the Battlefield series...
, the number of soldier classes is small compared to previous games in the series, resulting in a combination of the classic soldier classes. The classes in this game are:
- Assault, an all-around good soldier class, armed with an assault rifleAssault rifleAn assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies...
and the ability to heal himself - Demolition, an anti-vehicle soldier equipped with a shotgunShotgunA shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
, a rocket launcherRocket launcherA rocket launcher is any device that launches a rocket-propelled projectile, although the term is often used in reference to mechanisms that are portable and capable of being operated by an individual....
, and anti-vehicle land mines - Recon, a long range class with a sniper rifleSniper rifleIn military and law enforcement terminology, a sniper rifle is a precision-rifle used to ensure more accurate placement of bullets at longer ranges than other small arms. A typical sniper rifle is built for optimal levels of accuracy, fitted with a telescopic sight and chambered for a military...
and a motion sensor-guided smart bombSmart bombSmart bomb has several meanings:* In weapons, a smart bomb is a precision-guided munition* Smart Bomb Interactive, a video game development studio based in Salt Lake City, Utah... - Specialist, a close-range class with a supressed submachine gunSubmachine gunA submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...
and C4C-4 (explosive)C4 or Composition C4 is a common variety of the plastic explosive known as Composition C.-Composition and manufacture:C4 is made up of explosives, plastic binder, plasticizer and usually marker or odorizing taggant chemicals such as 2,3-dimethyl-2,3-dinitrobutane to help detect the explosive and...
for destroying tanks - Support, an anti-personnel class with a light machine gunLight machine gunA light machine gun is a machine gun designed to be employed by an individual soldier, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. Light machine guns are often used as squad automatic weapons.-Characteristics:...
, large ammo capacity and healing equipment for soldiers and vehicles
Each class wields a main weapon of choice (maximum of five optional guns per class), three secondary weapons/gadgets, and a knife for quick kills. With a knife one can rank up faster than with any other weapon, since one receives both the standard points for a kill as well as the slain player's dog tags (which grant a hefty point bonus, depending on their level).
Features
Destructible environments
The Frostbite game engine allows 90% of the environment to be destroyed, including buildings, vegetation (including trees, grass, and bushes), vehicles, other players and the ground itself. For gameplay purposes, the frames of some buildings and objects remain indestructible to prevent total destruction of key points and to prevent the map from being completely flat. Additionally, the game features dynamic lighting to correlate with the changing environment.Vehicles
Battlefield: Bad Company has an assortment of military vehicles from each of the game's three factions that can be used by the player. Tanks, infantry fighting vehicleInfantry fighting vehicle
An infantry fighting vehicle , also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle , is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide fire support for them...
s, armored cars, attack helicopters, patrol boats, mobile anti-aircraft weapon system. Unlike some previous versions in the Battlefield series, fixed-wing aircraft
Fixed-wing aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
such as fighter jets and bomber planes are not available in this game.
FAF (Find All Five)
Find All Five is a way for players to unlock specific weapons. The game's official website includes promotional events that give the player codes for unlockable weapons. These "Find All Five" weapons include the F2000 Belgian assault rifle, USAS-12USAS-12
The Daewoo Precision Industries USAS-12 is an automatic shotgun designed as a combat shotgun manufactured in South Korea by Daewoo Precision Industries during the 1980s.- Design :...
automatic shotgun, M60
M60 machine gun
The M60 is a family of American general-purpose machine guns firing 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges from a disintegrating belt of M13 links...
general purpose machine gun, QBU-88
QBU-88
The QBU-88 sniper rifle is a designated marksman/sniper rifle deployed by the Chinese People's Liberation Army.- History :The QBU-88 rifle was the first weapon of the newest generation of Chinese small arms, chambered for proprietary 5.8 x 42 mm ammunition...
sniper rifle and silenced Uzi sub-machine gun.
The five events from EA's website instruct the users to participate in the Battlefield Veteran's program, check the player's stats online after playing the game, register for the BF newsletter, pre-order the game through participating stores, and get to rank 4 in the demo.
Upon learning about this system, many players were angered as it meant that a potential in-game advantage would be given to players willing to pay extra money for pre-orders, or share their personal information when signing up for the newsletter.
On September 11, 2008, Battlefield: Bad Companys website revealed that three of the Find All Five codes would be released due to lack of availability. These three guns were the QBU-88 Sniper Rifle, M60 Light Machine Gun and the Silenced Mini Uzi Sub-Machine Gun. The USAS12 Full-Automatic Shotgun code was leaked later. The F2000 Assault Rifle is being withheld as an exclusive weapon for veterans of the series.
The weapon unlock codes can be found at badcompany.ea.com.
Reception
Battlefield: Bad Company received positive reviews. Professional reviews for the game have been very positive, with an average Game RankingsGame Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
score of 83% for the Xbox 360 version and 84% for the PlayStation 3. A large portion of praise went to the game's realistically destructible environments, impressive weapons, variety of gameplay and vehicles, and its "extraordinary" multiplayer gameplay. Criticism was mainly on a sluggish opening and graphics.
IGN noted several flaws in the game, but still gave the game a very positive score of 8.6. Giant Bomb
Giant Bomb
Giant Bomb is an American video game website and wiki that includes gaming news, reviews, commentary, and video, created by former GameSpot editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis in collaboration with Whiskey Media...
gave it a 5/5 saying, "It looks great, has fun characters, a load of interesting weaponry, and works nicely whether you’re playing alone or with a squad."
Official PlayStation Magazine gave 90 score noting "It's not the best-looking game, it's clunky in its controls, but it delivers where it counts with a fun experience that will keep you entertained through to its conclusion". Gamespot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
praised the game with a score of 8.5 "Great" noting "Battlefield Bad Company is the most fun, addictive shooter released so far this year". 1UP criticized the game's poor AI with an average score "75" saying "With a thumping sound and sudden cloud of dust, grenades erase whole sections of houses. Bullets, however, stop dead in the thinnest wood slat. But what Bad Company needs isn't a trip to a real-life firing range -- it's its inflexible A.I. that requires the lessons".
Parody trailers
Three trailers were released for Bad Company, each parodying popular video game series. The first trailer parodied Metal Gear Solid called "Snake Eyes", the second parodied Gears of WarGears of War
Gears of War is a military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios...
and the song "Mad World
Mad World
"Mad World" is a song by the British band Tears for Fears. Written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist Curt Smith, it was the band's third single release and first chart hit, reaching #3 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1982. Both "Mad World" and its B-side, "Ideas As Opiates", would turn up...
" called "Bad World" and the third parodied Rainbow Six
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six is a tactical shooter computer game and the first in the Rainbow Six series. It was developed and published by Red Storm Entertainment for the PC in 1998. It was later ported to Mac OS, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Dreamcast and Game Boy Color. An expansion pack, Tom Clancy's...
called "Rainbow Sprinkles".