Review By: dapsycho | Posted: 16/11/2006
Final Word:
I think Battlefield 2142 is bringing enough to make it worth playing. All the new unlocks, and extras to good teamwork surely make it interesting. But it is hard to say whether it is better than it's siblings.
Scoring, Ranks and Unlocks
With more than 40 ranks and 40 unlocks Battlefield 2142 has changed a lot, compared to the tiered weapon unlocks from Battlefield 2. With unlocks still being rewarded on every new rank, it may be logical that ranks follow up each other faster. Starting at only 40 points needed and ending with 3600 points, unlocks are awarded quite fast at start. But specialisation is needed, since it will take a while until the highest rank is achieved.
The scoring has changed somewhat. Kills and revives, etc give somewhat less points now, but in return ribbons and badges give career points now too. Ribbons give 30, 50, 500 or even 2000 points. But these high scoring ribbons all have time requirements. Bronze to gold badges give 20, 500 and 1000 points now. Here time is also often the limiting factor.
New in Battlefield 2142 are pins. Pins can be awarded every round again, or even multiple times in one round. They don't give as many points as ribbons and badges, but are much easier to get.
To even improve the gathering of points, working together as a squad is rewarded. You can score extra points near the location your commander send you to.
All four classes now have two tiers of four unlocks (where you first have to unlock one item before you can unlock the next). The Recon class can choose to focus on sniping, or demolition where he can even get a cloaking device. The Assault class can go full assault with shotgun and light rocket upgrades to the rifle, or go medic starting with the defibrillator unlock. The support class can go offensive with an EMP grenade and a deployable sentry gun, or more defensive with a deployable shield and heartbeat detector. The Engineer gets access to EMP and motion mines, anti air rocket launcher or even a sonar vehicle detection system. Or you could combine items from both tiers into a package you like for your class.
The fourth unlock in every tier is a weapon, of which is already mentioned a few. This all can make a soldier very versatile. Besides these class based unlocks there are also five unlocks available for all classes. Here you can get the very handy frag grenades, drugs to permanently improve your sprinting, extra ammo for certain weapons or as last an extra grenade.
New in the future battlefield is the 'Network Battlefield'. Besides the spotting, known from Battlefield 2, just glancing at an enemy will let your squad members see that target as a red diamond in their HUD. This gives even more incentive to play in a squad. This is part of the basic equipment, but it can be enhanced by upgrades you can unlock, where every class gives a special improvement of the system.
A Squad leader can get access to three special unlocks. First is the Spawn Beacon, a device where squad members and the leader himself can spawn after they died, instead of only being able to spawn at a squad leader. Then there is a hovering drone that scans for threats and functions like the UAV. As last the squad leader has access to a hovering Sentry Drone, which can attack enemies fully automatically. The squad leader needs to have to have certain amounts of squad members to use these special unlocks though.
Advertising?
When I opened the DVD box I found a small piece of paper mentioning that the software may incorporate software from IGA Worldwide Inc. Of course I read about this weeks before on forums, where people were rioting about it. Nothing is mentioned about what data is collected. But the idea is that you might see in game advertisements. I think I have seen billboards, but actually I'm not even sure of that. Let alone that I noticed any advertisements yet. I can only say in general that in-game advertising can be legit, but it should return something to the player. Whether it is a lower price for the game, or more support once it has gone gold.
The problem is that games these days already need more support, since they are often not finished yet at release. The same goes for Battlefield 2142. There are still quite some bugs in game. Let alone all the exploits that people use to 'stat pad' and increase rank fast. Of course EA will take action eventually and block or reset these accounts. Though not all exploits can be prevented, some should never have been in the game.
Another problem is that one can accidentally kill a team-mate too easily. Slightly move your tank and you crush a soldier standing next to it. Land the transport and get team kills for passengers that jumped too early and you crushed by landing upon them.
Conclusion
I think Battlefield 2142 is bringing enough to make it worth playing. All the new unlocks, and extras to good teamwork surely make it interesting. But it is hard to say whether it is better than it's siblings. Once in a while I long back to flying in the old WWII planes, and being the captain on a battleship. And maybe in a couple of months I will start Battlefield 2 for a couple of games. For now I am hooked. I just hope that the annoying issues will be taken care of, starting with the soon expected second patch. That would make it even a better game.
With more than 40 ranks and 40 unlocks Battlefield 2142 has changed a lot, compared to the tiered weapon unlocks from Battlefield 2. With unlocks still being rewarded on every new rank, it may be logical that ranks follow up each other faster. Starting at only 40 points needed and ending with 3600 points, unlocks are awarded quite fast at start. But specialisation is needed, since it will take a while until the highest rank is achieved.
New in Battlefield 2142 are pins. Pins can be awarded every round again, or even multiple times in one round. They don't give as many points as ribbons and badges, but are much easier to get.
To even improve the gathering of points, working together as a squad is rewarded. You can score extra points near the location your commander send you to.
All four classes now have two tiers of four unlocks (where you first have to unlock one item before you can unlock the next). The Recon class can choose to focus on sniping, or demolition where he can even get a cloaking device. The Assault class can go full assault with shotgun and light rocket upgrades to the rifle, or go medic starting with the defibrillator unlock. The support class can go offensive with an EMP grenade and a deployable sentry gun, or more defensive with a deployable shield and heartbeat detector. The Engineer gets access to EMP and motion mines, anti air rocket launcher or even a sonar vehicle detection system. Or you could combine items from both tiers into a package you like for your class.
The fourth unlock in every tier is a weapon, of which is already mentioned a few. This all can make a soldier very versatile. Besides these class based unlocks there are also five unlocks available for all classes. Here you can get the very handy frag grenades, drugs to permanently improve your sprinting, extra ammo for certain weapons or as last an extra grenade.
A Squad leader can get access to three special unlocks. First is the Spawn Beacon, a device where squad members and the leader himself can spawn after they died, instead of only being able to spawn at a squad leader. Then there is a hovering drone that scans for threats and functions like the UAV. As last the squad leader has access to a hovering Sentry Drone, which can attack enemies fully automatically. The squad leader needs to have to have certain amounts of squad members to use these special unlocks though.
Advertising?
When I opened the DVD box I found a small piece of paper mentioning that the software may incorporate software from IGA Worldwide Inc. Of course I read about this weeks before on forums, where people were rioting about it. Nothing is mentioned about what data is collected. But the idea is that you might see in game advertisements. I think I have seen billboards, but actually I'm not even sure of that. Let alone that I noticed any advertisements yet. I can only say in general that in-game advertising can be legit, but it should return something to the player. Whether it is a lower price for the game, or more support once it has gone gold.
The problem is that games these days already need more support, since they are often not finished yet at release. The same goes for Battlefield 2142. There are still quite some bugs in game. Let alone all the exploits that people use to 'stat pad' and increase rank fast. Of course EA will take action eventually and block or reset these accounts. Though not all exploits can be prevented, some should never have been in the game.
Another problem is that one can accidentally kill a team-mate too easily. Slightly move your tank and you crush a soldier standing next to it. Land the transport and get team kills for passengers that jumped too early and you crushed by landing upon them.
I think Battlefield 2142 is bringing enough to make it worth playing. All the new unlocks, and extras to good teamwork surely make it interesting. But it is hard to say whether it is better than it's siblings. Once in a while I long back to flying in the old WWII planes, and being the captain on a battleship. And maybe in a couple of months I will start Battlefield 2 for a couple of games. For now I am hooked. I just hope that the annoying issues will be taken care of, starting with the soon expected second patch. That would make it even a better game.
The views of games xtreme's Admin/Reviewers/Guest Reviewers are just that, theirs... If you disagree with one of their reviews, that's your perogative, but if you would like to make a comment about your experience with the game, please post a comment.
Add a Comment:
Only registered members are able to share their comments on this page. So come on! Join games xtreme and share your views now!
Add to My Collection
Write Review