Much like the now classic Call of Duty 4, Battlefield: Bad Company is a game that seems to have suddenly appeared, taking a few of us by surprise in the process. In a climate stuffed to the eyeballs with online FPS games it’s increasingly easy to find yourself harshly judging new contenders, especially considering the amount of time and effort you’ve no doubt already invested becoming a COD4/Halo 3 demigod. Oh, and the money invested into these triple A behemoths is quite frankly ludicrous, so straight out of the box most gamers expect to be blown away by the jaw-dropping next-gen high-def everything. If this assumption’s correct, then chances are you’ve already concluded that Bad Company is decidedly average. Scratch a little deeper below the surface however, and you’ll soon start to realise that appearances can be deceptive...
To get the negative quickly out of the way, the single player campaign in BF:BC sadly feels like a bit of a lost cause. "You’re in Bad Company now, soldier", you’re firmly told as you join the rag-tag band of army rejects. Contrary to the namesake however, you’re really in rather good company, all things considered. Your squad provide decent patches of discourse throughout as well as welcome degree of comic relief between the rather generic objectives. Early impressions of the story seem promising, but sadly the narrative quickly lose momentum as your continuing hunt for mercenary gold becomes little more than simply scouring the map for huts or buildings which might contain a secret stash. It’s a shame, as the George Clooney film Three Kings demonstrated that the idea of a squad of men going out of their way in the hope of finding treasure is – if you’ll excuse the pun - narrative gold.
In practice however it feels mechanical, quickly becoming little more than just another achievement for players with more free time than sense to aim towards, which feels like a terrible waste. Grabbing the first few bars of gold felt fantastic, but the realisation that getting most of the other bars would be the source of yet another achievement I’ll never have the time for left me feeling a little cold. There’s an awful lot to like about the single player campaign, but ultimately it can’t help but end up feeling a little dull. The characters are likeable, the story shows potential, but neither detracts from the fact that each mission consists simply of travelling from A to B blowing stuff up. The AI’s also pretty basic to say the least, so don’t expect staple Battlefields tactics such as crawling around in bushes to stop enemies from spotting you a mile off and shooting you in the face with unrelenting accuracy. It’s not to say that the solo campaign doesn’t have its moments: Personal highlights include blowing up various bridges, mercilessly levelling a base with a combat chopper, and driving a tank across a golf course.
