By: Eric Roberts

Which game will get your hard earned cash this year?

I couldn’t find a decent article on the comparison between BC and COD4, so here it goes.

Battlefield: Bad Company

A new competitor in the console shooter franchise, battlefield:bad company makes its mark with the brand new frostbite engine developed by EA and swedish company DICE. To start this off, let me just mention possibly the coolest feature this game has.

Destructible environments

Never before done on a console, Bad Company gives the player the ability to blow up anything and everything in a beautifully designed sandbox environment. Everything from trees to even the ground can be destroyed and damaged. Obviously there are some small limitations like the frames of some building are unable to be destroyed but neverthless. No more going around and inside door to kill an enemy, just blow the back wall down and engage in your assault.

Storyline

Yes! thats right the battlefield series now has a fully developed storyline. No more bots on multiplayer maps. Bad company follows a four man squad of rebellious soldiers that are placed in the army’s ‘useless’ pile. After a series of events the soldiers featuring; Marlowe, Haggard, Stillwater and Redford decide to go AWOL in the search of mercenary gold. The player is given 8 missions to play with difficulties ranging from easy to veteran. Surprisingly each mission took an hour or two to finish and they consist of checkpoints where the players game is saved.

Multiplayer

The flagship of all the battlefield games has been the multiplayer and bad company sure doesn’t disappoint. Apart from the voip issues on the ps3 (mic problems) which DICE are working on fixing. The multiplayer is pretty flawless. Battlefield online combines tactical and strategic elements with squad/team play. Battlefield Bad Company features two game modes.Gold rush - a basic attack and defend type game, where attackers have to destroy the opposing teams ‘gold crates’ and vice versa.Conquest - the original game mode from the battlefield games. Conquest is a ticket based game, where the tickets are the amount of lives a team has. When all the tickets are gone that team loses, similar to a team deathmatch mode apart from the fact that tickets can be reduced quicker if bases/flags are captured.

Conclusion:Apart from some minor set backs with the mic issues on the ps3 and a slight grain effect in the graphics. Battlefield:Bad Company makes up for any of its mishaps with the outstanding online gameplay which incorporates team work and strategic gameplay with some beautifully rendered destructible environments.
9/10

Call of Duty 4

Winning the award of game of the year in 2007 Call of Duty 4 does bring a truely innovative approach to shooters. With its class based system (which I find very cool by the way ) and a plethora of game modes COD4 really does redefine the genre of ’shooter’.

Singleplayer

Unfortunately, unlike Bad Company the singeplayer is very short. The game can be completed within a maximum of day or so however it is an intense day of gameplay. The story centres are the theme of terrorists helbent on destroying the world with stolen russian nukes. It doesn’t sound all that exciting but the missions are quite enjoyable, there are a number of shocking moments during the game but it is something you can get aquainted to rather fast. The AI is much stronger and smarter in this version of COD making the gameplay all the more compelling. You are equipped with an arsenal of deadly weapons and class based system which lets you create your own weapons by modifying, adding, subtracting existing weapons and kits.The only major flaw that I see with COD4 and it is something that will start to bother you if had played Bad Company earlier is the lack of freedom you have within the game and obviously the non destructible environments. Especially in the singeplayer the missions all seem to constrict you and the barriers that the game gives you such as a plank of wood as a barricade making it impossible for you to look around and go further then required. The game is very linear in the fact that the mission can only be played a certain way, you don’t have the freedom you do in BC where you are able to finish a mission the way you want to finish it.Whether it be by land, by air, in a vehicle or from hundreds of metres away.

Multiplayer

The multiplayer in COD4 is truely one of the most exciting and gripping I have ever played. The fast paced action, the UAI strikes, etc makes the online gameplay a captivating experience. Especially if you are a fan of a predominantly deathmatch based game. The online gameplay truely feels like a multiplayer experience with no voip issues at this point in time and clan support. COD4 really gives it the online a team sort of feel.There are a quite a few game modes available, seek and destroy being the second most played and really the more strategic and tactical one. Seek and destroy is really similar to battlefields gold rush mode where its based on the theme of attacking and defending.

Conclusion:

A great game with stunning visuals and although the singleplayer is short and the sandbox environment is non existant the game definately makes up for what it lacks. With a sequel coming out shortly ‘world at war’ it’s hard to say whether as many people will still be playing this but nevertheless it is definately worth your money.
8.5/10

The verdict

Personally I am a fan of both games and think that you probably purchase both at one time or another, however Battlefield: Bad Company would have to take the cake. Although battlefield has some mic issues and doesn’t have clan support as of yet it definately has the potential to be updated (which it will) making it win over the competition. The freedom of the sandbox environment in BC, decent singleplayer and superb strategic multiplayer is simply put, better than COD4. Call of Duty 4 has reached it’s peak where BC can still grow for atleast another year until the sequel comes out, where COD has a new sequel releasing in a couple of months. I’m starting to not make sense anymore, haha.In conclusion:At this point in time.

Battlefield: Bad Company > Call of Duty 4

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Eric roberts is the owner and avid blogger of skateass.com

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