Trying to add a single-player
experience into a videogame franchise that's known only for its online
multiplayer mode is akin to trying to build a meaningful narrative into an
adult film. In other words, getting gamers to care about the actual people
involved in the so-called "action" is a formidable challenge. But Battlefield:
Bad Company
manages to inject some much needed humanity and drama into the popular Battlefield franchise, while still
remaining true to the series' visceral run-kill-respawn roots.
The star of the game is a hairless,
unassuming good guy named Preston Marlowe. Accused of a crime that's never
fully explained, Marlowe is relegated to Bad Company, a squad of misfits forsaken
by the Army. While Bad Company's squad members seem more M*A*S*H-caliber goofy than
incompetent or insane (example: they play rock-paper-scissors between battles),
the story takes a novel twist once the soldiers realize their only option is to
fight for their lives, which gives them license to shoot without discretion and
lay claim to any spoils of war.
Beyond the game: Is it too much to ask to
expect our virtual soldiers to show emotion during battle? While the three main
characters—Sarge, Haggard, and Sweetwater—are more complex and
alive than most videogame characters, they don't seem bothered by the fact that
they're mowing down hundreds of enemy soldiers at any given moment. We don't
need to see anyone go insane à la Hawkeye in the final episodes of M*A*S*H. But an existential, "What
the hell are we doing?" moment would balance out the wanton carnage.
Worth playing for: Enemy hiding inside a
nearby building? Use a grenade to blow a hole in the wall and expose him. Why
more games don't permit this degree of property damage is a mystery.
Frustration sets in when: Scouring the maps for gold
and hidden weapons is relatively futile. Neither element affects the game in
any tangible way.
Final judgment: Solid gameplay aside, strong
characters coupled with occasional whiffs of Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now ultimately help Bad
Company transcend
its lineage. Multiplayer is superb, if unsurprising, but a stronger third act
in the single-player mode would have earned the game a higher grade.