Polished and upgraded, a preview of Battlefield 2: Modern Combat for Xbox 360.
Massively overhauled graphics.
Subtle upgrades for single-player experience.
Warsome downloadable content pack included.
Achievements for medals.
Downloadable gamer pictures, themes, and demo.
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat for Xbox 360™ is coming to a next-gen console near you, and bringing with it not only the content and gameplay that made the original Xbox version such a hit, but also a host of new upgrades and tweaks to get it just right for its next-gen appearance.
Basics For those not familiar with the game, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat is an action/military combat game where you play one of several different kits (medic, engineer, special ops, etc.) of your choosing in various combat scenarios. The game type is predominantly conquest, which means you and the faction you're fighting for take control of as many camps/spawn points on the map as possible while whittling away at the opponent's "tickets." Remove one enemy ticket for each kill, and by controlling more of the camps on the map you cause their tickets to dwindle faster. Control all the camps or eliminate your enemy entirely to win the battle.
Looking next-gen. Nice foliage.
The tactics, variety, and gameplay stem from the award winning Battlefield 1942, and if you'd like more details on just how the game plays, feel free to visit our Preview for the original Xbox® version of Battlefield 2: Modern Combat.
You can expect to find the finished product on store shelves in mid-March.
Now it's really a question of what has changed or evolved from the original Xbox version to this Xbox 360 version, and the answer is a fair bit. Read on to find out just what.
Massive Graphics Overhaul Like Electronic Arts' Madden NFL 06 and NBA Live 06, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat hasn't just undergone tweaks and upgrades to its visuals. They didn't just give it a face-lift, they went ahead with massive reconstructive surgery. Put simply, the game has never looked better. Take a look at the screenshots and keep the following factoids in mind.
Each asset used to build the original has essentially been replaced with a next-gen equivalent. Grass is fuller, textures unbelievably sharper and much better defined, the lighting is richer, and the animations are smoother.
The little touches have been added to the game to help immerse you far more dramatically into the experience. For example:
You'll notice character's faces change into a type of "battle roar" when they lay down the hammer and start firing away. It's a small detail, but it adds tension and drama.
Bullet holes, scorch marks, environmental damage, are all now persistent, so when you put a clip into the wall while you're laying down covering fire, you'll see those same bullet holes when you run by five minutes later. Environments now look truly "battle worn" after a match is over.
The physics have been given a bit of a jump start too, so not only will players animate better, but you'll also find that individual elements of their armor (e.g. a backpack) will jostle up and down as they run, shell casings will bounce realistically off of walls, and the death animations are more solidly based on weight and momentum (watch what happens to a body after shooting them while they're parachuting for proof).
A lot greater variety of character models add to the sensation that each soldier is an individual entity.
Still gleaming. Just came off the factory floor.
Single Player Changes Though nothing has radically changed, you will find a few tweaks to the single-player experience to add depth and continuity. For example:
The Hot Swap feature is now less picky about selecting a character. You no longer need perfect line of site, so if a character or vehicle is partially obscured, that's no longer a problem.
The rate-of-fire, damage, and clip capacities for each gun are now the same for both multiplayer and single-player, adding continuity and removing a little confusion from the original Xbox version.
The AI has gone back to school and come back with a higher IQ. You'll now find more strategic and cunning AI to contend with, though it's not so elaborate a change as to alter the pace of the game, so no worries there.
Achievements Those wishing to up their gamerscore should be happy in the knowledge that what were essentially already achievements (e.g. medals) will be the same as they were before, but shall now add to your gamerscore. For those wondering, no, your stats do not carry over from the original Xbox version to the Xbox 360 version of Battlefield 2: Modern Combat.
Just a hint, you might want to crouch there buddy-boy.
Downloadable Included The Warsome downloadable content pack made available for the original Xbox version over Xbox Live® is packed into Battlefield 2: Modern Combat for Xbox 360, so out of the case you'll have access to:
Four additional maps: Frostbite, Full Frontal, and Hidden.
Four new vehicles, including the snowmobile found in Frostbite.
New character skins (e.g the winter camouflage uniforms).
For a full report on what the Warsome downloadable pack provided, check here.
Downloadable Content Beyond the packed in content from the previous download, you can expect not only dashboard themes and Gamer Pictures from the Xbox Live Marketplace, but a fully playable free demo available for download shortly before Battlefield 2 launches. The possibility for future content (e.g. maps) after launch is there, but for now, EA is simply making sure it ships the best product it can. You can expect to find the finished product on store shelves in mid-March.
