Bad Company's Gold Rush

Published June 24, 2008

The attack and defend multiplayer Gold Rush mode of Battlefield: Bad Company™ takes much of its inspiration from its beloved online predecessors, but not without an eager willingness to redefine the series' trademark gameplay.

Work together in the game's new squad system.

From the rampant and dynamic environmental destruction to the always ferocious action, new squad features and tactics, gorgeous tactical maps, classic vehicle use, and a brand new core game mode, Bad Company is primed to make its multiplayer mark on Xbox 360®.

Simply join together with three of your friends before looking for a match and you can join the fight together as a premade squad.

Gold Rush
Where the previous game's Conquest mode left every base up for grabs for either team, Gold Rush is a more tightly focused affair.

You play either as an Attacker hoping to slip or power your way through enemy lines to shatter the opposing team's hard-earned gold crates, or as a Defender whose sole purpose is to whittle down the attacking team. Of course, there's a bit more to it than that.

• One base only: You'll only ever find one active defending base complete with gold deposits at any given time. This helps funnel the action to predictable locations, keeping the flow of the game fast and chaotic. No more wandering aimlessly among abandoned objectives in Bad Company.
• Moving along: Once the attacking team destroys both gold deposits in a base, another Defender's base will activate and so press the action in a new direction. The base conquered by the Attackers is now theirs, so they may take command of their vehicle of choice without having to spawn back at their original base.
• Reinforcements: The attacking forces have a limited supply of reinforcements (defenders have a limitless supply), but they can swell their ranks with each crate of gold they successfully destroy.

My money's on the Recon.

Squad Up!
Battlefield: Bad Company supports up to twenty-four simultaneous players with each team made up of twelve combatants. Each team is then divided into three four-player squads, with each squad working amongst themselves to wreak havoc among the enemy.

• Friendly spawn: You can choose at any time to spawn alongside a squad mate, effectively allowing you to immediately get back to the action provided you have a colleague up on the frontlines. Of course, you can choose to spawn back at your base as well.
• Squad voice: Voice chat in Bad Company takes place entirely within your own squad. This feature promotes tighter focus as you can more easily discuss and execute tactics among four people rather than stumble through twelve players all talking over themselves.
• Squad join: Bad Company's squad system also doubles as a Party system, similar to what you might find in Halo® 3. Simply join together with three of your friends before looking for a match and you can join the fight together as a premade squad.
• Squad icons: Your squad mates are highlighted in-game with blue icons, helping you tell friend from foe, and friend from fellow squad member.

Unlocked Evolution
Similar to Battlefield 2: Modern Combat™, new weapons and kit-specific features are unlocked the more you play. For every kill, assist, trophy gained, and victory earned, you'll inch closer to your next rank. Earn a new rank and get credits to unlock spiffy new weapons and kit-specific gear, such as the Assault kit's auto-injector, the Demolition kit's anti-tank mine, and the Specialist's remote explosives.

Kit Breakdown
Bad Company thankfully uses much the same setup for its kits as previous games. You can choose between five different kits, every one of which boasts a remarkably unique play style.

• Assault: With assault rifle in hand and under-barrel grenade launcher at the ready, the Assault kit represents the classic all-around ass kicker gear. It's also the only class to have the health-giving Auto Injector as a special item.
• Recon: This well-camouflaged sniper kit does its damage at long range and is particularly useful on the defensive team as it picks off the charging attackers. You can also unlock the laser designator so that you can frame helicopters, tanks, and other vehicles for a precision missile strike.

Peek-a-boo!

• Demolition: This anti-armor RPG-toting kit may be weak against infantry at long range, but it's the bane of any ground-bound vehicle, especially after purchasing the anti-tank mines.
• Specialist: With their combat knife and exceptional rate-of-fire weaponry, the Specialist is uniquely fitted to combat in and around the gold crates. This is particularly true after unlocking their remote explosives.
• Support: Equal parts mechanic and field medic, the Support class is a must-have for any squad as it repairs broken down vehicles and drops med-packs for their allies. Their light machine guns and unlockable mortar strikes are not to be treated lightly either.

Conquest Returns
While Gold Rush is the game's primary multiplayer mode, the good folks at EA and DICE have also announced a return to the vaunted Conquest game mode in the form of a downloadable update shortly after launch. Welcome news for those with tender memories for the series' roots.

Unlike so many games, the Battlefield franchise began as a multiplayer game and it is clearly most at home online on Xbox LIVE®. It's here that the competitive spirit, promotion of teamwork, dynamic destruction, exceptionally focused action, and so much more shine most brightly. Good luck on the Battlefield!

Article by Ryan Treit