The intelligence report seems simple enough: "Your team's mission is to conquer the map by capturing and defending strategic positions. These positions are marked with a flag and it is vital to gain control of them for your team to be victorious. To capture a flag you have to remain in the surrounding area for a given time indicated by a meter onscreen. If your team has captured the majority of the flags, the other team's tickets will decrease."
The hot zone is Backstab—it's a nondescript, wide-open area in some hotbed of dissent. The local architecture smacks of Middle Eastern design, with many buildings capped with ornate domes, accentuated with canopies, or flanked by palm trees. A river bisects the cluster of housing structures; the rippling currents of the fertile artery add a dash of color to the arid landscape. If it weren't for all the fighting, this would be a beautiful place to live. Too bad it's been reduced to a hellish war zone.
Buildings crumble when hit by tank fire.
A Taste of Things to Come At the time of this writing, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat™ is still some months away from release, but that isn't stopping hordes of impatient wannabe warriors from packing the Xbox Live® servers nightly. The single map in rotation at the moment—Backstab—is enough to whet the appetite of even the most casual online gamer. I logged a few hours playing the pre-release demo against 23 other fighters who were lucky enough to snag the free demo disc at their local retailer or in the August issue of OXM. After playing this map, if the final game is anything like this teaser, Halo® 2 could have some serious competition this fall.
Like the intel report instructs, the basic goals are controlling as many as the seven flag points for as long as possible during the game, while also racking up kills against enemy forces. It sounds simple enough, but due to the absolutely huge size of the map, it's easier said than done. Luckily, you have the help (or hindrance) of 11 other soldiers to tip the scales of battle in your team's favor. Don't feel like walking to that next Capture Point? Hop into one of the map's numerous air- or land-based vehicles and take a load off. The vehicle combat is where Battlefield 2: Modern Combat really shines.
Expect some tense gunplay in the streets.
Thanks for the Ride, Lady! To call Backstab enormous is an understatement. In no uncertain terms, this playground of destruction is gigantic. Sure, you could take the "heel-toe express" from point to point, but maximize your fragging time by jumping into the cockpit or driver's seat of one of the helicopters, trucks, tanks, or civilian vehicles scattered around the environment. Alternatively, hitch a ride and provide covering fire if you're not in a driving mood—just hop aboard and hang on tight!
Once you reach your destination, quickly find cover—each flag zone is exposed to incoming fire from multiple directions. To claim a Capture Point, you (and, hopefully, your comrades) must secure the zone for a fixed amount of time before claiming it as your own. After the point is in your team's possession, your team members spawn there, saving some needless exercise getting to the next destination deeper inside enemy territory.
Hop in and enjoy the ride!
Highlights I could gush about all the wicked snipe points, hiding holes, and chokepoints you find in Backstab, but it's much more fun to find them on your own, especially within the hellish context of a crowded server during a heated game. If you're new to the franchise, find an experienced player and provide covering fire until you feel comfortable wandering off on your own. When you take a bullet and are ready to respawn (which happens often), experiment with different character classes and try out the multiple weapons each one possesses. Hang back and watch the madness unfold. You amass a week's worth of water cooler moments in the first five minutes of gameplay, guaranteed.
Keep checking back for more updates, map strategies, and gameplay tips for Battlefield 2: Modern Combat. I'd write more, but I'm too busy playing the heck out of the demo. See you online in Backstab!
