E3 BF2 Hands-on.

[Reaper81]

I'll be posting a more in-depth preview over at GWJ in a few days but I thought I'd drop in and post up my thoughts on BF2 from my hands-on playtime at E3.

It's looking damn good at this point! While the game still feels a bit action-y, it's much better than previous versions of Battlefield from a realism standpoint. I was able to take down pretty much every infantry target I came across while playing as a SAW gunner. Short, controlled bursts were often very effective in killing the enemy. It nice to see bunny hoppers drop in mid-air. The damage model is location specific but it's rare you'll take more than two rounds in the chest and I didn't see a single person survive a head shot. I'm not sure if the knife is one-hit kills or not. I did kill someone with the knife specifically for that purpose but he was shot before I got my strike. In any case, one knife strike finished the job.

Ground vehicles still require only one player to drive and fire weapon systems so that led to some griefing in the demo but Javelin's often solved the problem quickly.

Air vehicles are difficult to fly. You'll need some skill to be an effective air asset. I spent more time crashing than I did flying. But the skilled pilots are amazing to watch. There was nothing more satisfying than seeing an enemy helicopter blown to smithereens by an F-15.

The Commander Mode is extremely impressive and powerful. Sufficed to say, a team with a skilled Commander will have a huge advantage.

Finally, the systems were running maxed-out video options on Athlon 64's, 1Gb RAM, and 6800GT PCI-X's. However, gameplay was very, very smooth and fast! I would say that these systems spec's are high-end.

All in all, I'm looking forward to picking up BF2 in just a few short weeks.

[asch]

Thanks for the update Reaper! If you wouldn't mind, when you complete the full blown review, can you provides us the link to it?

[Reaper81]

I'll definitely do that for you guys! :-)

[TG_JBRanger]

Sounds great!

[Usarion]

Thanks for that. This is the same sentiment I have read from many others who played at E3. When you say AMD 64's, can you be more specific? I look forward to your full review.

[asch]

Originally Posted by Reaper81

Finally, the systems were running maxed-out video options on Athlon 64's, 1Gb RAM, and 6800GT PCI-X's. However, gameplay was very, very smooth and fast! I would say that these systems spec's are high-end.

Man, I should have told Tempus to buy a pentium III and save some money.

[Reaper81]

The dev wasn't entirely clear on Athlon 64. He said 2.7 Ghz. Now, I couldn't figure out if he meant a 2700+ or if he meant the operating frequency. I don't think he meant operating frequency because the FX-55 only has a 2.6 Ghz operating frequency. The guy I was talking to about system specs was just a generic EA employee.

[RandomGuy]

Hey reaper, thanks for the report. Can you comment on the prevalence of "bunny-hopping "/"dolphin-jumping" in the game?

[asch]

I can't speak for what Reaper saw, but when BF first came out, there was plenty of bunny-hopping & dolphin-jumping. Still goes on today. Bunny hopping is just as it sounds. Players continue to jump and jump and jump and.... well, you get it... as they try to avoid getting shot. Dolphin jumping is where once you make contact with an enemy, they immediately go prone, shoot, then jump back up. It's all very quick and "un-realistic".

Of course, correct me if I'm wrong reaper.

[Noel Cower]

Since I'm getting cable soon, this sounds like it's going to be a must-have for me. Can't wait, as I really enjoyed BF1942 (until I got tired of downloading the patches on my connection).

[Reaper81]

Bunny-hopping was very prevalent in the demo. I'm happy to report it was entirely ineffective! Old school Battlefield players meet a grim demise from my SAW. Using the "sprint" key to move from cover to cover is much more effective.