When Battlefield 2: Modern Combat hit Xbox and PS2 last year, it managed to create quite a buzz, despite PC loyalists turning up their noses to what was essentially a wide-scale simplification of their precious Battlefield series of online combat games.
But of course, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat was never meant to appeal to PC gamers – it was to take the main team-based vehicle-laden online game, remove all the complicated stuff and make it accessible for a console crowd who can do without the large range of commands and complexities presented by a PC keyboard.
For those unfamiliar with the game, Modern Combat’s essential ingredient is fast-paced combat where players fight in massive areas filled with buildings and a vast array of vehicles that can be entered and piloted as easy as it is to select a different weapon. Aside from the Star Wars Battlefront games, console gamers hadn’t really had the opportunity to experience such full-scale warfare up until Modern Combat’s release.
Catering for gamers not blessed with a broadband connection, developer Digital Illusions decided to bolt on a single-player game. Initially added as more of an afterthought, the single-player campaign mode has become so much more, and easily provides more variety and depth than many single player only first-person shooters available thanks to one key element – Hot Swapping.
Hot Swapping is the term Digital Illusions has given to the unique ability within the game that allows you to literally take control of your entire squad. While many games give players the ability to issue commands to their team – see Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter for a recent example – Modern Combat enables players to jump, or ‘Hot Swap’, between any allied characters at will. So rather than control just one character and be limited to one type of class, you can switch between AI-controlled team mates who can at that moment be engaging in any number of activities, be it simply advancing on the ground, sniping from a rooftop, or even flying a helicopter or driving a tank. If you can see a soldier’s class icon off in the distance then you can become them. Simply aim at this icon, wait for it to turn from blue to white and then press the Hot Swap button and watch in awe as your ‘soul’ jumps out of your body and rushes into the head of your chosen squadie.
For Xbox 360, Hot Swapping has undergone a slight change. Previously you could only Hot Swap into soldiers you had a direct line of sight to, whereas now you can jump anywhere there’s an icon. This is good as it removes a slight limitation present in the Xbox and PS2 versions and keeps the game’s dynamic moving at a much quicker pace.
It’s not just Hot Swapping that’s been tweaked either – Digital Illusions has thankfully decided to make significant graphical upgrades beyond just throwing in a few higher res textures (which should help nullify the snobbery that saw PC gamers snub the Xbox and PS2 games because of graphics alone), and has significantly improved AI. Enemies are far more aware of military situations and tactics and flee for cover much more than they did previously. They also spawn from new locations, including helicopters and from buildings that you wouldn’t necessarily expect. In all this makes the game much tougher than it was previously, which if anything makes the single-player element last a bit longer.
The single-player campaign lasts 24 missions spanning six acts, where interestingly you don’t just fight for one particular side – as you progress you’ll find yourself controlling NATO forces one moment and Chinese the next. So rather than simply championing one particular cause, you get to see things from both sides and eventually will have to choose a side before embarking on the game’s final act.
No matter how impressive the supposed ‘last minute’ single player element is, Battlefield games are all about going online and warring against human opposition. Modern Combat has two multiplayer modes, the familiar Capture the Flag event and the awesome Conquest, which sees two teams battle for spawn points, with the victor being the team who manages to secure all points, thus preventing their opponents from spawning any more characters.
With over 30 land, sea and air vehicles, 50 different weapons, 16 maps and six soldier classes, there’s almost limitless combat potential for the maximum 24 players who can play at once. It may not be as complex as the PC games, but to be honest, many would argue it’s all the better for it.
Modern Combat works well because it creates such an atmospheric and open gaming world. Multi-player is undoubtedly the main event, but single player manages to stand out thanks to Hot Swapping, which allows you to go anywhere and do anything you want instantly, removing the need to go on long walks to specific locations and ensuring you’re always in the thick of the action and never bored. It’s the best addition to first-person shooters since the sniper rifle.
