Bad Company Demo Impressions

Being pretty big Battlefield fans, we were super excited, and couldn't hardly wait for the demo to finish downloading ... It took a while due the file size (1.5 GB), but it was worth the wait.

We were glad to see that the Battlefield: Bad Company demo included both a single player and multiplayer option in the demo. We spent the majority of our time in multiplayer playing the "Gold Rush" mode, which is actually the only multiplayer game type available in the demo, as well as there only being one map.

What did we like? During the select/spawn screen you are able to see exactly which weapons were mapped to which bumpers, as well as what your primary and secondary weapons are, etc. While not necessarily new for first-person shooters, the layout and navigation is well done.

The other thing that we really liked is that while waiting to spawn, you can select whether you want to spawn by a squad member, or in a general location/base.

The huge open environments are a nice change of pace as well from some of the other first-person shooters we've been playing, although having a few more vehicles around to get from point a to point b would have spead things up.

Other than the ability to drive tanks, jeeps, hummers, choppers, etc, our absolute favorite feature is the destructive environments. The ability to chop down trees with your machine gun (assuming it's powerful enough), or blow holes in walls adds a new dynamic to first-person warfare. We found ourselves blowing holes through buildings, rather than using the door on several occasions. OK, that's not completely accurate. We blew holes in most buildings that we entered, just so that we didn't have to hunt for the door. Honestly, who needs doors anymore when you have a sandbox for your battle ground?

The other thing that's nice about the demo is that if you reach level four, you unlock some items that you can use in the game when it's released. We're not sure exactly what it is, but that hasn't diminished our resolve to see it through!

What didn't we like? Really, there were only a couple of things that annoyed us. The first was the lag. We're not sure if it was our internet connection, or issues with the server (EA has a message stating that they're getting more servers online), but the lag made it almost unplayable at times.

We weren't impressed with was the graphics. With games like Call of Duty 4, we've gotten a little spoiled.

The game doesn't seem quite as responsive as other first-person shooters we've played recently either ... Hopefully their will be some sensativity and game settings in the full release.

Hopefully the graphics and networking get beefed up a bit before the final release of the game later this month.

All of that aside, we're very excited for Bad Company. That's it for now. Hope to see you online!