Battefield: Bad Company

Developer: EA Digital Illusions
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Release Date: June 23, 2008
Systems: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PS3
ESRB Rating: T
Official Web site

In a nutshell: An FPS that's in good company. Get it? No? Aww, forget it.

0:00 I haven't played any of the previous Battlefield games, but I've heard a lot of buzz about them, so I figured, why not try a demo of the new one?

0:01 A grenade with an EA pin rolls next to some gold bars with the DICE logo. Lilting lounge piano over the menu screen. Snazzy.

0:03 After screwing around in the options, it's on to the single-player game. Easy mode is described with the following quote: "Not complaining or anything, but are these bad guys actually trying to kill us?" I choose Normal, which is "how Bad Company is meant to be played." Tasty.

0:04 Helicopters flying in to rockabilly music. "Welcome to the 222nd Army Battalion." It's the "B company," made up of people considered expendable or useless. "A mismatched bunch of rejects picked to serve our country as cannon fodder." Our protagonist, Preston Marlowe, got transferred here instead of going to jail. "This is my story."

0:05 I'm introduced to the sergeant and my squadmates, Sweetwater and Redford. The voice acting and animation are incredibly natural. I even chuckle a bit at a small joke regarding the chain of command. "You can ride with us... new guy," says Sarge.

0:06 In the field, we get orders over the radio to take a farm/supply depot. Sarge is depressed that he'll have to put off his fishing trip. Heh. It's funny, because he's trapped in a war zone.

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer