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| Battlefield 2142 Review by Jonathan Trevisani,Computer Games Online  In the not-so-distant future, combat will take place on icy battlegrounds between behemoth battle walkers and advanced infantry soldiers. That future battlefield has arrived today. Battlefield 2142 catapults the series from the historic battles of World War II and modern day warfare into a combat zone that occurs 150 years in the future. Hovering tanks and hulking battle walkers are the norm of the battlefield as players try to succeed and survive amid the futuristic machines of war.The effects of global warming have gripped the world in another ice age as the habitable areas of Earth have been dramatically reduced. Now two of the world's superpowers are fighting over the lingering resources in all-out battles of domination. There are slight differences between the European Union and the Pan Asian Coalition, but both sides are balanced against each other. As both armies square off against each other, players can choose either side to take part in the desperate struggle for supremacy. The Battlefield series has gained success with excellent multiplayer game play that gives every component of the battles a proper place. You can jump into a 2142 game as a recon, assault, engineer, or support class soldier. Each of these classes has two branches to allow for different customization options. For an example, the recon class can be outfitted with a stronger sniper rifle, zoom scope, and anti-personnel mines or a light machine gun, high explosives, and cloaking camouflage. You have the choice of making a dedicated sniper or special forces soldier, or even blend some of the abilities to your preference. In order to obtain some of the better equipment and weapons in the game, you have to reach a certain amount of points to get promoted and choose an unlockable ability. 2142 constantly tracks your progress in ranked multiplayer games and awards certain actions with points and prizes. The more you play the game and succeed, the more points you attain for better unlocks. The scoring system has been changed from the previous games to give you more incentive to work with others in squads and help out your team by following orders and completing objectives. There are even field upgrades that are available only to successful squad members. These temporary upgrades allow you to unlock additional equipment and use it until you leave the server. The equipment itself doesn't fall into the standard sci-fi laser gun level of technology since the game wants to retain the Battlefield presence that the series has created over the years. You still have to worry about ammo and how gravity will affect your bullets over long distances. Some of the new equipment has definite futuristic properties such as the personal shield, the active camo, and the EMP grenades. New anti-vehicle mines don't wait for someone to roll over them anymore, now they go after any nearby vehicle with a vengeance. All of the new equipment is balanced for game play and has a proper counter for everyone to enjoy. Perhaps one of the biggest changes to the Battlefield formula is the new Titan Mode that is available in addition to the capture-the-flag type Conquest mode. Titan Mode involves massive floating fortresses that serve as the base of operations for each army in the battle. These goliath air ships can slowly move around the map and have weapons of their own along with a hangar filled with attack craft. The goal is to destroy the enemy titan by taking down its shield and damage the hull to the point of meltdown. There are multiple missile silos scattered throughout the map that must be aimed at the enemy Titan in order to remove the shields and blast away at the hull. The real treat is that you can board the enemy Titan once the shield is down and cripple the power core. This leads to some tense moments as soldiers fight desperately to repel enemy boarders intent on destruction. Drop pods are an important game play aspect as a means of re-entering the battle in force or as a quick transport on to the enemy Titan. APCs and flying transports are equipped with drop pods that encapsulate a soldier and send him rocketing into the air to return with a vengeance. Unlike Battlefield 2, more emphasis has been made on ground combat as aircraft are not as plentiful and must be wary of a plethora of anti-aircraft devices. Individual soldiers are a bit more powerful with new weapons at their disposal including numerous ground installation to assist with armored attackers. Battlefield 2142 has a solid spotlight on the new battle walkers as they stroll through each map. These armored centurions roam the war zone with weapons designed to ruin anyone's day. They have machine guns to deal with infantry, missiles to deal with armor, and anti-aircraft batteries to deal with pesky flyers. Just watching them walk around the battlefield makes one stop and take notice and marvel at their intimidating features. They are not without their weak points, but the minute that one shows up changes the aspect of the battle. The game has improved upon the existing components of the series with a revised browser to search for multiplayer servers. Now you can join the battle faster without the need to trudge through outdated server mechanics with a noticeable lack of options. One of the most beneficial additions to the server is the buddy list which speaks for itself. You can send messages to your fellow BF players as well as join the server that they are currently playing on. The fact that this addition took so long to be realized in the Battlefield series is a bit disheartening, but a welcome addition. Overall, Battlefield 2142 is a marked improvement over the other titles in the series and it seems that the developers are slowly learning from previous mistakes with their improvements. There are still a few bugs and balance issues that are sure to be fixed in upcoming patches, but the game itself is a great multiplayer experience. With numerous customization options and game play that includes a complete range of vehicles and command functions, 2142 should please veteranBattlefield fans and create a whole new following to boot. Overall score: 4.5 out of 5. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Game News :: home page |