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Friday 8 February, 2008
Gamelog#3 Entry #2
Gameplay
I attempted to play this game online for my second session, however, some complications arose with windows vista and I was not able to play Battlefield 2 online. Though I was restricted to single player, I was able to borrow my friend’s joystick and this added a new dimension to the game as I was able to operate vehicles more effectively.
It took some time to configure the controls for the joystick properly, but after working out all the kinks it was so much fun. I have never played any flight simulation games with a joystick and hadn’t realized how much fun they can be. The joystick is a must for Battlefield 2, it is much more engaging to use and provides a sense of realism that is absent when using a mouse and keyboard.
I was playing this game with a couple friends in the room and they could see the amount of I was having and wanted to get in on some of the Battlefield 2 action. The AI on Battlefield 2 is very good, especially when fighting aircraft vs aircraft, this really gives you a sense of accomplishment after defeating a computer player. Even though I was not able to play multi player online, using a joystick added a new dimension to the game that was very engaging and interactive.
Design:
This game had some very innovative elements that really made it stick out from other first person shooters. The most innovative aspect of the game is the ability to be the commander of the troops on the battlefield. This mixes first person shooter with a RTS game. It enables the player to enter the battle and be a regular solider like most first person shooters, however, it also allows you step back and command troops to different strategic areas. This was a great mixture of genres, not only do you have to concern yourself with the fire fight that your engaged in, but you must also keep an eye on the overall status of the battlefield as well. This was a very creative and appealing element of the game that really defines Battlefield 2 from other shooters.
The level design of this game kept the game interesting as each battlefield had different terrain and situations. Each level was a different battlefield that required a different strategy to achieve victory. There was a wide variety of terrain, ranging from deserts to swamps, and of course cities. The game was able to keep you within the game world space because when leaving the “combat zone” your commander reminds you that if you don’t return quickly, deserters will be shot. This was a good way of keeping players in the game world and at the same time adding to the tone of the game. Battlefield did a good job with level design and game world space.
The only major problem of game design for Battlefield 2 is the lack of narrative. The opening cut scene was great and I was expecting to get more of them as I progressed but it never happened. There was only a textual description of each battlefield during the loading screen explaining the situation. As I mentioned earlier this may be because Battlefield 2 was designed to be primarily an online multiplayer game, however, this does not free them of criticism. Overall, this game was very innovative and had attractive level design and made good use game world space. However, if the developer added more cut scenes and narrative to the game it would have enhanced its single player game experience tremendously.
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