What is it? - The fourth game of battlefield's legendary series base on future war environment of 2142.

Game profile - Award winning future war simulation.

The good about it - plenty of mods provided by EA.

The bad about it - little extra-ordinary game experience.

I rate it - 6.5/10



Battlefield series by Electronic Arts is one of the played and beloved games by todays gamers. After great success of Battlefield 2, EA

The basics of Battlefield gameplay is that there are two huge teams running around a huge map in order to try to retain control over 5 specific places (flags). To achieve this objective, each player can choose from a variety of specialist functions, and each team has a number of vehicles at their disposal.

Previous Battlefield games revolved around the Conquest gameplay mode, which in 2142 remains unchanged insofar as I can tell. Although there are a few variations, the general theme is that each team starts with a limited number of times it's players can respawn, and holding more than half of the flags steadily depletes your enemy's number (as does killing them). I immediately disliked it, and still only enjoy a select few maps in this mode.

It takes some time to learn to minimise the highly frustrating deaths that can seem outside your control, "favourites" being spawning in an air transport a second before it plummets into the ground, stepping out a vehicle just as it moves an inch more, being blasted to smithereens while failing miserably to free your tank from some minor foliage, walking into the overpowered yet miniscule sentry guns, or the sudden appearance of "respawning in 10" with no apparent cause even in the console. If you can control the initial desire to scrub your PC of the bastard game and gleefully torture the disk with a lighter and penknife, there is a lot of enjoyment to be had.




























































With the large number of objectives and people to complete them, games can turn into a scrabble of a skirmish, which can leave the player feeling a little aimless. It is quite a contrast when you get a good game going, with the well designed squad system dividing players into small, effective teams - teamplay is heavily rewarded in BF2142, both via results and via the artificial points system. Clans from other games, typically limited to a pool of 8 players at most, scoff at the huge clan armies that exist in Battlefield. Clanning in Battlefield is often more public-server focused however - it rapidly becomes clear that any loose affiliation of players will more regularly be able to find a solid squad to join. A good squad makes the difference from a game that can be quite fun and a game that is a lot of fun.

The slip of paper previously mentioned refers to the monitoring of ingame advertising, a subject which deserves an article in itself. I'm not ecstatic about adverts within games, and it is difficult to imagine them being thematic, given it's supposed to be the year 2142 during an ice age and everybody at war. The adverts haven't been activated yet but there are a significant number of billboards that look likely positioning, my impression is they will detract somewhat from the theme but otherwise not get in the way. Server hosts must have awfully sore backsides by now, they pay for all the hardware, bandwidth and maintenance (not to mention the EA Rank tax) that is utterly crucial to the game and yet who is getting paid from the advertising being displayed to players on their servers? Consumers should be wondering why they are being bombarded with marketing and yet receiving no price discount.

Copyright protection is further evidence of the focus on revenue. CDKeys are required for installation, and online authentication, so it is excessive to require that the DVD be in the drive for online play. How much does all this copyright protection cost anyway?

Battlefield 2142 gameplay is fun and interesting, despite it's flaws. Take any review site that breaks scores down into categories and I'd have to give it a good 7 or 8 out of 10 for each, it deserves it for graphics, sound, gameplay - all the usual categories. It's a multitude of other things that drags it down, has you sighing when you should be grinning. Granted, some of these issues are the fixable kind, but if comments from BF2 players are anything to go by I'm only so optimistic, despite the promise. One can't help wondering if this would have been a really great .

Ths is good buy for now.

Half-life 2

What is it? - Half-Life was one of the most groundbreaking and industry-changing games of all time. This is part 2 of Half-Life.

Game profile - worlds largest gaming community.

The good about it - amazing gameplay both in singleplayer and multiplayer.

The bad about it - a bit costly but it worth.



Half-Life was one of the most groundbreaking and industry-changing games of all time. Countless shooters since have followed the successful title’s lead and build games more involved in and around a storyline as well as adding elements to suck you further into the environment.

As such, Half-Life 2 was one of the most highly anticipated titles ever. Given the problems surrounding its release, the game was even more sought-after than ever. Now it’s finally here and it most certainly doesn’t disappoint. While not nearly as innovative as its predecessor, it builds on the original’s foundation and brings you a truly incredible gameplay experience.

You again play as Gordon Freeman, the physicist turned galactic-warrior in his quest to liberate humanity. This time, the world has been taken over by some alien power called the Combine. A few humans are setup as rulers over what’s left of humanity in order to help maintain rule. A few of Gordon’s old friends and enemies have returned to join the battle, but you won’t have much time to reminisce.

If you’re confused by the bottle-tossing comment, you have obviously not heard a lot about the game. Almost everything in the environment can be manipulated. You can pick things up and throw them or use them at will. Heavier items can be picked up and used with the use of a gravity gun which you pick up at some point throughout the game. In the beginning of the game, before the action begins, you’re sequestered in a place called City 17. There are human guards all around and you’re constantly being spoken to by the “leadership” of the new world via telepromts and screens which are all over the place. It’s a kind of futuristic, camp for human renegades and the atmosphere which it creates and the tone it sets for the rest of the game are spectacular.


























































In the first couple of minutes, there are a couple of moments which really demonstrate how great this game is. First, you are forced through a hallway on the way to City 17. As you’ve been pushed around by lightning stick toting guards, you finally come to a hallway with a door which is guarded by yet another guard. As you approach, the guard whips out his lightning stick, flips a soda pop can off the top of a garbage can and says, “Pick that up.” Awesome. The interaction with the world and the game scripting is incredible. As you pick up the pop can, he tells you to throw it away. Some people may have tossed it in the trash, but the majority of us rebels tossed the can at the guard. He then activates his lighting stick and chases after you. Hillarious. Usually this sets off a can and bottle tossing rampage which continues for several minutes for new users.

A second moment is when you are running through some tunnels after the action kicks in. basically, the entire city is searching for you and you are running like crazy to get away. Helicopters blaze in and hover round and about. If you have surround sound speakers, you will be blown away at this point. The sounds of the helicopters from above echoing through the hallways is amazing. Truly an experience which in and of itself, is worth the price of admission.

These are only a couple of examples of the great gameplay that awaits you in Half-Life 2. The game plays so fluidly and the action is so non-stop that it is a must have for Christmas, if not before.

Battlefield 2

What is it? - Its a third game in battlefield series and it is even more fantastic then others.

Game profile - over 100 awards winner.

The good about it - extreme realistic modern war.

The bad about it - no focus on singleplayer mode.

I rate it - 9/10





Battlefield 2 is actually the third game in the Battlefield series and takes the game to a whole new level. Although the premise of the game is exactly the same as in the previous two titles EA and Digital Illusions have added squad based game-play, modern weaponry and also given the graphics and computer AI a huge boost resulting in the best PC FPS to hit the stores since Halflife2.

Battlefield 2 has only one mode of game-play which sounds like it could be a problem but when you see how good the game-play mode is you will have no complaints. The game-play is a map conquest with two teams starting with 8, 16 or 32 players each and a set amount of spawn tickets. When you die, as long as your team has spawn tickets available, you can re-spawn as many times as you like. When the battle begins, the battlefield has an equal amount of spawn points per team. The aim of the game is to capture the opponents spawn points (represented by flags) and take control of the battlefield. If the battlefield is completely ruled by one team then the opposing team cannot re-spawn. The other eventuality is if one team runs out of tickets. When you join the battle you choose a soldier type like assault, Special Forces, medic, engineer etc and this choice gives you set weapons and facilities which will dictate your role in the battle. You can change your kit mid-battle by picking up the kit of any dead soldier this instantly gives you their weaponry. Medics need to be reviving casualties on the battle field and generally topping up their squads health. Engineers need to do the same but with machines such as tank, cars etc.

Due to the new squad based game-play you can now group together a handy little pack of players who can look out for each other and stop people having to spawn back at base away from the action. Each squad can up its chance of survival by having a good balance of skills to hand. If your squad has a medic or two, an engineer, some infantry and a sniper for cover plus a decent commander then you have a very good chance of being able to advance through the enemies' lines with great effect, especially if your squad sticks together and uses the available communications and vehicles well.

























































Battlefield 2 has all the modes of communication you could ask for. The keyboard and mouse order system works very well but it the voice over IP system that you will want to use. There is nothing like yelling or taking orders from fellow team mates such as “cover me” or “lets wait here” or “go, go, go”! To help your communications the voice system has been designed around the squads. So instead of having everyone talking at once you can only hear commands from your squad.

The control you have over your player in battle and over vehicles and weapons still has a very similar feel to the previous battlefield titles. This can be described as fairly sloppy and unrealistic. This is not where the advancements have been. I am a Counter Strike player which is also an online team based FPS but there is not really any other point of comparison between the two titles. Counter Strike is about precession where Battlefield two is about experiencing the vastness of a raging war.

Battlefield has some of the best audio I have ever heard in a game. This is the most authentic battle opera ever. You can spawn right in the middle of the action with air strikes going off, helicopters being shot out of the sky, bullets whizzing everywhere and cries of the injured all around. Or you can spawn well away from the action where all you can here is the distant rumble of battle, trucks and tanks leaving your base, wind blowing through the trees and even the subtlety a fly buzzing about your head.

If you played either of the previous titles then you will know what to expect. I cannot stress how good the advancements are so the best thing to do is find out for yourself. If you are new to Battlefield but like the sound of what you are hearing then you will not be disappointed. Battlefield is the closest you will get to the experience of war and the fact that you can now develop a clan within the Battlefield world takes the possibilities to an unquantifiable new high.

This is real modern war simulation.