Let me first talk to you about the aspect of the game which DICE hoped to improve the most, I am of course talking about the graphics. Graphically this game is far superior to its Xbox counterpart. Vehicles look so smooth and so detailed, also you will notice that your weapons have been given a major visual over haul and the final result is truly amazing. The lighting effects have also been upgraded and it really does make a difference, you will notice it most when you’re up in a chopper but even on the ground you will see just how much work DICE have put into this new game.

The actual characters do of course look unique, a sniper will be covered in leaves to help him blend in with the surroundings, were as engineers will have a giant rocket strapped to their back and not only do they look unique, they also die in unique ways thanks to the bolstered rag doll physics implemented into the game. It’s always good to see a dead body hanging off a turret or impaled on a tank. Two other additions include bullet casings remaining on the floor that won’t magically disappear after a few minutes but instead stay put until the end of the game. It really does look good when you watch your friend go through four hundred bullets and then see the pile of bullet casings left over. The other addition is the fact that your bullets will create greater damage to the buildings, if you shoot a wall in the same place you will notice that bigger chunks of debris then fall away from the building. Something this simple adds so much realism to the game.

As well as vehicles the actual maps have been given a glossy coat to make them look that little bit better; to be honest the buildings don’t look that much different from the Xbox version. The thing is as soon as you look down you start to see where all the work really went (you’re probably thinking I’m mad telling you to look down!) but trust me you really see a huge difference in the ground physics. I managed to get the Xbox version side by side with the 360 game and although the vehicles do look a hell of a lot better, it was the landscape that impressed me the most. The Xbox landscape was bland and looked like it was made up of a metre long square just copied and pasted across the map. Yet the Xbox 360 doesn’t look anything like that, it looks like every blade of grass, sand and gravel is unique and as such it just makes the game look amazing.

Explosions also look unbelievable on the Xbox 360. The aftermath of an artillery strike is so beautiful that you really do start to get scared when you hear the distant whistle of fifty missiles honing in on your position. You will also love the mouth watering results of a military barrage on a tank or helicopter. Finally the mini explosions from grenades and especially C4 really add to this games realism and you will yearn for destruction after only a few minutes of battle.
 
There are a few downsides in the graphics department, the biggest problem being the absolutely horrid shadows. I would have probably preferred the game without shadows as what you see by the side of your tank or vehicle is a pixelated mess. The smooth and sleek look of your tank will be completely ruined as your shadow is made up if pixels a foot in length. It’s a shame to see that they couldn’t finish the shadowing off as it does ruin the game in parts. The other problem is the fact that soldiers can float, granted it only happens if they are a quite a way away. Even so it really does ruin the intense feeling of war when you see an engineer floating across the road a foot of the ground firing rockets towards you. Overall though the upgrade in graphics is great and in really does look next-gen in parts.

The campaign mode is pretty much a copy and paste job. It’s a near replica of the Xbox version and to be honest it’s very dull. Granted the unique hot swapping is a rush, but that only lasts a few minutes. The only reason why anyone would want to venture into the single player game is if you really
wanted to get a bigger gamerscore otherwise I would steer clear! You’re probably thinking that it’s unfair to say that the single player is pointless but trust me once you play it you will never sign off Xbox Live again. In single player you’ll loose the feeling of team work and you will also find yourself being more careless in the campaign mode. In the single player game you will have to follow a ranking system much like the online game and to get a higher rank then you must get certain medals or kills. You get a group of soldiers (whom you can’t control in anyway, shape or form) but the sad thing is they can in no way be compared with real soldiers as they seem to only have one thing on their mind; to die in the quickest way possible! They seem to just run out into the open even if there’s a 120mm in front of them and that really does dent the realism factor in the single player game. If you do manage to wade through the campaign mode then you will find a variety of different missions on offer from sniping to undercover special ops mission and my favourite which is of course the helicopter missions, but overall there really is no point playing the single player mode as online the game is so much more rewarding.

Now we get to what has to be the best aspect of the game, Xbox Live. Forget about the crappy single player mode and focus as this is the one reason why this game is worth the fifty quid price tag. As soon as you sign onto Xbox Live this game turns into an absolutely amazing game; 24 player matches, countless maps and a massive collection of vehicles to commandeer. What more could you want? On the Xbox, the online connection was always a problem, servers kept failing and lag was about as common as Jade Goody! Luckily the online portion of the game has been given a slight upgrade and you will immediately notice that lag hardly ever rears its ugly head and the chances of being disconnected are now minimal. With this new upgrade the online aspect of Battlefield is truly remarkable.

The first thing you will notice is just how much team work is involved, not having a mic is finally considered a crime and since I first played the game I have yet to experience a muted game. Now vehicle hogging is very much frowned upon and as such you will find yourself always waiting for other players to jump into your chopper or tank as going in on your own is pretty much suicide. You will also find yourself figuring out new ways to kill the enemy such as strapping C4 to vehicles and waiting for an enemy soldier to start the engine only to find shrapnel lodged in his brain! Now that’s what soldiers of this day and age call tactics and to be honest it is rarely seen anymore. It’s a shame because if you wish to advance your rank on games like Battlefield 2 then you will have to think rather than doing the good old spray and pray routine and because of it the game feels so realistic.

There are a couple of game types including Capture the Flag, but for the best online experience you can’t get better than conquest. Conquest involves a series of flags spread across the map and your mission is to take these flags over and as such take over the majority of the map. The more flags you have the quicker your oppositions score depletes. You will also notice yourself taking a fancy to different soldiers; now the class you choose can depend on personal preference, map or just how you feel at the time. For example I used Assault Kit on Damage, Spec Ops on Backstab and a mix of Sniper and Engineer kits on Bridge to Far, but in the end its completely up to you and the variety between the kits. You will also find yourself choosing different vehicles in different situations, many new players (or n00bs as is stated in the unwritten online dictionary) will constantly go for the Helicopter (guilty as charged), but the novelty soon wears off as tactically they are nothing more than troop carriers because chances are you will find yourself being hunted down by three GTAM’s (Ground to Air Missile) within seconds of taking off. In retrospect this game would be a pile of
smouldering horse manure if it wasn’t for Xbox Live and yet as soon as you go online you immediately realise that the price tag of fifty pounds is justified. Gamers will be online for many, many months and to be honest I think its already the best Xbox 360 online game.

The controls in the game are very easy going. Vehicles are very easy to steer and things like weapon switching and jumping will become second nature after a few games. The controls for the helicopter are a tad more difficult, but they need to be as a map could be over-run if the helicopter controls were over simplified. The game also excels in the audio department, with things like gun fire, vehicles and missiles sounding unbelievable realistic. Explosions sounds so intense, the boom you get from a 120mm being destroyed will vibrate your room and on 5.1 surround sound the sense of war just becomes jaw droopingly good. As for the soundtrack its simply one song which is the BF2 theme, but if you want to get the full Battlefield experience then you will turn your iPod off and simply bask in the presence of Modern Combat.

Battlefield for the Xbox 360 is a must for anyone who has never had the pleasure of playing it before now, as for everyone who has experienced it on the Xbox or PS2, well you should get it anyways. Yes the fifty quid price tag is extortionate but then again if you do a bit of searching online you can find it for a steal at around thirty quid. The game is a thing of beauty once you take it online, you will find yourself losing all sense of time and the only thing that will be on your mind is the screams of your enemies as they get mown down by your assault rifle. This game not only offers you great visuals and a flawless online game, but you will also find yourself using tactics like flanking enemy tanks and dropping from helicopters to gain a foot hold while playing online. The campaign mode is pretty dull, but the only reason why you need to buy this game is for Xbox Live.

Simple as!