BATTLEFIELD 2142

GAME DETAILS :-

Developer : Digital Illusions CE ( EA DICE )

Publisher : Electronic Arts

Engine : Modified Refractor 2

Genre : Sci-Fi First-Person Shooter

Release Date : October 17 , 2006

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS :-

Operating System : Windows XP

CPU : AMD Athlon XP 2600+ / Intel Pentium 4 Processor

Memory (RAM) : 1 GB

Graphics Hardware : DirectX 9.0c Compatible Video Card with Memory 128 MB

[NVIDIA : GeForce 7600 Series
ATI : Radeon X800 Series]

Hard Disk Space : 2.2 GB

GAME FEATURES :-

Battlefield 2142's new Titan mode is an exciting addition to the Battlefield series, though for the most part 2142 offers up minor improvements over its predecessor. The plot of 2142 could best be described as Battlefield 2 meets The Day After Tomorrow, the 2004 movie where the world is suddenly encased in a present-day ice age. When billions of people are forced to flee the frigid Northern Hemisphere for the more hospitable Southern one, tensions escalate and shooting wars erupt for the last remaining bits of habitable land. In the game, this translates to the European Union battling the Russia-centered Pan Asian Coalition as they fight to flee Europe ahead of the ice and establish themselves in North Africa. The battlefields will shift from a wintry and war-torn European landscape to the arid sands of North Africa. This also means there are only two factions in the game, though why are the current inhabitants of North Africa sitting idly by while they're being invaded? In any event, these new factions are interesting, even if they are a bit hard to distinguish from one another. The soldiers of the future are clad in the same type of high-tech body armor, though the Russian armor is a bit blacker than the European version. There are no laser or beam weapons here; instead, you'll get futuristic versions of today's weapons. There's an assault rifle, a sniper rifle, a missile launcher, and a light machine gun to equip the game's four classes. The designers took the idea of weapon unlocks in Battlefield 2 and put it on steroids, so you can unlock up to 40 different weapons or pieces of equipment. Not only that, but each class has two different unlock tracks, which specialize in a different direction. For instance, the recon class can become a more powerful sniper or a more effective Special Forces operator, who can sneak around and blow up enemy ground stations, thus hampering the ability of the enemy commander to call in various forms of support. However, this also means that you might be in for some frustration in the beginning, as your character won't even have grenades until you unlock them, and you'll be at a disadvantage against those players who have access to the more powerful weapons and abilities. And while the promotions and unlocks come fairly quickly early on, the pace will slow down as each new unlock requires you to accumulate more and more points. So you'll need to play quite a bit to unlock a lot of what makes Battlefield 2142 so different from its predecessors. Again, there are some new features to make these vehicles feel a bit different. The buggies can kick in a short turbo boost to speed out of the danger zone, while the APCs can launch infantry into the sky on assault pods. The PAC tanks float thanks to hover technology, while the EU tanks rely on conventional treads. If used properly, these new vehicles can be devastating, though they can be countered if infantry teams work together. Of course, getting people to work together has always been a major issue in Battlefield, so we can probably expect the same endless debates about balancing as before.

The commander role returns, and one player on each team can call in satellite scans and aerial drones to detect the enemy, as well as orbital strikes, which are a powerful form of artillery that take a long time to recharge. There's also an electromagnetic pulse strike that temporarily disables any vehicles in the blast radius, as well as scrambles the helmet-mounted displays of infantry. Still, there's a lot here that seems familiar, including the visuals, thanks to 2142 using a slightly enhanced version of the Battlefield 2 graphics engine. Thankfully, 2142 has a cool new feature in Titan mode to accompany the traditional conquest mode. This is the first new mode introduced in Battlefield since the series' inception, and it's a great one. Conquest mode requires you to capture and hold various control points on the map while at the same time trying to whittle down your enemy's respawn ticket count. Titan mode gets rid of the ticket count and changes the control points to missile silos. The goal is now to destroy the other team's Titan, which is a floating aircraft carrier/battleship defended by a powerful energy shield. This can lead to lots of frenetic battles to control the various missile silos, as they periodically loft up a missile that can damage the energy shield. Once the shield is down, you have to assault the Titan, either by flying over on a transport or rocketing up in an assault pod. The whole atmosphere is helped by the excellent quality of the sound production. First, there's the constant stream of chatter in the air, as teammates call out targets or issue orders. The EU forces speak with clipped English accents, while the PAC uses Russian. It'll take a while to recognize what the various Russian phrases mean, though some are instantly recognizable, such as "big robot" when referring to the walkers. The sound effects are also cool, as the weapons of the future sound distinct and unique, while also lethal. Then there's the bombastic and lumbering musical score that wouldn't seem out of place in a Michael Bay movie. Each level has its own rousing theme to get you psyched for the battle ahead. And while the graphics engine hasn't really changed, that's not to say that this isn't a pretty game. Each battlefield has a unique feel to it, from the futuristic fortress that guards Gibraltar to the gutted remains of Berlin. You'll go from picturesque European towns and villages to being surrounded by sleek steel towers to the arid wastes of North Africa. There's plenty of scenery to soak in, but it's the attention to detail that's worth mentioning. Of course, you could always play single-player against the artificial intelligence, though the AI won't be mistaken for human opponents any time soon, and the single-player is still limited to 16-player maps. Still, this is an example of things to come, as we begin to see dynamic in-game ads appear in more and more games.

GAME REVIEW :-

8/10

Battlefield 2142 Trailer :-