Log on and load
James Fryer stands to attention and prepares for war with Battlefield 2: Deluxe. But does this decidely un-pacifist game live up to the hype?
Battlefield 2: Deluxe Edition
PC
The mist rose from the river like a waking ghost, stirred by rattling gunfire in the distance. Alpha Squad crouched to my side – Ian and Dave playing as special forces units, Mark as a medic and Tasha as an assault soldier. I completed the team – armed with a sniper rifle – as we edged ever closer to the enemy base just half a klick ahead. A bold, red Chinese flag was hitched high, fluttering in the wind.
Time was running out but we sat tight, waiting for the right moment. Finally, I heard Tasha’s hushed tones through my headset: “Ten o’clock, Bulldog, take him down.” A Chinese soldier had appeared just in view behind the enemy barracks, gazing out towards the swamps in the East. I had only one chance. He was in range and on target. A deep breath and I squeezed the trigger. The shot rang out through the crisp, icy air, tearing the eerie silence in two and annihilating the target. Like startled birds, the base responded with a swarm of activity.
Within seconds, a chopper circled overhead as tanks thundered out from nowhere and soldiers clambered onto moving jeeps. But, having clocked up well over 100 hours playing together, we all knew exactly what to do. Ian and Dave darted out into the mist, daggers in hand. Mark nervously cocked a pistol, keeping his medikit at bay, and Tasha dropped to the ground releasing burst after burst of bullets, picking out approaching troops like ducks at a fairground shooting gallery. “Requesting immediate artillery strike!” I boomed down the radio, praying it would come in time.
It’s difficult getting your head around the fact the guy on your left is sat in his bedroom, surrounded by empty pot noodles, giving precise strategic orders down the microphone. Overhead are a squad of six Norwegian college students who’ve been perfecting Black Hawk helicopter assaults for months, and the bloke throwing grenades your way is your best mate who lives five minutes down the road. This isn’t just some kind of wishy-washy virtual gaming community academics supposedly unearth in highbrow journals – it’s a well-trained, close-knit war machine. At least until tea time.
Christmas has come early for the millions of should-be-revising teenagers, on-call IT guys and bored housewives with the release of BF2: Deluxe. This latest chart-topper will soon have you swearing allegiance to the US, China or a fictitious Middle East Coalition – and taking to the battlefield on foot or in one of the 30-odd vehicles: from battle tanks to fighter jets. Online play gives you the chance to go to war with a mammoth 63 other troops – all controlled by humans, and the Special Forces expansion pack means you can now fight as a soldier from one of six special units – from the British SAS to Navy SEALs – and use grappling hooks, zip lines and night vision to make taking out the enemy a much more stealth-like affair.
If you drive a Ferrari, snack on Wagyu beef and knock back Châteauneuf du Pape like it’s Masafi, then BF2: Deluxe is for you. Forget Pong, Space Invaders and Mario Brothers, this is, quite simply, the best computer game ever made.