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Battlefield 2

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7.9 User Score:

Universal acclaim

Based on 55 critic reviews
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Based on 265 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: Digital Illusions

Genre(s): First-Person Shooter, Action

Players: 64

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: June 21, 2005

Summary

In Battlefield 2, players will choose to fight for one of three military superpowers: the United States, China, or the newly formed Middle East Coalition. Armed with the latest modern weaponry, players can take control of any of the game's 30+ vehicles to engage in major conflicts with over 100 players in some of the largest online battles on the PC. Battlefield 2 features immense, richly detailed, destructible environments, from city streets to remote forests, in some of the most notorious hot spots around the world. Each map in Battlefield 2 adjusts in scale to support the number of players in the world, providing the ideal vehicle-to-player ratio and an optimized game play experience. Enhanced team play features allow players to enter the action on the front lines as part of a formal squad, or work behind the scenes in Commander Mode to direct the strategic assaults of their teammates. With in-game success, players increase their rank from recruit all the way to General and unlock awards, including new weapons, vehicle decals, medals, and more. Additionally, Battlefield 2 showcases an all-new game engine and physics system to bring the modern battlefield to life like never before. The new material penetration feature measures weapons' ability to fire through barriers based on their composition and players will need to know the difference between concealment and cover in order to survive. [Electronic Arts]

Also On Metacritic

GAMES: Battlefield 1942 Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII Battlefield 1942: The Road to Rome Battlefield 2: Euro Force Battlefield 2: Special Forces Battlefield 2142 Battlefield Vietnam

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central GameSpot Guide

Also On The Web: ActionTrip Preview Boomtown Preview GamerFeed Preview Games Domain Preview Games Domain Preview GameSpot Preview GameSpy Preview IGN Hands-On Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

GameSpy

Once you strap into an F/A-18 and rocket over the landscape, once you're crouched next to a tank trying valiantly to repair it while bullets ping off of the armor inches above your head, once you defend a waypoint and ask for new orders from your commander over the radio, all of those nitpicks about map balance or sniper power fade.

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100

Yahoo! Games

With incredible communication tools, top-notch visuals, and a fantastic balance of vehicles and classes, EA has won the battle and the war of online team-based shooters.

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100

Computer Gaming World

The neat thing is that none of it—the chain of command, the elitist bands of E-brothers, the Patton-approved battle plans—needs to matter, at least to the curious weekend commando looking to pop into a public server and simply shoot somebody.

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100

Times Online

The game is at its best when played online or across large networks, since real opponents can be ingenious and make better fidgety targets.

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100

Detroit Free Press

Want more statistics? You got 'em. More ways to contribute to your team (and rewards for doing so) for things like healing and supplies? Done. Better graphics? Much, much, much better. Same great zippy action as you move from tank to helicopter to foot? You bet.

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100

G4 TV

Each class changes the game so drastically that when you grow tired of slinging lead in the alleys, you can always go spec ops or engineer for a completely new experience. The depth and quality here is just staggering, and you won't find a better multiplayer shooter on the PC.

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Game Chronicles

Much like the real military, Battlefield 2 is not just a game, it’s a way of life.

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XGP Gaming

When people get together and play as a team, the game truly shines. Battlefield 2 is the ultimate package. You’ve got gorgeous visuals, excellent gameplay and superb sound.

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Loaded Inc

When it’s all said and done, Battlefield 2 is one of those games that justifies upgrading ones computer and splurging for the sometimes-pricey broadband connection. It’s a fulfilling experience through and through.

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Gamer's Hell

Easily the best online experience I’ve ever had. Even with a few shortcomings like a horrible in-game server browser and extremely long and boring load times, Battlefield 2 is still a step ahead of the rest.

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PGNx Media

An amazing game. Digital Illusions has done what many considered impossible: made a game better, and more fun than "Battlefield 1942."

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Da Gameboyz

DICE and EA have nailed it with Battlefield 2. I'm hooked, and you should be too.

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Computer and Video Games

Graphically it's stunning to behold, geographically vast to explore and whereas the first two games in the series were typified by the anarchic rushes for armour, BF2 promotes and rewards altruism and teamwork like no other.

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BonusStage

Simply put, if you can get past all the damn bugs in the online game, Battlefield 2 is hands-down the best PC game you’ll probably ever play in your life. Well, that’s at least until the next installment comes out.

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PC Gamer

It's finely tuned maps and balanced gameplay prove that you CAN improve on perfection. [Sept 2005, p.56]

Pelit (Finland)

An excellent modern-day multiplayer FPS. The game has an amazing atmosphere and the arcade-ish gameplay makes it fun to play. [Aug. 05]

Game Informer

A masterpiece. [Aug 2005, p.104]

GameSpot

A thrilling testament to how great PC gaming can be. It packs unmatched gameplay, impressive visuals, and endless replayability in one exquisite package. And it's, by far, the most fun that we've had with a PC game this year.

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Jolt Online Gaming UK

Battlefield 2 is a fantastic online shooter, and possibly one of the best we’ve played. The attention to detail, the features and the fantastically designed maps combine to make a brilliant game.

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Worth Playing

It's so well put together that the flaws that do stand out are minor, and while they do add up, they are generally forgotten about once you actually get into the game. It has definitely seized the top spot in its genre.

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GameZone

BF2 is one of the best FPS modern day wargames to date in my opinion. You gotta have it!

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PC Format

Exhilarating to the point of giddiness. This is a martial masterpiece. [Aug 2005, p.80]

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FiringSquad

Those looking for a completely new gameplay experience will be disappointed, as will those hoping for more realism. However, if you're looking for a faster, cleaner and more polished Battlefield, this is it. Digital Illusions didn't roll any dice on this one (pardon the pun), they stuck to the formula but fleshed it out and polished it up.

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Boomtown

A great round of applause then for DICE for making a game that improves the concept and gameplay as well as Battlefield 2 does it.

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Eurogamer

On a server packed full of humans, with a decent commander and motivated, organised squads it plays like an absolute dream. So hurrah for that.

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GamerFeed

The available maps are enormous, and the player is overwhelmed by the feel of modern warfare as jets race across the sky, choppers hover overhead, and tanks roll across the roads.

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eToychest

There are only two things that keep Battlefield 2 from online perfection. The first and most formidable of the two is the terrible browser used to navigate the game’s servers. It’s slow, inaccurate, and downright frustrating at times.

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ActionTrip

While Battlefield 2 doesn't make any huge leaps over its predecessor, it is a very, very good game, and the more you play it, the more you'll notice how good it is. DICE Sweden knows their stuff.

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PC Gameworld

If first person shooters are your bag, be sure to peel this banana and taste its sweet bounty.

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Edge Magazine

A much-needed statement of authority for PC - an online spectacle that eclipses the grand rhetoric volleyed back and forth between the manufacturers of tomorrow's super-powered consoles. A new level of multiplayer combat begins here and now, with shock and awe.

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Cheat Code Central

The animation is smooth and the sound effects are top shelf. Bullets whiz by, explosions echo in the valley and the screams of the enemy play like a sadistic symphony across the bloody fields. War has never been this much fun.

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Pelaaja (Finland)

Team-based combat has been attempted in many games before, but it’s never been as well pulled of as in Battlefield 2. If this game doesn’t create some great team-play action on public servers, then nothing will. [July 2005, p.70]

games(TM)

Battlefield 2 represents a far better understanding of what war actually entails; an effort to put the player in the heart of a battle where advancement is more strategic than just running around looking for a target. [Aug 2005, p.90]

Sydney Morning Herald

Playing with dozens of real-life comrades is exhilarating.

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PALGN

One of the strongest multiplayer shooters on the market. With classes that compliment each other, a brilliant squad system, and fast, furious gameplay, Battlefield 2 is about as much fun as online shooters get. An easy contender for game of the year.

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Play Magazine

There's a clear and steady stream of tactical flow across virtually every map, a rare feat in and of itself. [Aug 2005, p.66]

Thunderbolt

Team play innovations, graphical supremacy and the thundering roar of enemy jets combined with persistent stats all work together to really put you There. There being any one of the varied, immaculately crafted maps, each available in 16, 32 and 64 player sizes.

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WHAM! Gaming

A phenomenal game if it runs on your machine. While it is not exactly the dynamic battlefield that EA had hyped, it is one of the most enjoyable multiplayer first person shooters to come out in years.

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AceGamez

You've got love a game that can have you dodging bullets as you ride through an enemy base in a buggy, guns blazing one minute, then sneaking onto an enemy runway, blowing their aircraft to pieces and stealing one of their helicopters to escape the next. The variety is what makes Battlefield 2 the enjoyable game it is; the unpredictability means it rarely gets repetitive.

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Computer Games Magazine

Perhaps the single most thrilling instance of how far shooters have come. [Sept 2005, p.44]

Xequted

If you've got a powerful enough system, you simply must take advantage of it and buy Battlefield 2.

Games Radar (in-house)

If your machine is up to it, you won’t find a better team game than Battlefield 2, period.

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Gamers' Temple

On the field of multiplayer shooter combat, Battlefield 2 conquers the competition with shock and awe.

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IGN

The thing to remember about Battlefield 2 is that it's exceptionally fun.

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Inside Gamer Online

An excellent step in the evolution of the series, featuring strong improvements to communication in action games while retaining the hectic nature of the combat so familiar to fans.

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Next Level Gaming

For those of you that like multiplayer games then you have a winner in Battlefield 2. If, however, you are a single player fan like myself then I’m sorry, but there are better FPS out there for you, including "Battlefield 1942."

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2404.org

If you have a clan or a group of friends that want to go fighting together, it is a great way to spend a couple of hours.

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Gaming Nexus

It’s one of the few games where I’ve had a ton of fun even when I m losing a match. I’ve had many cool experiences playing it and a lot of “did I just see that” moments but all of that is crapped on by the bugs and quirks in the game.

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1UP

Battlefield 2 absolutely sets a new standard for multiplayer combat on a grand scale, but the final result is evolutionary, not revolutionary, so the the proposition is a little bit tricky.

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Game Over Online

The game is excellent, merely sabotaged by lack of polish and in some circumstances, by human behaviour. I wouldn’t punish Dice for being adventurous.

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Game Revolution

Now if only DICE can figure out how to address some of the issues that have plagued the Battlefield games since 1942, like bad single-player content and a pervasively noob-hostile atmosphere, we'd be in gaming heaven. As it stands, we're slightly below that.

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VideoGamesLife

Looks gorgeous and its gameplay is intense and ambitious. There are just enough new features to justify its massive hype, giving fans of the series many reasons to be excited. But it is not yet the finished article.

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3DAvenue

In all areas it has the credentials but the bugs all point towards another EA title that has been rushed out the door... Its squad based tactics are rewarding and the overall game does have the right fun factor to go along with the diverse gaming options.

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GamePro

While Battlefield 2 definitely shines as the most impressive in the series, the lack of advancement to gameplay may give it a shorter lifespan than the original.

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GameShark

Battlefield 2 is a game that can offer tremendous amounts of online fun, but the effort required to actually get there is almost a turn-off in itself at times.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 7.9 (out of 10) based on 265 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Daniel P. gave it a10:
If you're looking for an FPS with a realistic twist, with good strategy this is the game. Unlike Call of Duty 4, which is fast paced and in your face ALL the time and no team dynamics as well as no inter-squad voice communication, BF2 offers a player to help out the whole team by being a commander and setting up UAVs, arty attacks, supply drops, vehicle drops, and calling out enemies for your buddies. Yes it may be annoying and so paced on the big maps that require you to use vehicles, but you have to remember its trying to be realistic. You wont get from one end of a city to another by continually running with heavy ass gear and not tiring out ( unless you have a vehicle of course). Then there is the physics that needs to be considered. Unlike CoD4 and other games where the bullet goes straight to the middle of the cross hair no matter at what distance, at great distance in BF2 maps you HAVE TO take into consideration bullet trajectory. Having a guy's head in your sniper crosshairs at 800m will NOT give you a headshot hahaha. There issues with this game as there are with any other: technical from EA and having stupid egotistical people calling you noobs when youre trying to learn. But i never payed attention to them and ive stuck with this game for 3 years and still love it! It's a must get for any realistic , big map, strategy, team-based fans FPS.

A I gave it a5:
The game feels like it is early beta, at best. Ja there are crashes, yes there are bugs, but this is not even what I am talking about. The game itself seems to be missing a lot of polish. When I was playing bf1942, it felt like a finished game. I cannot say the same thing for the sequel.

[Anonymous] gave it a10:
Best 1st person shooter ever, team work, squads, commanders + user any vehicle in a map...

Guy S gave it an8:
Being a long time player since 1942, I recently picked this game up again. If you can get over the horrible, HORRIBLE hitboxes, which at times make melee and headshots seem within the realm of impossibility, this game is great. But back to the hitboxes. It seems the developers of Dice think the human head is about 2 inches in diameter., because you have to land a sniper shot right on the nose to hit, and I don't think there ARE any hitboxes on the arms. the legs and feet? yes, 'cus you can shoot them when their legs jut out through walls while proning. On a more positive note: The maps are huge and unique in geography, the vehicles are very much fun to use, all of them, except maybe the inflatable landing boats, and the combat roles the different classes play out is refreshing: The sniper can lay down claymores and sit back, plinking enemies from, in some maps, perhaps up to a quarter of a mile away, considering he/she is good, and has a good gaming rig, the combat medic can heal allies, and revive those who were fragged, saving them from having to respawn back at base, the support guy can lay down suppressing fire and resupply his allies with ammo, the spec ops guy can sabotage bridges, vehicles, and team assets (such as artillery and UAV trailers) with sticky C4 charges (pity the soldier who takes off in a jet only to have it explode in midflight from a hidden c4 charge stuck on it's body), The engineer repairs vehicles and lays down anti-tank mines, the anti-armour troop works on destroying said vehicles with wire-guided rockets (note that the armour guy in bf2 has his own gun ALONG with a pistol, not just a pistol like in 1942), and the assault guy.... pretty much is a meat-shield. He focuses on pure murder-power, but he can throw smoke and flash-bang grenades, now. The only negatives to this game in comparison to the older ones is that there are no pilotable naval units in the game like in 1942. The aircraft carriers are part of the environment, and cannot be controlled, and there are no subs or destroyers. Also there are no long-range artillery units anymore. Also, I miss being able to jump into the landing crafts and ride them without actually entering them, like you could in 1942, and similarly you cannot ride the black hawks in the same fashion, like in BF: Desert Combat. Vehicle riding may be considered unbalanced in most games, but considering the scale of most of the maps, and the fact that BF2 was developed on realism, and in the real world you may see up 10 or even 20 soldiers piled onto a moving tank or APC like penguins on a melting iceburg, the concept should have been kept.

Chris T. gave it a7:
Not nearly as good as overpaid reviewers make it out to be.

Mike N. gave it a5:
Played for about 2 years on various top o the line PCs. Good fun for a while but it has glaring balance issues and problems from release with bugs/glitches/bad code. Theres also problems with the hitboxes on models causing hits not to register. This means you can repeatedly knife someone in the face and they dont die... among other things. Support by EA has been so poor that they have had to actually withdraw their infrequent and badly needed patches, they made things worse in some respects. It has "issues" with some hardware combinations, as I personally discovered. I had to UNDERCLOCK some RAM on one PC ( PC was way above system requirements) as it couldn't handle the speed. It will probably work fine for you but dont surprised if your awesome gaming PC has lots of disconnects or crashes to desktop. This is the only program in years that I've seen reset any of my computers. Its a good game, it could have been the best multiplayer game ever but EA rushed it out in a beta stage and never bothered to finish it.

Lewis W. gave it a5:
Great fun at the start, however... After you have played it for a while you realise that its a bit shallow. The overpowered Vechiles take most of the fun of infantry combat away and oversized maps make it feel empty and also forces you to use vechiles to get anywhere in a reasanable time. The new commander feature is basically a guy that can fire artillery at spawn points before they can be captured. If you are a begineer to the series you will not find any help in controling the complicated aircraft and when you DO crash them into the ground you will be repeatedly called a newbie by everyone, this is just one of those games that attracts those types of people. Gamplay aside its not worth trying to get the game to work, EA are notorious for their bugs, crashs and freezes and this game is no exeption. If your a fan of the series this game will be fine, but as a newbie to the game, dont bother.

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Battlefield 2

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