Battlefield 2 - T
Common Sense Note
Parents should know that while countless players die repeated (bloodless) deaths in this war game, BATTLEFIELD 2 also features highly-developed cooperative play via online multiplayer support. Parents are likely to see their kids communicate and strategize with other players to hatch elaborate assaults on enemy positions. Straight-forward attacks rarely work -- only coordinated, creative team play will result in victory. Of course, online play may encourage taunting, bullying, and hard feelings among opponents and teammates alike. And players might be exposed to harsher language.
Families who play this game might want to discuss how Battlefield 2's online play is similar to the schoolyard game "Capture the Flag." How can such a simple concept blossom into one of the most popular multiplayer video games around? Does the addition of violence undermine the innocent appeal of a big, cooperative game? What do both games have in common (hint: not guns, tanks and helicopters) that make them so much fun? How is the social aspect of the two games similar, despite their obvious differences?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Aaron Lazenby
At first glance, Battlefield 2 has many of the features of a middling war-themed first-person shooter: marginal storytelling, passable graphics, and often-tedious missions. Playing the single-player missions might lead you to question why this was one of the summer's hottest PC releases.
But online, Battlefield 2 explodes to the front of the pack.
Next in a series that includes Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield Vietnam, the latest edition centers on conflicts in modern-day hot zones, offering RPGs, sub machine guns and high-powered sniper rifles as the tools of war. Players control different classes of soldiers (assault, special ops, and sniper for example) who use unique combinations of gear to accomplish mission objectives.
In a single-player game, that means players protect a building from snipers or defend an oil platform from paratroopers. In an online game, that means an exciting, chaotic game of capture the flag.
It's in these multiplayer blowouts that the brilliance of Battlefield 2 becomes more obvious. Combat zones feature a high level of interactivity -- players commandeer tanks, boats, helicopters, and pickup trucks. Map design is ingenious, boasting an impressive array of hiding places, fortifications, and obstacles.
In fact, the battlefields are so expansive and interactive that players will find it impossible to go it alone. To make even a modest showing, players will have to find ways to cooperate with their teammates -- either firing a mounted machine gun while a partner drives, covering a comrade as you wind your way through claustrophobic alleys or coordinating frontal assaults on entrenched enemy positions.
And while Battlefield 2 is absolutely saturated in the violence of modern warfare (players die multiple times every game) the lack of blood does something to offset the carnage.
Additionally, players who spend any time playing online will quickly discover that cooperation and creativity are the keys to success. And any game that emphasizes ingenuity over gratuitous gore certainly has value for kids of the right age group.
Rate It!
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ViolenceBloodless, but tank attack, machine-gun fire, helicopter assault, landmine explosion, and knife slashes. |
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Educational ValueHeavily emphasizes tactical problem solving and cooperative game play. Demands creative thinking and thoughtful planning. |
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