The unlock and promotion system has also been overhauled as well. First introduced in Battlefield 2, the game tracked how many points you had scored in a match and at certain point levels you got a promotion. Each promotion allowed you to unlock a weapon for one of the game's classes. Battlefield 2142 takes that to a new level as each class has eight unlocks plus four general unlocks and four squad leader unlocks.
The unlock system works pretty well as it provides strong motivation to keep playing the game. DICE also did a pretty good job with the levels of promotion this time around. Unlike Battlefield 2 which required a ton of hours to get even one unlock (something they fixed in a one of the first patches) you can quickly earn three to four unlocks after only a few hours of play. As you progress through the ranks the points for your next promotion go up so each promotion takes longer to acquire. DICE did a really good job with the promotion paths this time around as you can easily max out one class in the game in less than five hours of gameplay.
Another nice feature of the system is that as you play a game your squad can be granted a field upgrade which allows you to upgrade one of your areas for free. The field upgrades stay with you for as long as you are playing on a particular server so while they aren't permanent they are a good way to try out future upgrades before committing to them.
There are a few downsides to the system though. The first is that fragmentation grenades are not part of the initial classes at the start of the game. You do get EMP grenades (which are helpful in disabling vehicles and screwing with other players) but not having fragmentation grenades at the start of the game is troublesome as they are something that you really need during Titan missions to help clear out entrenched enemies. The second major problem with the system is that it's not new player friendly. Those who are just now purchasing are at something of a disadvantage to those who bought the game at launch as they don't have access to the same weapons and upgrades. This isn't that big of a deal as you can claim the equipment off someone you kill but it can be frustrating.
The new Battlefield has overhauled the class system from the previous game. DICE has distilled the six classes in Battlefield 2 down to four in Battlefield 2142 The medic and assault classes have been merged into one class as have the commando and sniper class with the support and engineer classes remaining pretty the same. Personally I think it's a good move as it helps simplify the class system a bit while still allowing for some variety. Using the unlock and promotion system you can still "build" a dedicated medic or assault class but it's nice to be able to have a soldier who can heal as well as fight.
While Battlefield 2142 features a host of "new" vehicles, those who've been playing the series since the start will experience a strong sense of Deja vu for most of the vehicles in the game. The jeep/humvee model is back again with almost no major changes since Battlefield 2. The tanks are back but have a few twists. The major change is that tank drivers no longer have an anti-personnel machine gun at their disposal which means that they are more susceptible to fire from troops on foot. This is to encourage tank drivers to pick up a second person to man the machine gun on top of the tank and not just ride around solo.
The APC's have also been upgraded a bit as well as they are now much larger and much stronger offensively. The APC’s are also one of the two ways you can board an enemy Titan as they offer launch pods which can rocket you up on to the Titan. The pods can also be used to launch from the APC when it’s about to be destroyed or used to reach high sniping spots. Controlling the pods is a blast and the game is worth buying to just fiddle around with the pods.
The aircraft in the game have received a major and welcome overhaul. Instead of having the four (or more if you purchased the booster packs) flying vehicles of Battlefield 2 you now only have two flying vehicles that are basically faster versions of the helicopters from Battlefield 2. They are also a bit fragile and so far I haven’t seen anyone dominate a game from the air which is a nice switch from the fighter pilots of Battlefield 2. DICE has also added in stronger anti-air weapons and one of the available unlocks for the support class is an anti-air missile. This was one of my major gripes about Battlefield 2 so it’s nice to see it address although I’m sure this probably pissed a lot of the hardcore base of the game.
Another switch to the air vehicles is that they’ve made the flying vehicles a little easier to control. For the life of me I could never pilot a helicopter in BF2 and now I can kind of almost make it look like I know what I’m doing with the transport helicopter. It’s still a challenge but it’s nice to see the developers making it a little easier for everyone else.
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