Battlefield Bad Company 2 Onslaught Mode Impressions

by Arthur Gies - IGN.com | 21 May 2010 12:00
 
EA & Dice give us a chance to play nice together in Bad Company 2.
 
The recently announced "Onslaught" mode DLC for Battlefield Bad Company 2 is aimed at addressing the game's main deficiency: a lack of co-op. Rather than retrofitting the entire single-player campaign with a cooperative mode, DICE has instead traveled a route similar to Modern Warfare 2's Spec Ops content, creating a number of point-capture scenarios in some of Bad Company 2's existing multiplayer maps. While DICE and EA haven't divulged when Onslaught will release on PSN and XBL - because of the privately hosted dedicated server basis for PC multiplayer, DICE is still mulling over the feasibility of a release on PC - they did let me spend some time running through two of the four maps available in Onslaught mode, Nelson Bay and Valpraiso.
 
Nelson Bay was hardly recognizable as its Rush mode counterpart, as it travels for the most part through areas of the map previously off limits. Players start in a clearing behind a pair of flares puffing red smoke, which serves as a sort of lobby for players to ready up in before getting started. Players have all of their unlocked equipment from competitive multiplayer available in Onslaught, and points earned in Onslaught also contribute to additional equipment and skill unlocks in all multiplayer modes.
 

When players cross the aforementioned smoke, the scenario begins. Onslaught works like a cross between the existing Rush and Conquest modes in Bad Company 2. You and your squad are tasked with making your way to specific points while battling AI controlled opponents, which you then have to hold for a specific amount of time. Once you've held a point long enough, it detonates (similarly to an M-Com station in Rush), and a new section of the map opens up with a new point to grab.
 
This sounds simple, but in practice, it's often anything but. Heavily armed enemies storm in from every direction, and turn up the heat when you try to hold capture points. From shotgun toting assault troopers to snipers, the AI won't give up points without a fight. This is especially apparent when troop transports and tanks roll in and you'll scramble to coordinate with your teammates to see who has the equipment needed to take them out.
 
It's at points like these where the Onslaught experience really starts to gel. As things become more hectic and you're yelling out to teammates for ammo resupplies or med kits or sniper or anti-vehicle support, the mode opens up. In speaking with the producers, they've said they intend for Onslaught to serve as a training ground for squads to practice for the challenges of multiplayer at a time where the leaning curve for the online game has become extremely steep, and in that regard it could really work. Working together is the key to success in Bad Company 2 online. Learning to do so against AI opponents just might be the ideal introduction to those dynamics.
 
The meta-goal of Onslaught is time based. Each attempt is timed, and you'll constantly be working to best previous times by better coordinating and working together with your squad. As you learn each map and objective and learn to better work as a team, you'll finish each scenario more quickly, assuming of course that you can survive. When teammates are killed, they'll respawn just as they do in online multiplayer, as long as one squad member remains alive. If everyone dies though, the game is over. This issue never popped up for my teammates and I in an hour and a half of play however, which is my one concern with Onslaught mode for the time being (other than the still nebulous price point).
 
While things were often a little nuts and teamwork was encouraged, it rarely actually felt like we were in any serious danger. While I realize that DICE intends to create a mode where people can ease into competitive multiplayer dynamics in a "safer" setting, as an advanced Bad Company 2 player, I'd still like to have the option to join in with some friends to play against the AI and be challenged, and to see the new-ish areas on offer. For example, Valpraiso is a much different experience in the dark. Enemies will rush unseen out of bushes and up the shores of the level from where you can't see them. This often elicited cries of surprise straight out of the movie "Aliens" as we yelled out locations to squad mates, and were forced to use the radar to find pockets of enemy resistance while guiding the tank. The final section of Valpraiso, which sees your squad capping a point out in the open with no cover as enemies parachute in on all sides, feels, dare I say it, new.
 

And thus far, that's what has me excited for Bad Company 2. The co-op experience offers something that feels different from its presumed competition in the market, and while it's separate from the campaign, there were moments where Onslaught really captured the magic of both the single and versus experiences. Thankfully, EA stressed to me that the difficulty of Onslaught will be adjustable when it releases. Combined with the destruction element and the squad system, and I'm eager to play more when the DLC releases with four maps total "soon," according to EA and DICE.
 
Supplied by IGN.com