Hot Topic: Should I trade-in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 for Battlefield Bad Company 2?

Over the past couple of days I’ve gotten tweets, PSN messages, and comments all asking me the same question: Is Battlefield Bad Company 2 better than Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2? There’s no real way to please every gamer and I’m going to catch flack from fans of both franchises on this one, but in short, the answer is no.

Simply put here’s why: when people ask this question they don’t mean, “Is the campaign mode intriguing?” or “Which has the best graphics?” no, they are talking about the online multiplayer. While MW2 has its fair share of annoyances (too many kills streaks happening at once, dual shotguns that hit at 100m away, and knife kills that take priority over bullets, to name a few) it is fast paced and full of non-stop action. In this area no other FPS can touch it. You can try and deny this, but no one is going to believe you because it’s just not true. There is no time between re-spawning, maps are laid out in a way where you will never have to hunt down an enemy, and you will get plenty of kills even if you are horrible at the game.

Now for all those reasons I just mentioned, there are going to be many out there that think that those reasons are why MW2 is an awful online experience. But those gamers already have their minds made up and this post isn’t meant for them anyway, it is meant for those who really enjoy the gameplay of MW2 and are looking for a similar experience.

Sorry guys, but you will not find a MW2 online experience in Battlefield Bad Company 2. That is not to say that BBC2 has an awful online multiplayer, because it doesn’t. To be completely honest, I am enjoying BBC2 on a much higher level than I ever have with MW2. But, there’s always a but isn’t there, it is not a high octane, Vin Diesel fueled, action experience like MW2’s multiplayer. It is more strategic and requires teamwork.

A teensy bit of smarts doesn’t hurt either. For one thing the maps are much larger than in MW2, meaning you won’t always be looking down the barrel of an enemy shotgun, sometimes you’ll go a few minutes trying to find an enemy. Both games offer perks, kill streaks, and a lot of the same attachments, but they don’t affect the gameplay in BBC2 as drastically as they do in MW2.

To make sense of this convoluted mess I just spewed all over this post, I’ll make my point clear. If you are an avid fan of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and are looking for a similar online experience then, Battlefield Bad Company 2 is not the game for you. Do not trade-in your precious copy of MW2 hoping you will get the same experience out of BBC2 because you won’t. But, there’s that word again, if you are looking for an online multiplayer with a little more than unremitting action than you owe it to yourself to pick up Battlefield Bad Company 2.