Battlefield 2142
| Battlefield 2142 | |
|---|---|
| File:Battlefield 2142 box art.png Battlefield 2142 box art | |
| Developer(s) | Digital Illusions CE (DICE Stockholm) |
| Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts |
| Series | The Battlefield series |
| Engine | Modified Battlefield 2 engine |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| Release |  October 18, 2006  October 18, 2006  October 20, 2006  October 27, 2006  October 18, 2006  November 2, 2006 |
| Genre(s) | Online First Person Shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
Battlefield 2142 is a first-person shooter computer game designed by Digital Illusions CE using a modified, critically acclaimed, engine of Battlefield 2 set in the 22nd century, during a new ice age. It has been well reviewed and was released on October 18, 2006 in the United States and October 20, 2006 in the European Union. Currently, there have been over one million rounds played since its release.[1] It is the first Battlefield game to not feature the United States of America as a playable military faction.
The game was built primarily for multiplayer use allowing a maximum 64 players on a server and allows a single player mode with AI bots on Conquest mode with a maximum up 16 players. It has its own ranking system to keep track of the user's stats similar to the one used in its predecessors, Battlefield 2. It additionally opens up a new field of vehicles not seen in Battlefield 2 as well as new futuristic weapons the player is able to use. Battlefield 2142 has an unlock system allowing the player to choose a new unlock every time they rank rather than making them purchase the item.
Story
By early 2138, the world's six factions were heavily fortified, ready to battle over the world's remaining land and resources. Expecting an invasion by the Pan Asian Coalition (PAC) into the agriculture-rich plains of Northern Africa, the European Union concentrated its resources along the Mediterranean, ready assist with the Union of African States. A foray by two PAC battalions into Egypt seemed to confirm their suspicions, but the attacks were merely decoys, meant to distract the world from the PAC's primary objective—to destroy the military might of the EU's premiere units still located in Europe.
Following the defeat of the EU army in Europe, the stage was set for the Pan Asian Coalition military to force its way into the EU-occupied African mainland. In February 2142, the EU formed 'The Mediterranean Wall', a line of defenses along the North African coast from Morocco to Egypt. Meanwhile, the Pan Asian Coalition was drawing up a series of deception plans under the code names Kupalo, Dazhbog and Perun. These exercises were designed to preoccupy and divide the EU forces in preparation for the PAC's primary mission, Operation Motherland, a comprehensive, multi-pronged assault on the African continent.
Gameplay
Battlefield 2142 includes two gameplay modes, Conquest and Titan[2], the latter of which can only be played online in multiplayer maps. The Conquest mode supports up to 64 players online, while the Titan mode normally supports 48 due to performance concerns. However, the Titan mode can be modified to support 64 players as well.
Conquest
The Conquest mode involves players working to defend and capture spawnpoints labeled by flags. There are several types of Conquest modes. In Head-on, both teams start with one flag that is uncapturable. Whichever team has the majority of the flags will initiate a ticket drain on the other team. The ticket drain is constant and cannot be increased by controlling more than a simple majority of the flags. In assault mode, one team starts out with all the flags but one, which is the PAC base. The PAC receives more tickets, but has a ticket drain on them until they take at least one flag from EU. The EU cannot have a ticket drain initiated by flags, but they have no uncapturable base, making them vulnerable to elimination. The last mode is Double Assault, in which neither team has an uncapturable flag, and they both start with one base. Whichever team holds the majority of the flags initiates a ticket drain. In all of the conquest modes, every respawn of a soldier takes one ticket.
Titan
The Titan mode involves players from opposing teams whose objective is to destroy the other team's Titan,[3] while trying to defend their own. Titans are what can be simply described as large, flying strongholds, which have powerful shields protecting it from boarding. Titans can be moved throughout the battlefield by Commanders, players who are elected to lead each team. Titans can be boarded by infantry via pods launched from an APC, pods launched from a rival Titan, pods launched onto a Titan because of a squad beacon (unlock item), or by landing on the Titan in an air transport, after the Titan's shields have been worn down. Players must then destroy four reactor consoles and then the reactor itself. When the hull of the Titan fails, a 20-second abandon ship timer is triggered, allowing players to evacuate the Titan before it is completely destroyed and avoid dying in the ensuing explosion. During the beta release of the game, there was an award for those who managed to escape the destroyed Titan before the 20-second timer ends. In the retail game, the round ends when the Titan is destroyed, and because player deaths triggered by the end of a round do not count, the evacuation is entirely for inducing a rush in the player. The Titan escape award, sometimes known as the "Titan Survival Pin", has been re-introduced by the 1.05 patch as a receivable award.
On the console rooms of the Titans there is a sign painted on the wall of a RDX demo pack with a slash through it. This was not in the beta version and may be considered a reference to the beta infamous "titan crash" bug where the titan blew out from beneath the players when an RDX was placed on the consoles and core.
Statistics tracking
The ranking and points system of Battlefield 2142 is similar to Battlefield 2, however, different ranks are featured. As with Battlefield 2, a key feature of the game is "Character Persistence", which saves and tracks almost every aspect of gameplay for players. When playing the game in online multiplayer mode on specified servers, a master server tracks player points, ranks, equipment, and other statistics. At the current time statistics information for Battlefield 2142 players is not public except for on EA's Official Battlefield 2142 Website.
Unlocks
Every time a player earns a new rank, which is attained when points or awards are received, they are able to choose a new unlock. There are a total of 40 unlocks and there are different categories of unlocks including class unlocks, squad unlocks, and ability unlocks. All unlocks are in tiers and require the player to progress up through the tree to unlock higher level equipment.
Soldier Kits
There are four different playable classes for both the PAC and EU:
- Recon
The Recon class is initially equipped with a sniper rifle, pistol, and combat knife. The Recon soldier can unlock anti-personnel mines (that resemble claymore mines), an improved rifle scope and scope stabilizer, an upgraded sniper rifle (Zeller H Advanced Sniper Rifle), RDX demo packs (similar to C4 explosives), active camouflage, and a tactical carbine (Lambert Carbine).
- Assault
As the name suggests, this class is a frontline soldier equipped with an assault rifle, pistol, combat knife, and medical supplies. The kit can unlock a rifle mounted shotgun or rocket launcher, a defibrillator, improved medical supplies, smoke grenades, and two different assault rifles (Baur H-AR and Voss L-AR). The medic hub has a drug in it called "DICEperine" directing to the developers.
- Engineer
The Engineer kit is equipped with an anti-vehicle Rocket Launcher, sub-machine gun, combat knife, and the ability to fix vehicles and turrets. The Engineer can unlock EMP mines, motion activated homing mines, a mine defuser, vehicle sonar (marks enemy vehicles on the radar for the whole team), a portable Surface-to-air missile launcher (SAAW 86), and an anti-armor rifle (Pilum HAVR).
- Support
The Support soldier is equipped with a light machine gun which becomes more accurate after every shot (but also overheats readily), pistol, combat knife, and can resupply teammates with ammunition. The Support kit can unlock EMP grenades, an automated Sentry Drone, a deployable energy shield (shown in screenshot at right), improved ammo hub, a heart beat detector which reveals the location of hidden enemies, a shotgun (Clark 15B) and a more powerful machine gun (Ganz HMG).
Vehicles
The vehicles in Battlefield 2142 are similar to the basic types in Battlefield 2, but they have many differences as well. All of the vehicles, execpt the FAV, have an active defense energy shield that can be activated to temporarily block anti-vehicle measures.
The FAV (Fast Attack Vehicle) is the quickest, most agile ground vehicle, sporting a nitro boost system for enhanced speed. To achieve its maneuverability, the FAV does not feature armor, and is fairly vulnerable while stationary. Small arms fire is capable of damaging or destroying this class of vehicle. It can carry three passengers and is armed with a light machinegun.
The APC (Assault Personnel Carrier) is a medium-armored infantry transport vehicle equipped with launch pods to allow its passengers to board enemy titans. Its armament includes a driver controlled machine gun turret and EMP launcher, a gunner controlled mortar cannon, and four passenger controlled light machine guns. It can carry five passengers into battle and is the second fastest ground vehicle and has active defense counter measures.
The main battle tank for both sides is equipped with a powerful cannon with enhanced zoom magnification abilities and a secondary position heavy machine gun. The PAC Tank uses hover technology that allow it to move sideways and around obstacles, but a fixed main gun, while the EU Tank uses more traditional treads or tracks and has a swiveling turret for its main gun. Besides the movement characteristics and slight accuracy adjustments, there is little difference in the effectiveness of the two tanks. Both forms of EU and PAC tanks have the active defense counter measures
The newest vehicle addition to the Battlefield series is the Battlewalker, a bipedal, mechanized firing platform designed to respond to a variety of threats. It has the heaviest armor and lowest speed of all vehicles, but has the heaviest armaments. The driver controls twin cannons effective against infantry and SWARM Rocket Pods for use against armored vehicle targets. The Gunner position is equipped with an anti-aircraft gun and EMP Missiles to defend the Battlewalker against aerial threats.
The gunship is a futuristic equivalent to the Battlefield 2 attack helicopter, but has enhanced speed and maneuverability, the Gunship is the predominant aerial combat vehicle. The pilot fires heat seeking missiles effective against air targets and ground vehicles. The Gunner controls a machine cannon and wire guided missile launcher.
The Air Transport is a fast method of aerial transportation that can carry six passengers, two of which control door machine guns on either side of the aircraft to provide protection. Passengers eject via launch pod to rapidly and accurately land on their target. Several in-game awards are based on effective piloting of the air transport, mainly during Titan assaults. Also the pilot can "bump" other transports or gunships by decending directly above them and hitting them,this will destroy gunships in one "bump" and it may vary with transports
Expansions and Booster Packs
Northern Strike
As of January 18, 2007, Electronic Arts has announced that it will release the Northern Strike booster pack for the Battlefield 2142 game [4]. In Northern Strike, the battle moves to northern and central Europe. The PAC has set up strongholds in the urban areas left abandoned because of the war. The EU launches an offensive to take back its land from PAC.
The expansion will add two new vehicles, the Hachimoto for the PAC, and the IFV Goliath for the EU. Instead of ranking up to gain unlocks in Northern Strike, players will get unlock credits for receiving one of the ten new badges. The booster pack will additionally contain three new maps and a new game mode. A developer interview on the official website also hinted at a new pin.
Rumors of Development
Battlefield 2142 had been rumored to be in development, ever since a 30 second video was leaked to the internet in January 2006. The video described itself as an "internal test." The proof of concept depicts the games' various vehicles storming through a futuristic city. A photo depicting the walker was taken from this video and subsequently used in marketing for the game.
The rumors began in earnest following a February 2006 interview with Dan Blackstone, a senior producer from EA, in which he mentioned:
- We’re about to announce something very big, so stay tuned. One other interviewer asked this and I gave him a hint, so it’s only fair that I do the same for you: 3213/3X2. Or said another way: S.R. 4588164.[5]
The S.R. (Square Root) of 4588164 is 2142 (3213÷3×2 equals 2142 as well), hence the rumors. The only proof of existence was the cover story of the PC Gamer magazine and the trailer, published on the very same magazine, until March 21, 2006, when EA/DICE announced that, the next game in the Battlefield series would be Battlefield 2142, in their March 21, 2006 Community Update.[6] To further show proof of the game's existence, at Multiplay i27, a LAN party which EA sponsors regularly, Battlefield 2142 merchandise was given out, along with further details on a release date. In the Battlefield 2 Armored Fury Booster Pack map Midnight Sun, there was a drivable muscle car with the license plate number 2142. Additionally in Armored Fury, there was a billboard advertising a digital wrist watch, which displays '21:42' as the time, and a Mushroom cloud with the caption message, "Watch For The Future." Addiotionally in Armored Fury, the drivable semi-truck had a magazine on the passenger seat that reads "Ice Age Approaches."
BF2142 was officially announced and was playable at E3. Several trailers and previews are available on major gaming websites from this event.
There are rumors circulating on some gaming websites that a port of Battlefield 2142 will appear on the Xbox 360,PS3 and Wii.[7] Though, EA and DICE only commented in a video that "If the community demand is high enough, everything is possible."
Beta release
The Battlefield 2142 beta was released in the third week of August, after generating immense hype. However, it was revealed that the beta was not a complete "open" beta upon its release, which disappointed many fans. At first, the general belief was that it was to be a Fileplanet subscriber-only beta,[8] but it was later revealed to additionally have an invite system. At that time the beta was only available to certain Fileplanet subscribers (keys were given out on a first-come, first-serve basis) and those who were invited. Some fansites had been holding contests giving out invitations to the BF2142 beta as prizes. On August 31, a large number of keys were given out by Fileplanet for free, and the beta client was upgraded. However, as of September 2, the beta was closed as all the keys had been given out. The Fileplanet beta ended on September 12, 2006.
Advertising components
Battlefield 2142 shipped with dynamic in-game advertising provided by IGA Worldwide. A similar system is featured in games such as Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, and SWAT 4.[9] The system changes advertisements on objects such as billboards in-game. These in-game advertisements have been dubbed adware by some, and there has been a vocal backlash against this element of the game.[10] Some players also alleged that the game contained spyware that monitors the user's web-browsing habits. However, DICE employees have claimed on the game's forums that the game only reports what in-game advertisements you look at, and for how long.[11] The Australian version of 2142 however lacks the Dynamic Advertising feature[12] as it is believed to be illegal under the Australian Spyware Act.[13] EA/DICE are currently holding a contest to find the best player in-game ad ideas (futuristic ads) to put into the empty billboards in the game. Additionally, recently much of the "advertising space" has been used to show propaganda for new in game features and helping to feed rumors of a new game type in the works. Intel has advertised in the game, and recently the Discovery Channel has placed advertising in the game for their series "Future Weapons."
Billboards without paid advertisements generally have recruitment posters for the factions, and ads for "DICE Travel." These travel ads sell the reader into going to the various maps, such as Verdun or Berlin, for ₤2142, with taglines such as "Gun not included" and "One-way." Some billboard ads recently added after the new year can be found during the gameplay saying "Happy 2143 EU Soldiers!" Additionally there is a reference to the sci-fi film Starship Troopers, and by extension, World War Two recruitment posters, on billboards featuring the slogan - "He's Doing His Part. Are You?"
Retail bonuses
Players who pre-ordered Battlefield 2142 from Best Buy were not only given a free 64MB dog tag styled flash drive, but a free "downloadable assault weapon," which, replaced the existing standard assault rifle of the EU faction's assault kit (the SCAR 11) with the BOFORS, a much larger weapon. While some players like the replacement, it has been criticized by the size of the gun blocking nearly the entire right side of the screen[citation needed]. There is currently no way to restore the original assault rifle. Electronic Arts customer service currently has no way to remove the pre-order key from an EA account, which would restore the original gun.
Amazon.com also offered the free 64MB dog tag styled flash drive with a pre-order.
Players who pre-ordered Battlefield 2142 from Game Stop received a free in-game rank. This rank was stackable with the Battlefield 2 Veteran's Program promotion, allowing players to receive two ranks upon release of the retail game.
People that played Battlefield 2 could participate in a "Veterans Program" that let them reserve their name for Battlefield 2142 before launch, get an immediate in-game rank-up, receive an in-game notification icon that lets other players know they played Battlefield 2, and receive exclusive verbal taunts to use against other players.[14]
Reception
Battlefield 2142 generally received positive reviews from game-rating communities and the reception among the fans led it to be one of the highest games played online. IGN rated Battlefield 2142 an 8.4 [15]and Gamespot rated Battlefield 2142 an 8.1[16]. Besides the general postive reviews, the reception of Battlefield 2142's storyline was poor[17].
References
- ^ "Battlefield 2142: one million rounds 1500 years". Electronic Arts. Retrieved 2006-12-21.
- ^
"Conquest and Titan Mode". EA Games. 2006-10-10. Retrieved 2006-01-20.
{{cite news}}:|first=missing|last=(help) - ^
Ocampo, Jason (2006-05-10). "E3 06: Battlefield 2142 Hands-On". PC Games. GameSpot. Retrieved 2006-11-09.
We got to see a montage of various vehicles, with their names, including the L-5 Riesig, the MK-1 Titan, the Type 21 Nekomata, the T-39 Bogatyr walking tank, and the UD-6 Talon gunship.
- ^
"Battlefield 2142 Expansion Packs". Battlefield 2142 News. Electronic Arts. 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-18.
Today we would like to announce to all our players the coming release of the Battlefield 2142 Northern Strike booster pack!
{{cite news}}:|first=missing|last=(help) - ^ Remo, Chris (2006-02-15). "Battlefield 2: Modern Combat Interview". Shacknews. Retrieved 2006-11-09.
- ^ The BF2142 Team (2006-03-21). "Community Update". Electronic Arts. Retrieved 2006-10-08.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ TeamXbox Battlefield 2142
- ^ "Battlefield 2142 Beta for FilePlanet Subscribers". FilePlanet. Retrieved 2006-08-27.
- ^ Steel, Wade (2006-08-31). "EA Titles to Feature Dynamic Advertising". IGN. Retrieved 2006-09-01.
- ^ Klepek, Patrick (2006-10-19). "Gamers Wary of Battlefield 2142's 'Spyware'". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2006-10-20.
- ^ "CKMC". "Nasty Rumor about Ads". Total Battielfield 2142.
- ^ "WTF, Mate? Aussie BF2142 Lacks Spyware Note". Kotaku. 2006-10-17. Retrieved 2006-11-09.
- ^ Greig, Brian (2005-05-12). "Spyware Act 2005". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 2006-11-09.
- ^
"Battlefield 2142 Veteran's Program". Battlefield 2 News. Electronic Arts. 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-09.
Players who have logged time with BF2 will be able to log onto the Battlefield website and reserve their Battlefield 2 name for Battlefield 2142 before others take it.
- ^ "Battlefield 2142 8.4". IGN. 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
- ^ "Battlefield 2142 8.1". Gamespot. 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
- ^ "Battlefield 2142 Poor Story". Yahoo Games. Yahoo. 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-02.