Metacritic Games

Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (Playstation 2)

The first-ever Battlefield console installment drops players into the heat of battle on the high tech frontlines, entering a new modern era of combat with more firepower and new expansive environments. Armed with the latest modern weaponry, players can take control of over 30 vehicles, including tanks, helicopters and fast attack vehicles, to engage in major conflicts with up to 24 players in some of the largest online battles on the PlayStation 2 console. (Online play requires the PlayStation 2 console, a broadband connection, memory card, and network adaptor for the PlayStation 2). Voiceover communication is also supported via USB headset. Players will choose to fight for one of three military superpowers: the United States, the Chinese, or the newly formed Middle East Coalition. The game features large and detailed environments, from city streets to remote forests, in some of the globe's most notorious hot spots, allowing players to engage in multiplayer battles that could be ripped straight from tomorrow’s headlines. Battlefield: Modern Combat also includes over 70 state-of-the-art modern weapons and advanced weapon systems, including heat-seeking missiles and laser designated bombs. Additionally, with in-game success, players increase their rank and garner promotions in a persistent online world. [Electronic Arts]

Electronic Arts
First-Person Shooter, Action
Players: 24
T (Teen)
Developer: Digital Illusions
Released October 24, 2005

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

80 / 100

Critic Reviews

95 Stuff
This PC war-tastic juggernaut comes to a console near you sporting a surprisingly meaty single-player experience, as well as its trademark clusterf..k multiplayer.
92 Console Gameworld
A must have for fans of combat games, multiplayer games, and games in general.
90 Computer and Video Games
A brilliant game whether you buy it for the single-player, the multiplayer or both. [PSW]
90 GamingTrend
Simply put, the game blew me away in the first mission. It's not perfect, no game is, but for all of the minor problems the game's got, it's still a hell of a lot of fun.
90 Pelit (Finland)
An excellent multiplayer FPS. The different soldier types and vehicles keep the game fresh for a long time. Too bad tanks cannot drive through small fences and over small rocks. [Jan 2006]
90 Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK
An unashamedly entertaining surprisingly strategic shooter. [Nov 2005, p.112]
88 BonusStage
Same killer and addictive online gameplay you’d expect from Battlefield.
87 PGNx Media
A solid translation of the Battlefield series to consoles. It doesn’t quite recreate the experience perfectly but it does it well enough to make it a compelling purchase.
86 eToychest
Whereas Battlefield’s previous entries have benefited from deep realistic multiplayer experiences that bordered on wartime simulations, Modern Combat’s strength instead lies in its solo arcade-style gameplay that, despite some questionable AI and homogenized weapon selection, still does the franchise proud.
85 PSM Magazine
A jaw-dropping arcade shooter - think "SOCOM" with drivable tanks and vehicles. [Dec 2005, p.112]
85 Play Magazine
Its soldiers may be dumber than buttered toast, but Combat's missions cannot be impugned. [Dec 2005, p.60]
85 GameBiz
Offers the same overall experience as the PC version which is good news for console gamers specifically those looking for a new shooting game.
85 TotalPlayStation
On top of making an online experience that rivals the PC version (though again, the two really exist in their own respective worlds and should stay that way), the single-player game can absolutely make you better when it comes time to take on someone online.
85 Worth Playing
It is fast, fluid, mostly stable, and offers more fun than any military shooter I've played since "Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear."
85 IGN
We really like the new singleplayer mode. Though the AI is a bit too ambitious (because it'll run forward to its death at all times), the emphasis on shooting down large waves of enemies within the confines of some taxing mission of high priority is pretty exciting, especially considering how diverse our arsenals are and how varied the enemy's attacks can be.
84 Gamer 2.0
A great game. However, if you were planning to buy this game for its campaign, you might as well forget it. The campaign mode becomes tedious and shallow quickly.
83 Game Revolution
It suffers from several obvious shortcomings, but accomplishes what only a week ago seemed impossible by providing console gamers with the full Battlefield experience.
83 Electronic Gaming Monthly
The A.I. is occasionally suspect, but getting a fun solo game in addition to the legendary multiplayer just helps round out the experience.
82 GameZone
The game controls smoothly enough offline as well as online and HotSwapping is a wonderful feature you’ll make use of quite often.
81 Jolt Online Gaming UK
It’s odd, but Modern Combat is a much better single-player game than it is multiplayer.
80 Thunderbolt
Overall it's a very well-developed package with decent offline play and a great overall purchase, and is well worth a buy at the current cheap prices you can pick it up for.
80 Sydney Morning Herald
A fast-paced and accessible combat game, far superior when enjoyed online with players working together during epic, frenetic battles.
80 Gamenikki
The true value of Battlefield 2 is in how nicely it panders to a crowd that may never have cared for the military shooter genre before.
80 AceGamez
Despite the fact that online this game rivals even the most successful net play titles since its introduction some years ago, not everyone is as yet online enabled. Therefore, despite the single player campaigns being enjoyable, they would struggle to warrant the forty odd pounds needed to purchase this title.
80 Next Level Gaming
I expected more from the single player than I got. Weapons upgrades and unlockables are cool, but a storyline that really doesn't go anywhere or suck you in, combined with lackluster computer AI bring the experience down. Almost like it's an afterthought.
80 Yahoo! Games
It's definitely a Trim Spa version of the absorbing, deeply time-devouring PC gem, but Battlefield 2: Modern Combat is a solid, balanced action game that lets players fight the battle on their own slightly conceded terms.
80 Edge Magazine
From its overpowered weapons and gormless AI to its pedestrian objecctives, the singleplayer game is as dumb as it is misguided – an embarrassment to the rather splendid mulitplayer game that, fortunately, represents all that's really important. [Dec 2005, p.101]
80 1UP
The game has all the things that have made "Battlefield" a PC favorite. In particular, the vehicles work well, maybe even better with the controller. Flying a helicopter with two sticks feels natural and the ground vehicles, like tanks and humvees, are a snap.
80 Cheat Code Central
There's a lot more to war than just moving about shooting at the enemy. Fortunately Battlefield 2 ignores that fact and gives us action junkies just what we crave.
80 Official U.S. Playstation Magazine
Modern Combat loses some points for its lack of realism (some guns don't have any recoil, for example) and forgettable story line (something about Kazakhstan), but it still serves as a decent war game for those of us too fragile to enlist.
80 DarkStation
The Battlefield series makes a smooth transition to the console, offering new ideas to spice up gameplay. Pity the online play is surprisingly weak.
75 Gaming Age
Worth picking up if your trigger finger is itching to blast away at something new, and even if you find yourself bored with the genre, the “Hot Swapping” feature is worth checking out at least once.
75 Detroit Free Press
Most of the game's controls worked smartly for me. Targeting is easy, whether you're shooting a bazooka-type weapon or a sniper rifle. Problems arose, though, with the vehicles, which are maneuvered with just one control stick.
75 Game Informer
The game's lack of polish is also another problem. The graphics and textures aren't impressive at all. [Dec 2005, p.158]
74 PSX Extreme
The addition of hotswapping makes the campaign mode a pleasant diversion for a few hours, but after a while you’re going to want to go online and you’re probably going to be let down by the lack of gameplay modes and technical problems that EA is working on, but has yet to fix.
73 GameSpot
Modern Combat doesn't really look, sound, or play like any of the PC Battlefield games, which might be a little disappointing for those looking for more than just another arcade-style shooter.
71 Play.tm
Ultimately Battlefield 2: Modern combat gives PC gamers another reason to feel smug. Despite their best efforts the current generation of consoles can't compete with the capabilities of today's high-end PCs.
70 Total Video Games
Despite the fact that the weapons fail to pack a punch, and the enemy AI is just as weak, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat is fun with a level of frantic action that's emphasised by the addition of the hot-swapping functionality.
70 GameSpy
Pales in comparison to the beloved PC games. On its own, however, the game is an enjoyable, if unspectacular, first-person shooter.
70 GamePro
You'll find your comrades oblivious to gunfire mere yards away; facing an enemy gunner, with their weapons conspicuously inert; and haplessly running into your line of fire. Getting penalized for losses incurred like this is annoying enough; having a mission terminate prematurely because of it is downright maddening.
60 G4 TV
The beefed-up single-player is nice, but when the main focus of the game comes up so short, it’s hard not to feel disappointed.
50 Computer Games Magazine
Little more than a shooting gallery, especially in single-player mode. [Feb 2006, p.88]

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