If you like multiplayer tactical gameplay and destruction, then Bad Company 2 is the game for you. If you buy this game solely for its single player campaign, however, you will likely come away disappointed.

Let’s start with that single player campaign. It is quite enjoyable. All the elements of a great first-person shooter are there. The controls are responsive, the opponent AI isn’t the worst and there are lots of fun and innovative set pieces to play through. However, the dialogue is cringe worthy at points, and the storyline is basically non existent, a vehicle to get players from one location to another.

There is one prevalent theme wherever the campaign takes you: explosions. Destructible terrain makes a return from the first game in the series, and there is nothing more enjoyable than destroying the wall of a fortified house and watching it crumble to ruins, crushing those inside. The paper-thin story follows a four man squad of specialist soldiers fighting their way through a variety of stunning vistas, which are one of the few reasons to play through the campaign. The biggest problem, however, is the length of the single player game. The campaign is short, and will take just an afternoon of casual gameplay to complete.

The short campaign, terrible storyline and dialogue won’t matter a lot most people. The multiplayer delivers fun and excitement that will last days beyond the single player campaign. There are four classes, each with their own perks and weaponry: Assault class is the standard run and gun and comes complete with grenade launchers and ammunition boxes to refill teammates. The medic carries first aid kits for healing and a defibrillator to revive fallen comrades. The engineer can repair vehicles and also carries the heavy weapons to destroy them. Finally, the recon class is the stealthy option, carrying a sniper rifle for long distance kills and having the ability to call in mortar strikes and plant C4.

The game will drop you into a squad of four players within a larger team of 12 or 16. These squads can be a blessing or a nightmare, depending on your three squad mates. A well balanced squad of assault, engineer, medic and recon classes can dominate any game and are a lot of fun to play in. More often than not, however, squad play is forgotten as every man searches for maximum experience points. Due to the slightly overpowered nature of the recon class, you will find yourself in the horrible situation of being on the front line alone while your three squadmates hide a mile away in the bushes trying to get that precious headshot.

There are four modes of gameplay, all of which are very enjoyable: Rush, Conquest, Squad Rush and Squad Deathmatch. Conquest basically entails a large game of capture the flag, with three or four areas up for contention between several squads split into two teams. Squad Deathmatch pits 4 squads of players against each other, with the squad first to 50 kills winning the game.

Rush is probably the most immersive mode on offer. Two teams are pitted against each other: attackers and defenders. Defenders are tasked with keeping two communication stations free from damage, while attackers are trying to do just that. The beauty of this game is that if the two communication stations are destroyed (which is always a real chance when the walls can come crashing in around them), the game is not over. Instead, the defenders have to fall back further into the massive levels to the next set of stations.

On the other hand, attackers have a limited number of respawns per station set, called ‘tickets’, and if they run out, the defenders are victories. If the attackers are dominant, the games can last half an hour to 45 minutes. If the defenders can hold a strong resistance at the first set of stations, the game can end after 10 minutes. The beauty is in the unpredictability.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is, not by any stretch of the imagination, perfect. The single player campaign is ordinary. The multiplayer system has issues too; servers are unreliable and the classes need to be rebalanced slightly. But the sheer fun of the multiplayer experience is enough to recommend this game for any first-person shooter fans.