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The Ultimate Battlefield Bad Company 2 Multiplayer Strategy Guide: Part I

Posted by Jack Devore | March 2nd, 2010 |  21 Comments »

FILED UNDER: AllFeatureGames

Part II is Now Available Here

I write this guide not for your benefit but my own. You see, I am tired of playing with teammates who treat a round of Bad Company 2 (BC2) like it’s Halo or Modern Warfare 2. An overwhelming amount of players just don’t seem to grasp the fundamentals; how to score, how to win, how not to suck, how not to play like a lone wolf who doesn’t contribute anything except a few useless sniper-rifle kills.

Not to brag, but I consistently rule at Battlefield games and have since the genre originally debuted back on the PC with Battlefield 1942. I play like a man on a mission with clear goals and objectives, a style that usually finds my score high enough to lead the team. It’s not because I wield l33t weapon skills, it’s because I play the game as it is intended. Hopefully, by the end of this guide, you’ll be playing in a similar style and I won’t have to curse my team for being top-heavy with noobs.

1. Objective Based, Not Kill-Based

Contrary to how a lot of people play Battlefield, killing members of the other team is NOT your objective. Killing other players is a fringe-benefit of completing objectives.

Your overall objective is to destroy targets dotted across the map, usually two crates in each zone. These crates represent your holy crusade. If you’re on the attacking team, every thing you do as a player should be geared towards taking down a crate. Any activity not related to taking down a crate is a waste of time. If you’re on defense, saving those crates is your prime directive.

Why This is Effective: The entire game is based around destroying or saving crates. Destroy all the crates as the attacking team and you win. Prevent the attacking team from destroying your crates and you win. It’s as simple as that. Winning has nothing to do with how many players you kill, unless you are on defense, where every kill will slowly bring you towards victory, but not at the expense of losing crates.

2. Hey Rambo, Join a Squad!

I was hoping that DICE, the designers of BC2, would make joining a squad mandatory in their latest version of the game, but my hopes and dreams didn’t pan out. It’s too bad, as compulsory squad enlistment would go a long way in forcing players to play properly. As it stands, you have the option to either join a squad or go it alone when loading up a new map.

There is zero reason not to join a squad, nor is there a single benefit to playing solo.

Why This is Effective: Joining a squad allows you to spawn with any living squad-mate currently playing on the map. If you have squadie who has already penetrated enemy lines then you can select him and spawn right next to his location, giving him a much-needed hand. This saves you a ton of time by not forcing you to run or drive from the initial base all the way to the objective. With a full squad of four guys, you’ll usually have three good spawning options, allowing you to appear closer to the action. This ensures you keep the pressure on the opposing team. If you elect to not join a squad, then you will always spawn at a base, costing you valuable time.

Additionally, joining a squad opens up a ton of extra scoring modifiers that will greatly increase your point total.

3. Proper Spawning

A lot of people just button-mash the spawn button until they return to action, giving little thought about where they are appearing or why. If you’re in a squad then you have a lot of options. You can either spawn with a teammate or at your base, depending upon your current needs.

When you die and the time to spawn arrives, analyze the map and see what assets you have available in the form of vehicles or aircraft.  If there is an unused tank at your main base then you should spawn there and use the asset. If the base is empty of assets, then spawn with a member of your squad.

Why This is Effective: One sure way for a team to lose a round of BC2 is by not using all available assets. If your team is not using available tanks, helicopters or UAV, then your team is going to lose. Nothing is more depressing than watching your entire team just go running by all the heavy equipment as they make their long journey towards an enemy position.

If you have a squad-mate in a tank or copter then you can spawn within his vehicle, assuming a position is free. You’ll wrack up extra points working as a unit, plus you’ll be using available assets at their maximum efficiency.

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CEO of Electronic Arts Better Start Polishing His Resume

Posted by Jack Devore | January 13th, 2010 |  No Comments »

FILED UNDER: AllBusinessGames

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Once upon a time, John Riccitiello could do no wrong as CEO of Electronic Arts. All things must change. Now, Mr. Riccitiello can do no right. With high development costs and lower margins, plus no shortage of missed forecasts, Electronic Arts is suffering. Worse, EA just lowered their forecast for 2010. This represents the second straight year that EA has slashed its forecasts and this is making investors considerably unhappy…and when investors are unhappy, CEO’s are typically out of a job.

Despite the slashed forecast, analysts say EA has a solid roster of potential hit games due this year, and that its efforts toward online games and software for mobile devices like Apple Inc’s iPhone may pay off in the long run.

But they were far less forgiving of EA’s leadership under Riccitiello — the stock has declined about 70 percent during his tenure. Investors have expressed concerns that EA overpaid for social gaming concern Playfish last year and remember its failed hostile bid in 2008 for Take-Two.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter said the EA management team has “zero credibility” with investors, who he said have felt disregarded as EA has continued to miss its sales and earnings targets.

“Investors feel betrayed, and the comment I got most from investors today is ‘They don’t seem to care about investors.’ This management team is running out of room to underperform. I think investor tolerance is gone … they don’t get another year to turn around,” Pachter said.

Arvind Bhatia of Sterne, Agee & Leach added that the company has “consistently been underperforming,” and that there is going to be need for “some drastic action” at EA, whose high operating costs leave it with margins of 7 percent or less.

“For a $4 billion-plus company, that just isn’t acceptable,” he said. “Something is going to happen here — drastic costs cuts or them buying someone or getting sold — something has got to give in the next 12 to 18 months.”

Source

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Electronic Arts Offers Middle-Finger to Customers, Shutting Down Servers

Posted by Jack Devore | January 5th, 2010 |  No Comments »

FILED UNDER: AllBusinessGames

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Electronic Arts is raising eyebrows amongst its loyal customers by announcing the imminent closure of numerous servers dedicated to multiplayer matches. While it is typical for servers to come down after several years, EA is bucking the trend and shortening the leash, perhaps too much so. One of the servers that will be coming down on February 2nd is none other Madden 09, which I imaging still has a sizable number of players.

Your $60 investment a little over a year ago is now essentially worthless.

Why would EA do this?

Well, the cynic in me says this is a way to force any stragglers to upgrade their game to the latest version. It also tells gamers that in the future, you had better stay current or else you risk being obsolete in record time. This is an F-U to gamers from a company infamous for a protruding middle-finger.

Personally, I find this troubling and a bad sign. I hope gamers complain and EA reverses course, at least extending life a little longer. Paying $60 for a game is already ridiculous, but paying $60 for a game that will quickly become redundant in the eyes of its publishers is bad news for everyone.

Additionally, this spells trouble for the Used Games market. If you happen to venture into Gamestop and pick up an old copy of Madden, well, you’re screwed if you expect to play online, or a ton of other games that EA is bringing down.

Here’s the official line:

Online Service Updates

The following is an important update regarding online service for some older EA titles.

Servers for the games listed below will be shut down on the indicated dates. You may continue to play the games online up until these dates, but certain community programs may begin to close down prior to the shutdown dates.

All of us at EA would like to thank you for your valued participation in our online gaming community and hope that your enthusiasm for these games extends to our current lineup and beyond.

If you have further questions about your account or the shut down of these services, please visit http://support.ea.com.

Thank you,
Electronic Arts

February 9, 2010 Online Service Shutdown
FIFA 07 for PC
Madden 07 for PC and Xbox 360
Madden 08 for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PC, Wii and Xbox 360
Madden 09 for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, PC, Wii and Xbox 360
NHL® 08 for PC
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 07 for PC
UEFA Champions League™ 07 for PC

February 2, 2010 Online Service Shutdown
Facebreaker for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
Fantasy Football 09 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
FIFA 07 for PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2 and PC
Fight Night Round 3 for PlayStation 2
March Madness 07 for Xbox 360
NBA LIVE 07 for PlayStation Portable and Xbox 360
NBA LIVE 08 for PS2, PlayStation Portable and Wii
NBA LIVE 09 for Wii – Europe only
NBA Street (2007) for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
NCAA® Football for 08 PlayStation 2
NCAA® Football for 09 PlayStation 2
NASCAR® 08 for PlayStation 2
NASCAR® 09 for PlayStation 2
NASCAR® 09 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 – Europe Only
NFL Tour for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
NHL® 07 for PlayStation Portable and Xbox 360
UEFA Champions League 07 for Xbox 360

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What’s the Useless Stuff in the Mass Effect 2 Collector’s Edition?

Posted by Jack Devore | November 5th, 2009 |  No Comments »

FILED UNDER: AllGames

Oh boy, another “collector’s edition”. As if you’re going to find a single collector’s edition on some far-future episode of Antique’s Roadshow. Despite my overall hostility to collector’s editions and the strange people who find value in these marked-up wastes of cash (night-vision goggles? Seriously?) these products just keep selling and so they will keep being produced.

The latest announcement is for Mass Effect 2, which will have a collector’s edition that includes the following:

A worthless tin-case.

48-page hardcover artbook you’ll look at once and misplace.

Issue 1 of the Mass Effect Redemption comic book.

Bonus DVD with “making of” footage you probably will never watch.

Exclusive in-game weapons and armor that should have been in the standard version.

Yippee.

PR Zombie Speak:

Edmonton, Alberta (November 5, 2009) – Recruit your crew and fight for the lost! Leading video game developer BioWare™, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that the internationally acclaimed Shooter RPG Mass Effect™ 2 will also be released as a Collectors’ Edition in limited quantities. Available on January 26 in North America (Jan 29 in EU) alongside the standard edition, the Collectors’ Edition of Mass Effect 2 comes in a premium, tin case and includes the full version of the game, a 48-page hardcover “Art of Mass Effect 2” book, Issue 1 of the Mass Effect Redemption comic book, and a bonus DVD with behind-the-scenes and making-of videos. In addition, the Mass Effect 2 Collectors’ Edition will include unique in-game weapons and armor that can only be obtained by purchasing this version. With its larger-than-life hero Commander Shepard, intense shooter action, nuanced characters and a rich storyline, Mass Effect 2 is one of the most anticipated titles of 2010.

“We’re really excited to roll out this Collectors’ Edition featuring so many unique items, including special Collectors’ Edition armor and weapons and content that will surprise Mass Effect fans,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder, BioWare and Group General Manager of the RPG/MMO Group of EA. “The limited edition comic book and bonus DVD will really enhance and expand the overall Mass Effect 2 experience.”

The Mass Effect trilogy is an emotionally charged science fiction adventure set in a vast universe filled with dangerous alien life and mysterious, uncharted planets. In Mass Effect 2, players will once again step into the role of the heroic Commander Shepard, commanding their crew of some of the most dangerous operatives from across the galaxy on a mission so challenging that it’s potentially suicidal. Featuring intense shooter action, a rich futuristic storyline, space exploration and emotionally engaging character interaction, the game delivers an unparalleled cinematic experience.

Mass Effect 2 will be available on the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PC. The Mass Effect 2 Collectors’ Edition will retail at an MSRP of $69.99 on Xbox 360 and $59.99 on PC. Mass Effect 2 assets are available at info.ea.com. Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/masseffect2. For more information on Mass Effect 2, go to http://masseffect.bioware.com/.

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