I spent a few hours tonight with the Battlefield Bad Company demo tonight and maybe it’s because I wasn’t expecting much, but I actually enjoyed it.  I started with the single player game first (and I put it on easy, because FPS games aren’t really my area of specialty).  The game still has somewhat of an open feel to it during missions, which allows you to run around your opponents and manage to pull off a flank or two.  The major issue I had, is that enemies tend to “pop” (I probably didn’t see them to be fair) out of no where resulting in me taking a few shots to the back (which caused very little damage, but once again, I’m rocking easy mode).  Jumping was my major gripe as it was very difficult to jump over low fences and such.  It also took me a few tries to jump into a window and then had to crouch to get under the ledge, so it appears that doors will be a better option in game.  Driving controls handled pretty well and standard run and shoot still applies, so all is well there.  But you’re not buying the game for a single player experience now are you?

Multiplayer is where the game’s essence came out.  This game still plays like an old school battlefield game, but with more.  The demo mission mode included an attacker side, whose objective was to destroy gold crates, and the defending side which obviously defends the same gold crates.  Crates can be destroyed by either placing a charge on them and waiting for it to explode, or through gunfire and other weapons, which takes a pretty long time.  I emptied about two full clips from an assault rifle (the very first default weapon given) and did little to no damage to the crate.  This causes the battle to get up close and personal.  Defenders can win the battle by running the attackers out of respawns, which defenders are not limited on.  When you respawn, you can choose to start from your starting point, or start with your squad (whom the camera follows wihile you wait for a respawn).  This keeps combat moving but may also lead to some players camping the enemy grounds to assure that their team starts close to the objective rather than high tailing it across desert sands again.  Additionally, it is pretty annoying when you respawn and get killed with the person you respawn by because a tank shell or equally destructive weapon hits just after you get back into the game.  Included vehicles in the demo were tanks, ATVs/Humvees, Boats and a chopper or two.  All of them (minus the chopper, I never flew one) controlled well and were pretty effective in combat.

Lastly, the multiplayer uses a ranking system similar to Call of Duty 4′s that gives you more gear or kit tools to be used are you progress.  When you kill a player, you can also claim their kit until you are killed yourself.  The demo states there are 25 ranks with unlocks along the way.

Overall, Bad Company appears to be a decent game that if you were a fan of the original games, or multiplayer games in general will be a worthy purchase.  The ranks will keep you playing multiplayer as well the combat that takes short breaks when teams are charging back into the fray.  And for anyone that recalls the weapon charging debacle, the previously available for purchase weapons do appear to have some better stats, unlike what EA had stated before.

Tell us your impressions of the demo in the comments!