Battlefield 2142

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The titanic team player weighs in with a soldier-shredding sequel

Words: Joshua LaTendresse, GamesRadar US

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But for all the new "unlockable" toys (which come with increased rank), somehow infantry combat has taken a big step backwards in the future of 2142. The feel of being on foot can be best described as "swimmy" - moving around feels thick and unresponsive, and heaven help you if you are on a moving Titan. Worse still, most of the futuristic weapons feel insubstantial, sound like sewing machines and don't often hit what they're aimed at. Yuck.

But the Battlefield franchise has always highlighted vehicle-on-vehicle violence, and obviously, this is still where it shines the brightest. Returning veterans will recognize the breathless hop-scotching between familiar vehicle archetypes: tanks, Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) and small, wildly fast four-wheeled buggies. Jets and helicopters are replaced (and combined, sort of) by vertical takeoff gunships and transports (think Terminator’s Hunter/Killers).

But the most substantial addition is the Battle Walker - a two-man mech that bristles with anti-air and anti-armor rockets, in addition to two sets of heavy machine guns for each crew member. Walkers chew on infantry like a dog on a gravy-covered bone, and there is nothing more fun in 2142 than stomping around in a mech tearing through platoons of ground-pounders. Except, perhaps, starring in your very own version of David and Goliath while sneaking into the Walker's blind spot and taking it down single-handedly with some well-placed detonation charges.