Summary
TheBattlefieldfranchise is in a bit of a tough spot right now. The trouble really began back in 2018, with the pre-release marketing and subsequent launch ofBattlefield V, a game that made a few major missteps both up to launch and after it. Then cameBattlefield 2042, a game that was intended to be the course correction that the series needed, but one that failed disastrously to be so. It’s clear that theBattlefieldfranchise needs to pivot to a new direction. For once, it might be best to take a page out ofCall of Duty’s playbookand lean all the way into nostalgia by finally delivering thatBattlefield Bad Company 2remake that fans have been asking for.
For years now, fans have wanted a return totheBattlefield Bad Companyseries. Beginning in 2008 and lasting just two years and two entries,Battlefield Bad Companysees a team of misfit modern-day soldiers band together to take out the enemy in their own unique, unorthodox ways. While the real draw of theBad Companyseries was its destruction physics, witty writing, and carefully constructed level design, its multiplayer was also a big leap forward for the franchise at the time, with both entries predatingBattlefield 3. While a full sequel toBad Companyprobably isn’t on the table, a remake could be, and aBattlefield Bad Company 2remake would come with one big hidden benefit.
If EA was to ever remakeBattlefield Bad Company 2, then its acclaimed Vietnam DLC would have to come packaged in. Released in December 2010, just nine months after the base game,Battlefield Bad Company 2: Vietnamwas a large-scale DLC expansion forBad Company 2that added a handful of new maps, new weapons, and new vehicles to the game, all themed around the Vietnam War. Not just an average DLC pack,Bad Company 2: Vietnamstood out at the time for being surprisingly expansive. In an era where mediocre DLC was available for every game, regardless of whether it made sense,Bad Company 2: Vietnamwas a surprising beacon of quality.
Currently sitting at an88 on Metacritic, which is coincidentally the same score as the base game,Battlefield Bad Company 2: Vietnamwas a pretty big critical hit back in 2010, with many outlets praising the game’s overhauled visuals and impressive atmosphere. With much smaller and more densely decorated maps,Bad Company 2: Vietnamwas designed to offer a much more intense, claustrophobic gameplay experience than its base game, and that unique approach to map design is what’s keptVietnamso memorable well over a decade later, delivering aBattlefieldexperience that’s still wholly unique.
WhileBattlefield Bad Company 2: Vietnamwas an excellent expansion, it wasn’t perfect. A full-scale remake of the base game would allow EA to really go above and beyond, and add even more content toVietnam. Originally,Battlefield Bad Company 2: Vietnamonly shipped with a total of five maps. While all of these maps bar one were completely original and tailor-made forBad Company 2: Vietnam’s specific gameplay style, some of them do tend to blur into one in the minds of fans, with many sharing similar architecture and a similar color palette.
If EA didn’t want to add new maps toaBattlefield Bad Company 2: Vietnamremake, then it would be nice if it could at least shake these five maps up a little, giving them some more unique points of interest and helping them stand out with some different weather effects or other forms of visual variety. While EA’s at it, it’d be great to see some more vehicles, weapons, and gadgets get added to the game, making it more of a full-scaleBattlefieldexperience.
