I won't go into how the game performs online, in single player, etc. Others have done a fine job of that already. What I know many people want to know is if the Gold Edition is worth buying over the standard edition or not. Well, I'll try to help you decide that for yourself, but in short (and in my opinion No).
Simply put, all you get are some videos of the multiplayer maps with some tips on how to approach each map. I had hoped for more from these videos, honestly, and I don't really think they offer much insight at all. They seem rushed more than detailed. More than likely, these will be available online somewhere if they aren't already.
You also get immediate access to five additional guns that buyers of the standard edition will need to wait until they've reached rank 25. That's cool, I guess, but not really that great of an incentive.
You also get a small fold out poster...
If you're a collector of special editions, then great go for it. If you really don't care that much or are swaying between the two, get the regular one this one really isn't worth the extra cash. In my case, the store I purchased the game from actually had the standard edition on sale while the GE was regular price. So I ended up paying eighteen dollars extra for these five guns, poster, and videos. In my mind, that was a poor choice. For the usual ten dollars more, I'd have been less disappointed, but still not totally satisfied.
Explanation of my star ratings: I have this edition of the game 3 stars simply because I feel the additional content wasn't worth the additional price. I gave the game itself 4 stars overall because, while I'm enjoying it a lot, it doesn't keep me as immersed as Call of Duty 4 did.
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To me, there are a lot of factors considered when figuring out the difference between a good game and a great game. Especially when the average price of a game hovers around $60-$70, I want the most play out of my games. Sure, I like graphics and dialog as much as the next guy, but there are intangibles that take a game from everything else out there up to the next level. For me, Bad Company did everything it takes to make a game an instant classic.
First off are the graphics. This game is visually stunning. There's no hokey fake imagery masquerading as a serious backdrop. Everything is lifelike 3D with realistic effects like sun shining through windows and trees swaying in the wind. It's like you're there and living the situation. The game makers took obvious care in this and it really shows.
Secondly, the gameplay itself. There's no fancy controls. Change weapon, reload, fire, special weapons, all easily accessible and not confusing at all. Within five minutes I had the control scheme down and was enjoying myself immensely. Guns fire with recoil like you'd expect in reality and bullets behave the same. You can control remote artillery also, man the gun turrets in a tank, and call in remote air-strikes. The sheer variety of weaponry in this game is amazing in itself, but then you add in the effects of the guns you're using and you have where the game takes itself from fun to classic.
The intangibles are what defines a game to me. The very first time you shoot a rocket at the wall of a house just to watch it disappear you'll be hooked. There's nothing like seeing that chunk of concrete and drywall go flying to bring out the kid in a person. Also, running into a building full-speed in an armored vehicle brings out emotion in me that just cannot be described. It's sheer joy and amazement. This is the most fun I've had playing a game in a very long time. But the fun doesn't end there.
For the purists, you can use the building destroying system to your advantage. There's a technical aspect to the destruction you can use to your advantage also. Blow a chunk out of a building to create a sniping spot to pick off the enemy. Knock out a wall to expose an enemy on a gun turret. Don't feel like running around to a door? Make one. Although you can't destroy everything (building support beams stay in place to avoid a flat battleground), you can destroy damn near everything. And it's all fun to watch explode.
And yet even though catering to anyone who likes the first person war shooter, the game never takes itself as seriously as a game like Call of Duty 4. I'm thankful for this, because it adds a certain comic element that runs with the theme of the game (Enjoy the explosions, don't take yourself too seriously and just have fun!). In this, some game purists might be driven away. For instance, you can never really lose in this game. If you die, your character is respawned close to your dying point. All the bad guys are still dead, but you regain full health and ammo. In one way it puts you back into the action all the sooner, in another it really cheapens the value of a life. The very worst that can happen in this game is failing a "protect the tank(s)" mission and you have to wait through a short load to try again.
That's really the only reason why I gave this a final of four stars instead of five. The "cheapening" of gameplay might drive away someone looking for a serious shooter. Me? I'm happy just to watch a building disintegrate due to all the awesome artillery at my fingertips. Also, the re-playability is huge, mostly because nothing is ever the same twice. There are hundreds of ways to approach each mission and the enemy never reacts the same way twice. I bought the Gold edition and haven't regretted it once.
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This could be the COD4 run for your money game. I enjoy this a little better that COD4 due to the fact you have vehicles. The gameplay is smooth and graphics are top notch!! Dont get me wrong COD4 is a great game and it gets a 9.75 out of ten from me. Bad company gets a 10. GREAT JOB EA!!! You will not be dissapointed if you get his game!
Honest reviews on Battlefield: Bad Company Gold Edition -Xbox 360
I am not a big fan of the FPS genre. I play them from time to time, but they always seem WAY too complicated to me, and they usually are not easy to sit down and then pick back up a month later. I hate complex systems where I have to remember all these special combos in order to play the game. That is NOT this game.
You can pickup this game in a few minutes. The controls and simple and well organized (unlike the controls in Army of TWO or RB6).
The graphics are amazing. Yes, there are glitches and places that you can't destroy everything. But the ability to blow a wall out of a building to get at the enemy behind it awesome and very satisfying.
The single player game is a movie cut scene driven system. It is well written for an FPS and keeps the player moving into the game very well. You unlock new weapons in the game by finding them on dead enemies for the most part.
The online gameplay is amazing. You start with a few weapons and unlock more through gameplay. Your character has some RP elements to it by being able to spend your unlock points on things you like to do. You can unlock sniper rifles if that is all you like to do for example rather than getting a new assault weapon.
Playing online has been a lot of fun for me. I don't normally like FPS online play (too many kids with foul mouths yelling all the time). But this has been a lot of fun to play and level your character. You gain ranks and medals through online play.
VEHICLES!
You can also drive and shoot a lot of vehicles. In particular I love the ability to jump on a tank someone else is driving and be their gunner. If they jump out you can then take over and drive as well. Helicopters are included as well (hard to fly, but cool).
FUN FUN FUN Squad concept too
I have not had this much fun playing an FPS since the original Unreal series. The maps are huge and leave a lot of room to run around. You fight a series battles on each multiplayer map. You can also choose to spawn with your squad, or to go back to the base. This is a lot of fun when you have a good squad as you can look out for each other while playing. There is a system between matches where you can rate your play with each squad mate and then you are paired up with people you like when they are online. Makes it even more fun when you get to know people online and then play together with them.
Gold edition might not have been worth it, but for me I thought it was nice to get the extra weapons.
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Great game, lots of fun things to do, and Gold Rush is a great game type. The only problem I had was the pre-order from Amazon. I pre-ordered the Gold Edition and never got a code for the sniper rifle. I just assumed that I'd get one, but apparently Amazon thinks that the gun is included on the Gold Edition disc when it clearly is NOT. It's a different set of weapons! And good luck explaining that to anyone. I've sent 2 emails and talked to a guy on the phone and it's like I'm getting them to give me a million dollars or something. Just give me the code and we can both move on with our lives! Anyway, the game is top notch, I just won't be doing another pre-order via Amazon.
