Battlefield 2 360 graphics reworked, due in late March

By Tom Bramwell Published 23 January, 2006

Brief hands-on details.

The Xbox 360 version of Battlefield 2: Modern Combat has completely reworked graphics, enhanced AI (gosh eh!) and includes the downloadable content released for the Xbox version last month.

We popped in to EA recently to check on a few 360 games, and spent half an hour taking a look at the 360 version of Modern Combat, which is currently pre-beta and due out at the end of March.

According to EA, the graphics have been completely redone. Asked why they didn't simply reuse PC assets - similar to the approach Activision took with its 360 versions of PC shooters Quake 4 and Call of Duty 2 - an EA rep said that differences in animation systems would have been impossible to overcome.

DICE's PC version of Battlefield 2 used an entirely different system to the one in Modern Combat, upon which the Xbox 360 version is based. That said, lots of graphical work has been done to improve terrain and player detail - with every item on a player's body now seemingly modelled, as well as facial expressions.

The build we saw was only running at about 30 frames per second, and proved glitchy when we played it against some EA testers, but work isn't done yet.

In terms of improvements over the Xbox version, of which this is otherwise a fairly straight port, EA said that medals to advance in rank could now be earned offline or online, the "hot-swap" single-player feature that allows you to switch between character perspectives now worked whether you could see the other character or not, and AI had been improved so that shotgun-toting enemies couldn't be taken down easily with a pistol and enemies wouldn't blindly charge into battle.

There's still some work to do, but Xbox 360 fans who've been holding out for Modern Combat on their platform should see how it all turns out in late March.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (38) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • reality_cheque #1 6 years ago

    *fingers crossed it's not shit*

    FIRST! *attention seeking childlike moment over* (for anyone who Captain_Nippon could beat in a battle of wits, I'm taking the piss out of the people who usually make FIRST! posts)
    Edited by 2 at 23/01/06 @ 10:55

  • attep #2 6 years ago

    This will be super urber great :)

  • bivith #3 6 years ago

    These games any good then?

  • asphaltcowboy #4 6 years ago

    @FluffyTucker: that'd all depend on how kinky you are ;)

    Is this gonna be the same as the Xbox version? Will we be able to play side-by-side with 360 owners on live? Or will they be kept seperate?

  • neon #5 6 years ago

    wooo, another war game

  • reality_cheque #6 6 years ago

    FluffyTucker: I wouldn't know, having not done either :p You can plug a USB keyboard into the 360 for FFXI, so I imagine it can't be that tricky to do with other games, and a mouse wouldn't be too much problem either.

    I'm going to try a mouse in my 360 later and see if it blows up (might as well do it while it's still under warranty, and if I have to get it repaired then there is at least a week which my g/f has to spend doing her dissertation rather than hunting mouse bats)

  • tengu #7 6 years ago

    Wooo, another first person shooter ;)

  • Furbs #8 6 years ago

    I *think* (and this is only what I've read on the forum) that MS have said theres no reason why they wont support a mouse, but not as a control method in games.

    Main reason being (and I bet 3p this thread now turns in to a joypad/k+m debate with the same old arguments) that for example, if you're sniping with a mouse, you've got a far better chance of getting a headshot than with a pad.

  • Furbs #9 6 years ago

    I read a few reviews as I've missed out on Halo and some other decent FPS's due to only being able to "floorgaze". I remember them not coming out particularly well, only because the game wasnt designed for it. For instance, the fastest turn you could do on Halo was no quicker than you could do with the pad.

  • trevd72 #10 6 years ago

    i dont want the current level playing field upset by people who love to sit hunched over a k/b having the advantage of more precise shots. there is no doubt that the k/b mouse combo is best for fps, but i like to sit in my comfy "game chair" to do my killin'.

  • gizmo #11 6 years ago

    I'd quite like it the Xbox1 version on BFMC ran on the 360. The cynical part of me says it because this is coming out in March :p

    Well, I'm not buying it again.

  • Dizzy #12 6 years ago

    Good news.. I badly need a good online FPS on my 360. PDZ is fun single player but pretty crap IMHO in the multiplayer departement (but plenty of people seem to like it), so this might be it.

    >Battlefield without a mouse/keyboard is like sex without a vagina.

    Online FPS team games without build in voice is like having sex with a small p*nis.
    Edited by 1 at 23/01/06 @ 12:13

  • Darren #13 6 years ago

    True, but it's not standard, and never will be, because unlike every Xbox Live user, not every PC owner owns a headset...
    Edited by 1 at 23/01/06 @ 12:27

  • Furbs #14 6 years ago

    LOL. I think they call that "pwnt". ;)

    I'm in two minds - I cant imagine playingi BF2 with a pad, but somehow with the 360 pad I am slowly finding my feet with console FPS's.

    Meh, who am I kidding, I'll buy this for the name alone.

    Fecking EA, making me their bitch.

    Not everyone uses their headsets though - and although its not standard, we were specifically talking about BF2.
    Edited by 1 at 23/01/06 @ 12:28

  • Dizzy #15 6 years ago

    >BF2 on PC has built in voice, even UT2004 had built in voice.

    In your dreams mate. When I play BF2, about 25% of the players have voice...

  • Furbs #16 6 years ago

    So you're saying it *doesnt* have built in VOIP?

  • Dizzy #17 6 years ago

    "Yes, and when I used to play Xbox Live 25% of players spoke something close to English, and 1% actually talked about the game underway. "

    Weak dude.. weak....

  • Bitkari #18 6 years ago

    an EA rep said that differences in animation systems would have been impossible to overcome.

    LOL!

  • reality_cheque #19 6 years ago

    Then you guys need to play with some decent players! My friends and I almost always provide each other running commentary on enemy positions etc, even when playing something as simple as Halo.

    I need a good team-based FPS to get online with, I like the idea of being able to have a plan of attack other than "We all run in with shotguns and make them all bleed from their eyes"

  • Dizzy #20 6 years ago

    Well you wouldn't engage in some idle banter obviously since you have such great debating skills.

    Fanboy argument 217257... "Consoles FPS suck without mouse/keyboard".
    Fanboy argument 9372367... "Live people need to learn the language of God (and BF2 players apparently)"

    Oh well, looks like I was owned...

    Ignore list here we go!

  • gizmo #21 6 years ago

    I know voice recognition still leaves a lot to de desired, but the headset would be great if you spoke, and everyone else recieved it as text and vice versa. it could filter swearing, stop nobhead yanks singing and talking about weed etc. I still prefer text based comms, but the typing is the killer, even for a competant typist.

  • Artemus #22 6 years ago

    Yawn, another port with a £50 pricetag.

  • Darren #23 6 years ago

    Not every game needs voice support but I'd much rather have it for playing tactical games like Battlefield 2 and MMORPGs like World of Warcraft, where communicating with a keyboard becomes tedious and distracts from actually playing the game.

  • markypants #24 6 years ago

    Not sure I like the idea of being able to rank up offline as well as online. The fact that you could only rank up (earn medals) on line kept lower skilled players out of the harder games. BF2 on Xbox Live is well implemented as when you begin the game everybody is shit and doesn't talk etc. By the time you start building up your skill and can therefore get onto the more skilled servers everything gets more serious and you get good team based warfare. If people can get onto the harder servers by playing offline, it will mean there will be crap players fudging up online games.

    I wish they'd have done a version of the PC battlefield game, instead of a port of BF2:MC. From what I've heard BF2 on PC is a much better game?

    M

  • reality_cheque #25 6 years ago

    @disc: Do you have many friends in real life? You seem kinda... bitter. Maybe you should ask one of them to sit down and talk to you, it's always negativity with you, I figure there must be some underlying issue you need to get off your chest.

    Oh no! Someone stated that they like to play a game tactically rather than running about like a 5yr old with ADHD! Shock horror! And this upsets you why? Would you rather I started a "OMG X360 is teh suck + ur all fags!" style argument?

    Go away and learn to smile, before someone mistakes you for an emo kid.

  • abigsmurf #26 6 years ago

    "complete graphical overhaul" = higher res + using that oversaturated lighting effect almost all 360 games are using

  • reality_cheque #27 6 years ago

    An emo kid is like a whining little bitch who listens to sad music and cries on stage. Music is like an indie/punklite crossover.

    Emo kids are the new people to mock.

  • jack_klugman #28 6 years ago

    <A HREF="http://e n.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emo_%28music%29">Emoo</A >

  • king_skins #29 6 years ago

    Emo kids are the Goth type that pay far to much attention to how they look and spend half the day correcting/checking/playing with there hair. You can also see them walking around with there jeans slung below their ass.
    Edited by 2 at 23/01/06 @ 14:20

  • LFace #30 6 years ago

    When I think of Emo, I just think of that skinny whiney weird voiced comedian with a stripey jumper on...

  • king_skins #31 6 years ago

    BF:MC on the xbox was also quite good, didn't buy the full game as I knew it was coming out on the 360 and I didn't want to buy it twice. I really enjoyed the DEMO. Its a pitty that they droped the squad and commander stuff from the PC game in the MC version.

  • IAmBatman #32 6 years ago

    "every Xbox Live user, not every PC owner owns a headset... "

    Not every Live user has a headset.

  • Furbs #33 6 years ago

    Especially on 360 given the scarcity of peripherals and Premiums...

  • reality_cheque #34 6 years ago

    Oi! Don't associate Emo kids with Goths... they cry, we just sit around making cynical comments about emo kids and smoking too many cigarettes :p

  • Stickman #35 6 years ago

    TSSSCCCCCHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

    /brands Fluffy

  • reality_cheque #36 6 years ago

    Fluffy: Sadly, with your "Daft Kids" comment, you just got labelled as an old man :p

  • Errol #37 6 years ago

    Pointless port. Will not compare with the PC version (with 64 players etc etc).

  • dllord #38 6 years ago

    I usually hate EA for being lazy but Fight night 3 and this do look pretty cool!

    Maybe its because they arn't held back by the PS2's limitations any more! :)

  • Furbs #39 6 years ago

    Ummm Errol, its not a port.
    And having played 64 player games before, I personally wont feel any great sense of loss.