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I could hear the sand grains being pushed aside as I lay prone behind a stack of sandbags. Behind me were three of my squad members awaiting their orders. I could see the base from where we were positioned and it was not far off. I noticed that there was a nice plateau to the East. It was perfect positioning for a sniper. I got on the squad comm. channel and ordered our sniper to take cover on the plateau and give supporting fire. Just as I gave the order, one of the soldiers spotted us and began firing. Our commander had called for an artillery strike right at the base we were looking upon as I called for reinforcements. I knew that we just had to hold off for a bit and soon the enemy would be eradicated. I could hear the bullets whizzing by my ear and hitting the bags that were protecting me. I told the other squad members to stay low and fire in bursts. I noticed that our sniper had been exposed and now the enemy fire had concentrated over to him. As the direction of fire changed, the artillery shells began to pound into the ground. I could see eight or ten bodies fly up into the air. Right as the explosions started, I ordered my troops to advance on the base. I followed right behind them. I lost my vision past 10 feet in front of me because of the dust and smoke from the artillery firing. As the smoke cleared I found my entire squad alive and intact. We had taken the base. This is when I knew, Battlefield 2 delivers.

In 2002 the PC world was introduced to a new style of online first-person shooters. The first in the Battlefield series was 1942. Developed by Digital Illusions, the makers wanted to take gamers back to World War II. Now many games had done this, but DICE (Digital Illusions CE) wanted to do something different. They needed that one niche that would put their game above other WWII shooters. They came up with a great team concept and that concept has developed over the years to become what it is now. The third installment of the series, Battlefield 2, is set in the Middle East and mimics modern combat as the battles and coalitions are fictional. The game not only lives up to its predecessors but in certain ways goes beyond them.

BF2 continues the conquest mode as the main mode of the game. In fact, it's the only mode. This isn't a problem because it is the best way to enjoy the series and those of you looking for deathmatches or capture the flag games will be out of luck. Conquest mode is basically king of the hill. There are different bases on the battlefield that can be controlled by a certain faction. Either the Chinese Coalition, Middle Easter Coalition, or the United States Military Coalition will take control of these bases. The mode is great because now the game takes more strategy. Players won't be able to just run around and blast away with their M249 fully automatic machine gun.

Vehicles also make the game unique. BF wasn't the first game to implement vehicle based combat, but it arguably was first to make it simple and easy to use. Controlling vehicles comes down to about six buttons: four for movement and two for main fire and alternate fire. The fact of the matter is that it is easy to drive the vehicles. As for flying, this may prove to have a higher learning curve. For those just learning to fly, it can be difficult and frustrating at first (especially the helicopters). Vehicle power has been dumbed down just a bit. Now a few infantry troops shouldn't have a problem taking a tank out that is guarding a base. This may not be realistic, but it makes the game more balanced. The choice of vehicles is plentiful too. Each faction has their own unique vehicles. You'll be able to control jeeps, tanks, APC's, fighter jets, and more. As gamers continue to learn how to use the vehicles properly they can have a major influence on the outcome of battles.

There's no question that BF2 is made to be experienced online. The single player mode might as well have been left out. The biggest difference between the online and single player mode is how horrendous the AI is compared to playing against intelligent humans. The game does become a type of game where you can run around and waste ammo like there's no tomorrow. So if you're even thinking about getting this game and just playing the single player mode, you better think twice.

As said above, the game does revolve around the multiplayer aspects. DICE has done a great job to add some new teamwork features that really sets this game apart from others. Players now have the option to command or join a squad. Within the squads players will be able to voice communicate with each, get squad specific orders from their squad leader, and spawn on their squad leader as long as he/she stays alive. This gives squad play a great dynamic because keeping the squad leader is of the utmost importance. This causes a sense of camaraderie that is very hard to find, especially amongst random players. Squads stick to each other and provide support. Different tactics are key to becoming a successful squad: flanking, covering fire, sweeps, etc. Not only is there communication between members of a squad, the squad leaders and the commander have their own channel of communication. The commander is the main leader of the faction. There is only one and this person has the ability to give orders to squad leaders, send out a UAV in order to radar a small area, or even call for artillery strikes. It's a great tree of command going from the commander, to the squad leader, to the soldier. It works seamlessly and is very effective.

The maps of BF2 are probably the weakest aspect of the game. Now don't get me wrong here, just because they are the weakest part of the game, does not make the maps bad at all. However, they didn't seem to be as fun or varied as the 1942 edition. In fact, BF2 is very similar to a mod released for 1942 called Desert Combat. If you've played those maps, you'll see that BF2's maps are largely similar with the exception of a few jungle and marsh maps. Another problem that isn't necessarily DICE's fault, but could've been addressed was how each map is too even. Sure having most maps completely even is great, but where are the challenging maps? This problem can be associated with the fact that all the battles are fictional. At least in 1942, DICE had historical battles where there was a definitive underdog. Maps like Omaha Beach were exposed and eventually completely dominated by German forces. There was an occasional time when the Allied forces would win. The lack of the emotion sparked when your underdog team does the unthinkable, which is what Allied soldiers did at the real Omaha Beach, is something I missed. So either you really appreciate the improved balance or you are like me and miss the side-favored battles.

Back are the different kits. One major complaint of the second game in the series, Vietnam, was how the kits were not balanced. No longer is one kit spammed, and it gives gamers more incentive to try other kits. There are the standard medic, sniper, assault, and engineer kits. What has been added are support kits and special forces kits. The support kit is equipped with a heavy machine gun and is able to resupply ammo to soldiers and vehicles. The special forces kit is the only one that is equipped with C4. With the C4, bridges, enemy radar, tanks, and buildings can all be destroyed in a fury of explosions. Not only does the improved kit balance persuade gamers to try new kits, the new feature of squads makes it even more enticing for players. Each squad functions the best when they have each kit. Each kit has their own duty: the special forces kit will be able to blow certain objects, the medic can heal and revive, the support can give out ammo, the sniper can scout ahead, the engineer can deploy mines and repair vehicles, and for pure fire power, the assault kit not only brings a great M4, but the M4 can be converted to a grenade launcher. A squad that can do all these actions usually equates to a successful squad.

Being a new PC game, BF2 is quite the performance eater. My machine is a 2.0 Ghz, Pentium 4, 1 GB RAM, and a Radeon 9800pro 128 MB video card. I was able to run the game on high settings with few problems, but in order to play it with a completely smooth framerate, I left it on medium settings. The textures, detail on players and vehicles, lighting, explosions, shading effects, all look amazing, even on medium settings. It's not the best looking game out there, but it does look better than most. One could almost say that the sound is done better than the graphics. Guns sound life-like, vehicles are loud and obnoxious (as they should be), and player emotions are realistic. The best part is when artillery rains down because it will surprise you and make you go hysterical as loud explosions boost your character 50 feet into the sky. It's not fun to die but extremely entertaining to watch. The bottom line is that the game looks and sounds great. You won't be disappointed.

There is one drawback. The game relies heavily on the players who play it. If you end up playing on a server with a bunch of casual players who don't know how to play, team kill constantly, or use the tree of command, then the game isn't nearly as fun. You're basically on your own and have completely taken out the team concept. This also applies if you join a squad that doesn't work together. It took me about three or four days to find the good servers where players play the way the game was meant to be. This is why I highly recommend LAN-ing or joining a clan. This way everyone plays the game the way DICE wants you to play it; and it is actually the best way to have fun with the game.

The original BF rocked my world, and this third installment, although named 2, rocked it even higher. I have to admit that I love multiplayer games where team play is emphasized. This is why BF2 is right up my alley. If you feel the same way, I don't see any reason why you should pass it up. Just make sure your computer has the ability to run the game before you purchase it.

Graphics: A-

Sound: A+

First Play: B+

Last Play: B+

Gameplay: A

Overall: 95% A