Battlefield 2142 takes the online shooter series into the future by about 150 years. If you’re looking for lasers, robots, and space-based maps, you won’t find them here. Battlefield 2142’s world features more of an integral upgrade to today’s military hardware even though the world has gone through a serious downgrade. The world is falling into a new ice age and the countries in the northern latitudes are finding themselves growing increasingly short on usable real estate. The countries of Europe (a well-armed EU) and a coalition of Asian countries headed by Russia (the Pan Asian Coalition) are fighting for what’s left as well as competing in a land rush for the warmer lands of Africa. This conflict gives the game battlefield maps that range from snowy European cities (or what’s left of them) to North African deserts. Well the Battlefield series has never really needed a story as it’s all about the multiplayer action anyway, so let’s move on to look at the gameplay since I’m sure that that’s what you’re really interested in anyway.

Tanks got legs.

As I already mentioned, Battlefield 2142’s weapons are like an upgrade of today’s weapons. Each side still has its tanks, although the PAC tanks are hover tanks instead of the old fashioned tread style still used by the EU. Each side now has armored mech walkers which look cool but are essentially tanks that let you see the action from a higher vantage point. I like the addition of an EMP weapon that can temporarily scramble the video display of enemy vehicles and make a mess of the foot soldiers’ helmet-mounted HUDs. The aircraft are essentially high-tech helicopters which seem to be easier to fly than aircraft in previous Battlefield games but at a cost to their combat power. Jeeps have been replaced by ATV buggies that scoot around at a blinding pace – and if they’re still not fast enough for you they come with a turbo that can kick in an additional speed burst. APCs are still available to ferry troops, but their high-tech upgrade allows them to jettison their troops in pods that can be guided back to Earth.

The familiar conquest mode of play is back and there are plenty of servers running this control point capture mode. New to the series is the Titan mode, which also is a pretty unique mode among all online shooters. In Titan mode the respawn ticket counters have been done away with entirely. Instead of whittling down the opposing force’s ticket count the goal is to destroy their floating battle fortress or Titan. The first step to do so is to eliminate the Titan’s shielding, which can be done by capturing the missile silos on the map and directing the missiles at the enemy Titan’s shields. Once the shields are down, a Titan can be assaulted by foot soldiers. Interior combat ensues in which the invaders attempt to destroy security terminals to gain access to the Titan’s reactor – and anyone who’s seen Star Wars knows what happens when you blow-up a battlestation’s reactor. This mode lends itself to games that run longer than the conquest games and that require more team coordination to succeed. Some players will find that working towards accomplishing a singular goal makes for a more satisfying experience, but for those that still prefer the traditional mayhem of Battlefield games it’s always easy to find plenty of conquest mode action.
 

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