Battlefield 2142 Review

The walkers (the huge Mech-like robots), though a landmark of the game, are not as effective as I hoped they would be. They are certainly powerful and pack a helluva punch, but they are also awkward to maneuver. In addition, their size and presence makes them a prime target in any fight, so you might as well wear a bull's-eye on your head.

I got a walker in my sights!

A room full of people. Party?

Personally, I was a huge fan of the Pan Asian Coalition (PAC) tanks.

As far as other game novelties go, one possible effective use of the infantry is closely tied to the Titan mode of play (this mode is new to the series). Again, I refer you to my hands-on preview for more details.
Essentially, a team of soldiers can land on the enemy Titan and subsequently bring it down from the inside. That might possibly be the greatest use that the infantry has in the game.

From a technical standpoint, Battlefield 2142 worked really, really well. Aside from a few minor bugs (like the game not letting me select my newly-unlocked rifle even though I would equip it time and again [not before I'd restart it that is], and some minor glitches with the ranking points display immediately after the fight [which would again be solved by simply relogging]), the net code and the frame rate were stable at all times. I haven't been disconnected once during the match.

In closing, while the Battlefield series is beginning to suffer from a mild case of Maddenization (minor incremental changes that don't warrant a full release); the situation is still far from being alarming.

Bottom line is I had loads of fun playing BF 2142 in multiplayer. The evolution of the series may not have taken the direction, or has been carried out to the extent that I hoped it would (what about some sort of proper exo-skeleton for the Assault Class?), but there are things about it that I find very appealing (like the enhanced RPG element and the class changes in general).

Additionally, the net code is very stable (I did apply the 1.01 patch, however, before playing, which fixes one crash issue on the Titan mode), so those who generally find the concept appealing will get plenty of hours of fun out of BF 2142.

Not to mention that they'll help EA to learn more about their lifestyle habits, and consequently enrich their lives with meaningful ads plastered on in game billboards.

For the record, billboards, though present on maps like "Belgrade," currently don't feature any real world ads.