Disclaimers: I have no affiliation with Digital Illusions CE, EA Games, or the Battlefield franchise aside from having played the games personally. Further, this particular post will contain some more colorful expressions than those in my normal posts.

It all began in June of 2005. Digital Illusions CE, in partnership with EA Games, released this game called Battlefield 2 and, although it was not a new phenomenon, it was released at a time when a small group of us were either “between” games and looking for something new to play or simply wanting another game to have fun at LAN parties with. Very rarely, with our group at least, has a first-person shooter (FPS) taken hold like Battlefield 2 did, and it looks like we may be starting a new tour of duty with Battlefield: Bad Company 2 being released soon.

To understand why this game has already pulled us in, a few highlights from our first tour are in order. First, we consistently had eight to ten people playing together at any given time (enough for two squads), we used a separate voice server so that we could communicate effectively with each other, and we actually used the concept of teamwork to take on our objective (note, however, that our determined objective was not always in alignment with what we were supposed to be doing to win the match; for instance, on numerous occasions we would play a “sub-game” within our group aimed at various types of kills ranging from shock-paddling the enemy, using claymores in creative ways to catch friend and foe alike, or simply seeing who could end up with the most sniper kills).

Perhaps the most attractive aspect of the original Battlefield 2 was simply the versatility with which we could play together and bring our strengths to the game, resulting in a fairly tough team to beat. Basically, we could really play off of each others’ strengths and weaknesses in a way that made us practically unstoppable on a good day (though we also had more than our fair share of bad days).

Fast forward to Sunday evening when I receive a single text message, stating “if u haven’t already, it’s time to re-enlist.” I had no idea what my friend was referring to, so I sent a message back immediately, “huh?”

I had not followed any information on the Battlefield franchise since we stopped playing Battlefield 2. After looking over the information on the Steam Store I pre-ordered, and then began my earnest search for more information in an effort to know for certain what I had just jumped into. Not even an hour later I sent another response back: ” now i cant wait… bastard :p”

You see, I love good first-person shooters on the PC, but single-player play does not interest me that much. I enjoy FPS games that bring a realistic feel to the gameplay even more (as in modern weapons and equipment instead of the futuristic or antiquated ones, although Valve does an excellent job with their games). What I love even more, though, is the squad-based combat and various roles that Battlefield 2 offered, and no other FPS game seemed to feel the same after playing it. To now have what basically looks like a newer, better BF2 on the way makes me extremely excited, and couple that thought with the fact that we have a large number of our original BF2 players having pre-ordered and planning to play again… well, it’s an explosion of goodness reminiscent of back to back orgasms. Seriously.

“It’s time to reenlist, soldier!”

That simple phrase has made its way through our group, almost seeming to spread like wildfire. We have some new players coming in to join us this time, some old players that played BF2 together, and even a couple who never played first-person shooters (or at least that is the impression I have, though that could be a slight exaggeration). Computers are being upgraded again, peripherals are being cleaned up or replaced, drivers are being updated… we are preparing for a return to epic warfare not seen since our tour in Battlefield 2.

Now, if they would just open the BETA up to us a day early…