Battlefield: Bad Company -- Final Opinion.

So if the offline game of Bad Company is a decent first attempt, how is the online? As far as bringing Battlefield to consoles it's a great success. All the mayhem and insanity of the Battlefield series is perfectly conveyed. Bad Company ditched the Battlefield series mainstay of conquest mode although, based on reaction to the beta and demo from fans, Dice CE has decided to implement the mode via download content for free at a later date. Instead they've created gold rush mode. Which has two teams of twelve players going after gold crates. One team is an attacker and the other defenders. One wants the gold, the other wants to keep it. The attackers need to reach the crates and destroy them to claim the gold in that section of the map. If they succeed they move on to the next set of crates for the map. Each map has roughly four to five sets of crates. The defenders need to keep the crates from being destroyed. They achieve this by reducing the number of attackers. It works on Battlefield's ticket system. The attackers only get so many spawns. Each one represented by a ticket. Once they've all been used up the attackers are defeated. Into this you add Battlefields class structure. Bad Company features five classes and they are assault, demolition, recon, support, and specialist. Each class is outfitted with exclusive weapons and gear. You're able to select your class with each spawn within the round. It's all about playing your role. Demolition allows for you to take out armored vehicles and tanks with shotguns as the primary weapon. Recon allows for sniping. Assault allows for automatic rifles. Support is the medic. Specialist allows for you to excel situationally as in tagging a helicopter with a tracer bullet so that the demolition class can lock on with their rockets for an easy kill in an otherwise dreaded and difficult encounter. On top of this they've included Battlefield's point system where everything you do is rewarded. Kill an enemy for points. Kill an enemy within range of a gold crate for an attacker or defense point bonus. Kill an enemy after they've killed a squad member for an avenger point bonus. Kill an enemy who is attacking a team member for a savior point bonus. You name it, it's pretty much covered within the system. And it all works toward the great rank and award system they've implemented. There are essentially one-hundred and twenty in-game achievements to earn. There are three categories. Trophies are based on points. Kill six enemies in a round with a specific weapon to earn an assault rifle trophy for example. Patches are earned from earning enough specific trophies. So if you were to get a bunch of defense based trophies you'll eventually earn a bronze defender patch and up to silver and gold and so on. Wildcards are just that, the one-off freakish things that happen in the game. Get enough air in a Humvee for example. It's actually a great system that encourages you to fully explore the classes and everything they have to offer. Now as for the actual gameplay. I really like it. But I have to stress that Bad Company online really does depend on your team. If they've got their act together you're going to have some fun. And a lot of it. Teamwork really comes into play. There is a true sense of accomplishment and working together. On the other hand, if you're on a team with a couple of other squads who don't have their act together, it can be near miserable, especially if the opposition is on the ball. Because no matter what you do as an individual you're not going to be able to truly turn the tide without help. One squad alone can do something against another decent squad, but one good squad versus two or even three others means misery awaits.  And that can be frustrating. That should be alleviated considerably once conquest mode is patched in as it will open up the maps from the start and you're not funneled through the areas in concentrated numbers as you are in gold rush mode. When it works, Bad Company is awesome online, and when you're behind the eight ball you'll just have ride it out and take the loss and look for another game. But for me the highs make it well worth the lows. I'm giving Battlefield: Bad Company for the Xbox 360 a 9.