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Genre: Action

Format: DVD

Developer: EA Games

Publisher: EA Games

Minimum System Requirements: Mac OS X v10.4.9, Intel Core Duo processor, 512MB RAM, ATI X1600 or NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT video card (Intel GMA950 chipset not supported)

Review Computer: 800MHz iMac, 256MB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce2 MX video card; and 1.5GHz 17" PowerBook, 512MB RAM, ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (AGP 4X) graphics processor with 64MB of DDR SDRAM

Network Feature: Yes

Processor Compatibility: Intel only

Price: $39.95

ESRB Rating: T

Availability: Now

Official Website: www.battlefield.ea.com

I didn't expect to get sucked into Battlefield 2142 as much as I did. Set in a grim future where an unexpected Ice Age ("Hey Al, do those glaciers seem closer to you?") has wiped out much of the farmable land, two armies fight for control of key strategic points do determine whose population will live, and whose will starve. But that's back-story. In the game itself, you take the role of a foot soldier in the various battles, joining other players online, or on your own computer vs. bots.

2142 is the latest in a series of team-focused combat games. You can run around as a loner, shooting the enemy and generally doing what you like, but the real fun of the game (and the quickest way to reap its rewards) is to play with a group, working together, and supporting each other.

Take, for example, the equipment kits you pick. There are four classes of soldier (whom, despite being set in 130+ years in the future, are all male): recon (sniper), assault (general weapons and medic), engineer (vehicle repair and destruction), and support (heavy weapons and ammo). Now, each of these classes can be beneficial to themselves—the medic kit can be used by the player who carries it, the support soldier can resupply himself with ammo—but if you use them on other players, you get points which can speed you towards a promotion.

And here we arrive at the primary "carrot" of the game: the promotions system. Characters start at the lowest level, buck private, and work their way up by achieving goals in the game: killing enemies, taking control points (see below), and earning medals and ribbons (below). As you earn promotions, you unlock equipment upgrades; better guns, sure, but also things such as heart defibrillators that let you revive fallen allies, EMP grenades that immobilize vehicles, and shields that protect you from enemy fire. There are also squad-specific upgrades that allow a squad leader to better direct and defend his team. These upgrades, however, are only available if the squad leader has a team of sufficient size; you can't earn them and use them by yourself, for example. The main problem with this is that when you're first playing the game, not only are you trying to learn, you're also playing against soldiers who are more experienced, but have more lethal gear. Expect to be lit up like a pinball machine for a while.

Of course, you can play the game in the single-player, offline mode. Here, you'll get a chance to familiarize yourself with the maps and basic strategies of the game until you feel you're ready to take on other human players (you won't actually be ready, of course, but...). A couple of things about single-player mode: while you will get a score at the end of the round telling you how well you did, it won't be added to your permanent record at all. That means no promotions and upgrades for multi-mode. The second is that even though you're playing the game off-line, you'll still need an active internet connection to log into the game (you're required to register for a free EA Games account, which you have to access when the game boots).

Now, for the meat of the game itself. After logging in, you either select which map you want to play (single-player mode), or find a server with an open slot. The style of games in 2142 fall into two types: Assault and Titan. In Assault, both sides are fighting to take control of certain points (marked with flags! How original!) and hold them until the other side runs out of "tickets," which is loosely how many reinforcements (respawns) each side has. The maps vary from the wide-open spaces of the Suez Canal to the tighter-urban assault maps that take place in Berlin. You'll have to quickly learn the ins and outs of fighting in each type of environment, and the best way to take advantage of them: because the enemy will quickly be doing the same. I had to tip my cap to the enemy engineer who drove all the way across the map, climbed a giant tower, and waited for us to run to our vehicles so he could snipe us...with a rocket launcher. Likewise, the massive amounts of ladders, bridges, burning wrecks, and just plain weird architecture are like a bizarre playground for you to use as best you can. You can't enter many buildings: but you can get an air transport to drop you off on top of one.

Titan mode is somewhat similar, with one big difference...one very big difference: the Titan itself, a floating aircraft carrier that hovers over the battlefield, one for each team. The teams start out by taking control not of flags, but of missile launchers which damage the enemy Titan's shields. Once the shields are down, they continue to batter the hull, eventually destroying it. The real fun, however, is joining an assault team and attempting to bring down the Titan by invading it and destroying it's control consoles and reactor core, while the defending team tries to hold you back. Of the two, I have to say Titan mode is the most exhilarating, perhaps because you go from fighting in wide-open spaces on the battlefield below to tight, door-to-door battles in the narrow halls inside the Titan.

But the massive warships aren't the only vehicles in 2142; the diverse array of vehicular mayhem may be my very favorite part of the game, especially in the low-ranking beginning, where they offer some degree of protection. The vehicles range from quick-moving all-terrain jeeps to tanks (both tracked and hover-style), armored personnel carriers, and air vehicles (assault and transport), and you know it's the future because they have walking mecha! Each vehicle's controls are different, yet intuitive: Hover tanks' main guns do not turn independently of the chassis, but tracked ones do. Walkers' gun platforms can rotate 360 degrees from their legs. APCs sport a variety of weapon ports to make up for their limited mobility, and can launch you onto enemy Titans (via ejecting parachute pods) once you drive close enough. And did I mention that every vehicle sports multiple seats so that while one character drives (and often, works the main gun) others can ride shotgun (or mortar,  as the case may be), plinking enemies?

There are also fixed gun emplacements of which you can take control to defend points for your team. One fires EMP rounds designed to damage vehicles, while the other is primarily for anti-aircraft fire. While defense is not the most exciting aspect of the game, they can be an easy way to earn points early on by simply grabbing one and waiting a few minutes to get an Air Defense Medal.

Ah, medals. While running around blasting everything in sight like a Redneck Rampage has its fun, the surest way to get promoted in the game is to earn a commendation (medals, ribbons and badges). There are an astonishing array of awards in 2142, some of which you can get easily in a single game, and some of which will required months of play and a little luck to achieve. The basics will help you learn how to play a game (spend five minutes in a certain type of vehicle, get eight kills in one game using a certain kit). These lead to more complicated goals (which are worth more promotion points), until finally there are awards that require you to not only pull off spectacular feats in one game (destroying a Titan almost single-handed), but to have been playing the game for hundreds of hours. And then there are awards that are just plain ol' fun, like the Wheels of Hazard Pin (run down five enemies in the ATV).

The controls handle much like any other shooter: WASD moves your character around, mousing controls your POV. You can run short distances (longer if you forego the "heavy armor" option), and carry a rifle, a sidearm, and a knife (engineers carry a rocket launcher). You have a finite amount of ammo (unless a support character resupplies you), but can switch kits from other players who have died (their backpacks, conveniently labeled, litter the field). Everything is wonderfully rendered, albeit in shades of rust, snow, and decay.

Strengths: Solid game design, looks great, team-based play is addictive, Titan mode and variety of maps to cater to different types of play.
Weaknesses: Internet connection required, even for "offline" play. Game is weighted against inexperienced players (who play on the same field as more experienced).
Overall: Solid, team-based battle game. Won me over.

Bill's been using Macs since the late 80s. When he's not making smartass remarks to amuse Kirk Hiner, he enjoys fighting for the user.