Honestly. You wait months upon months for a decent team-based FPS, and then two absolute crackers come along mere weeks apart from eachother. Zipper Interactive’s MAG was a ballsy gamble that only a format zealot would agree hasn’t paid off, and DICE’s Bad Company 2 is probably the definitive title in their hugely prestigious series. But which is better?
VISUALS
Battlefield Bad Company 2 is perhaps the best looking FPS currently available on any format. Character models are peerless, it boasts minimal pop-up and it runs almost faultlessly online. MAG on the other hand is slightly grimier and skimps somewhat on the finer details, but then it has been built to accommodate a frankly daunting number of players. It doesn’t look anywhere near as polished as Bad Company 2, but during our considerable playtime, it has never ever ran anything other than perfectly. Its a more than fair trade-off, but for graphics whores, there is only one victor.
Winner: Battlefield Bad Company 2
AUDIO
Bad Company 2 is an aural powerhouse. The game’s sound design will surely clean-up when the videogame awards season rolls around, and the way it balances the gentle din of distant gunfire, with exploding environments in the immediate vicinity, makes you feel like you’re in the middle of a mega-budget action movie. MAG is less bombastic and attention-seeking, but two things in particular work massively in its favour. Firstly the sound of footsteps is slightly pronounced, so if you’re playing MAG with 5.1 surround sound, you’ll hear enemies flanking you and will know exactly where they’re coming from, and are encouraged to act accordingly. Secondly, when a pivotal mini-victory is made by your team, a fist-pumping piece of electronica blares out of the speakers, galvanising you into making sure that your team’s final push is as ferocious as it needs to be. Those are two completely superior flourishes, and they all add to the appeal of the experience as a whole.
Winner: MAG
GAMEPLAY
Because it is smaller in scope, Bad Company 2 can function without teamwork being to the fore. The endless stream of disillusioned Modern Warfare 2 fans who are looking for their latest fix, will clearly feel right at home here. A disappointing number of games that Zavvi.com has had online are filled with lone-wolves, who appear completely disinterested in doing anything as part of a team. When you are paired with teammates who all know what they’re doing, the thrill of victory is momentous. But the game’s mild similarities to Modern Warfare 2 may actually prove to be its biggest enemy in the long run.
MAG on the other hand, separated the wheat from the chaff almost immediately. Those looking for a quick fix went elsewhere within the first week of the game’s release, and now MAG boasts a community as formidable as any since the heyday of Team Fortress 2. The stripped-down simplicity of the core gameplay – emphasising the importance of medical perks over all others – makes for an experience that anyone can understand, and many will find almost intravenously rousing.
Winner: MAG
VALUE
MAG has been built to last. Nobody is going to try to topple a game this ambitious any time soon, and we’ll be playing it until the Playstation 3 bows to its successor, and probably beyond that. The prospect of DLC map packs seems almost blasphemous – like toying with the design of a chess board for the sake of it – but when and if those map packs arrive, we’ll be very surprised if they aren’t utterly perfect.
That said, the sheer wealth of content available on the Bad Company 2 disc, even if you don’t take the upcoming DLC into account, is outstanding. There is a well-rounded and lengthy single-player campaign that is (nearly) as strong as its primary influence, and a multiplayer that is riddled with more maps and modes than you could shake a heavily modified AK-47 at. In terms of sheer day-one content, Bad Company 2 has set a pretty superb precedent.
Winner: Battlefield: Bad Company 2
OVERALL
These are two of the best games of their kind. One probably wouldn’t exist without the other (MAG having graciously cribbed a few things from earlier Battlefield titles) but they have both been created with real passion, pedantic fine-tuning, and a clear dedication and love for their target audiences. You’ll frankly be in heaven if you’ve had time to spend with either one of these titles, but then if you’re truly hardcore, you’ll want to get involved in both. There is, after all, only one winner here. Us.
Winner: DRAW
Do you agree? Let us know your thoughts…
I’m a MAG man myself
BC2 ftw lol
mag is all i need beat Bc2 story was good mag is better online
Leading your squad of clanmembers or an entire platoon to victory is priceless, MAG all the way baby. Better than CounterStrike.
LOL BF is the best looking FPS available on consoles ummmm im positive KZ2 still holds that throne IMO MAG is waaaaay better BF has mad jaggies and 24 ppl online LOL are we in ps2 erra? in the demo half the time you can run around freely not seeing anyone sorry i dont like games that are just meere expansions COD MW- MW2 anyone ? and im a huge battlefield fan but u sir fail
Dude! Are you serious on the Audio part? BC2 winds hands down.There shouldn’t even be a comparison. Not only is BC2 have better audio but it is mixed really well to sound well on any sound system you are using. Have you tried ‘War Tapes’ on BC2 sound settings? Try it and see if you’ll change your mind.
Seriously?
Bad Company no question
You have to be f*****g kidding me. BBC2 is the far superior game. If you think that MAG has better sound, I think you need the see a doctor. BBC2 is far superior in every shape and form. MAG has more players, whoop-dee-doo. MAG is a really boring game. I traded that POS in only a few days after purchase. What a turd.
It seems to me the author went out of their way to make this a draw.
Not saying MAG is not a good game, but to give sound to MAG is blasphemous. There ARE footsteps to be heard in BFBC2. Standing in the woods, one hears people run by all the time and you easily know where they are.
Just because it has electronica doesn’t make it better anyway. BFBC2 has the siren in conquest that tells you to pick it up, you are losing.
I am sure gameplaywise, BFBC2 might have the upperhand. COD players are dropping in droves because they just plain suck. Give it a month and there will be only a strong core still playing. Of course there are lone wolves, people are just learning how to play. You could have said the same thing the first week of MAG also (as you actually did).
Oh, and Battlefield emphasizes medic over anything else also.
MAG wins Audio??
it sounds like there got the explosion sounds form popping potato chip bags..
WTF ? Overall Draw ? Mag is a total piece of sh#t plays like an unfinished alpha version of a game .Hope they gonna put out a better one
MAG wins Audio??
it sounds like they got the explosion sounds from popping potato chip bags..
Sound sucks..
i own both games and let me tell you, this is definitely not a tie. MAG is vastly inferior to Battlefield in every subject listed above. first of all, what does the games community have anything to do with how well the gameplay is; i found that in both games some people refuse to do the objectives, but that doesnt make the game bad. MAG has an EXTREMELY generic feel, and does not control half as well as BFBC2, its a joke they could be compared when it comes to this. another thing is the audio. really? a stupid little music when something good happens has enough power to compensate for all the guns that sound exactly the same and HORRIBLE voice acting? the audio in BFBC2 on the other hand is unmatched. i think the author of this article needs to play the games a little more and have real conclusions before saying stupid things like wat he says. btw, i dont hate mag, i just dont think it could b compared to BFBC2
no comparison. this is really a poor comparison. (vehicles, weapons, classes, etc)… thanks internet for sites like this…
I love them both and after playing over 24 hours with each, I would have to place BFBC2 slightly ahead of MAG. I wish these titles would have come out 6 months apart. Trading in MW2 tomorrow, played it once since Feb. 26th and have completely lost interest playing it. BFBC2>MAG>MW2!
Good comparison. I agree that both games are about equal. The only thing I disagree with is the Sound; BC 2′s dynamic sound is simply incredible. Running into a room firing your assault rifle and all of a sudden hearing the sounds echo off the walls was definitely one of the high points in the game. Just my opinion, and I do have to agree that the 5.1 surround sound is pretty impressive still
I have and Love both games! Team based FPS games ftw! XD
They are both completly diffrent BC2 is a polised modern warfare 2 (cos mw2 was crap) and MAG feels like a game for those sick of everyone running round like headless chickens
Audio MAG? i feel a fail right there..
let me guess…you played MAG on a surround sound system and played Bad Company 2 on a 2 stereo?
Excuse me both Bad Company 2 also has the clear sound steps of your enemies and team mates.
Bad Company takes the lead for Audio.
As for the gameplay, going lonewolf on Bad Company means you must be a sniper, but others such as myself go lone wolf if teams are snipers or we want to take out the gold while others just wants kills.
You can use tanks and other vehicles and play different game types.
And you telling me MAG takes the lead?
oh please, Bad Company 2 is the better game overall.
BC2 has way better gameplay. Just cause MAG has like 200 players doesnt mean its better in gameplay. In MAG they move very stiffly and i personally dont like the crosshairs on MAG. Also the sound in BC2 is unbelievable cause you can also hear footsteps around you and when your a person around you’s character calls out something like SNIPER FIRE! GET DOWN! I know I sound like a fanboy but whoever’s reading this comment should play both games and tell me which is better to you.
I play BF:BC2 on PC and mag on PS3.
Both amazing games… but I’ll give up on BC2 when BC3 comes out.
MAG? Considering it’s zipper… I don’t think there will be a MAG 2 at all, at least not until the PS4+
and I can see myself playing MAG for years to come, just like I did with socom, Counter strike, Quake, Unreal, ect
So far loving them both, my hats are off to both Zipper and Dice with this one.
I disagree with the audio, I think the audio of MAG is horrible. Same sounds for pretty much every gun. Just my opinion. I love the sounds in BFBC2, every weapon sounds different, the explosion sounds and explosion proximity sounds, the sounds of the vehicle engines roaring and drawing closer, the footsteps of the enemy (which despite what the review said you can hear). Even after the “award winning” audio that was boasted by the writer of that review he still said MAG for a minor things. “Secondly, when a pivotal mini-victory is made by your team, a fist-pumping piece of electronica blares out of the speakers, galvanizing you into making sure that your team’s final push is as ferocious as it needs to be. Those are two completely superior flourishes, and they all add to the appeal of the experience as a whole.” I mean how retard is that.
Gameplay boils down to opinion. The idea that BFBC2 doesn’t require teamwork is asinine. You CANNOT win rush without teamwork. Period. Conquest maybe, but being the lone wolf gets you shot in the back and overran by vehicles and working teams. I did better lone wolfing in MAG on Domination then I ever do lone wolfing BFBC2 on Rush. Secondly gameplay boils down to much more then just teamwork. It comes down to the enjoyment of the game. MAG has an okay ranking/unlock system, a command structure, with untouchable large amount of enemies. BFBC2 has fully destructible environments, a wide variety of (usable) weapons per class, vehicles, and special abilities per class. So in my opinion just having mass amounts of enemies isn’t as enjoyable as what BFBC2 has to offer.
MAG
Draw, but not for the same reasons. They are to me just equally fun games. One is semi-teamwork, the other is really teamwork
Lovin’ it =)
rofl holy shit, what a shit review, bad company 2 sounds are some of the best in the market, its gamebreaking.
you are just balancing it out on purpose to make it a draw not to seem biased.
MAG turned out to a complete failure, every known magazine has given it shitty score because it turned into a shitty game.
Bad company 2 on the other hand was a great success, one of the best FPS made to days date.
BFBC2 is no slouch when it comes to visuals, but it’s still a good half a class behind KZ2, which for me is still the premier small-scale FPS. While BFBC2 doesn’t do the shooting and atmosphere quite as well as KZ2, it has brilliant destructability and enjoyable vehicles, and a better ‘levelling’ system.
However, to compare MAG to _any_ other console shooter available is missing the point. I’ve played both, and both are great, but they are different beasts – one is a small-scale, sandbox game where teamwork is limited by design (it’s impossible to communicate between people outside your squad – there’s not even proximity chat!), whereas MAG is a large-scale (the smallest modes in MAG are 64-player tussles, almost three times what BFBC2 offers), highly tactical shooter.
Your comparison also lacks attention to detail – MAG has _more_ maps than BFBC2 (some of which are factors larger than the largest BFBC2 map), and just as many modes. And the maps _aren’t_ perfect. They’re pretty damn good, but there are balance issues.
Now, of the two, MAG is my fave, but tbh I’d rate the three best console shooters released as MAG, BFBC2 and KZ2 (not in any particular order), with CoD4 getting an honorable mention but being a bit arcadey for my liking. So there’s no real complaining to be done – everyone’s a winner
.
if you play MAG your a FAG
BC2 baby its the way to do it
I played MAG and was heavily disappointed. Horrible game. Bad Company 2 FTW
this has to be the stupidest article ever. its not even a question, critics agreed bfbc2 did way better, mag got average scores. and sound? battlefield clearly wins, it has the footsteps of enemy soldiers too. so the only thing mag has is some guy yelling to win. if you look at the dissection, even with mag getting categories for no apparent reason, it sounds like bfbc2 is going to win, and then you just call it a draw. thats just being a sissy and not deciding.
This is ridiculous.
Visuals – BC2 wins, as you said. Points were good.
Value – I think they’re both basically the same here, with BC2 being with an advantage.
However…
Gameplay – If you play BC2 like MW2 you WILL fails. Without a shadow of a doubt. I think the opposite here actually. Since there are less players in BC 2, your squad can make a game changing difference. With 256 players, someone can go lone wolf, they won’t do any good for their team, but they won’t hurt the team either. If there are lone wolves in BC2 they are a dramatic setback (fucking snipers that don’t do shit when the base is under attack)
Audio – That’s the MOST bullshit I’ve ever seen. Battlefield Bad Company 2 has the best audio I’ve heard since MGS4. Just because MAG’s footsteps are like people stepping on bubblewrap doesn’t mean they have good audio. And because some fancy music plays when you complete and objective? Really? Sure it may pump you up, but its nothing like fighting off enemies with explosions and rockets going off around you. Youtube “Battlefield Moments” and you get a snippet of what every game is like. Sure, those videos were somewhat staged, but I’ve experienced moments like that almost every game.
In short, it sounds like you tried really hard to make it a tie. So you gave MAG stupid wins.
WTF???
audio winner is MAG?
dumbass reviewer
BC2 has the best audio for any FPS
turn that shit on with wartapes and it’ll destroy MAG
BC2.
Heres my desicion im getting bfbc2 thanks to the replys thatyou got I read another MAG VS BFBC2 and they said Mag sucks and get BFBC2 so you review SUCKED!
um mag is now 35 and bfbc2 is still 60 which should i get. i havnt played either