EndWeekGame: March 5

I am again the only voice talking about my gaming habits for the upcoming two days and I am tempted to pick two games that could not be more different, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 from Electronic Arts and DICE, and Napoleon: Total War from The Creative Assembly and SEGA.

The Battlefield sequel is a much improved game over the first one, with the humor toned down, the threat level turned up and with some of the most engaging firefights on this side of the first Modern Warfare from Infinity Ward. The game looks amazing, eschewing the full of color approach of other shooters in favor of a more realistic color palette, with snow blinding players and the desert looking suitably harsh.

The complex destruction possibilities of the new version of the Frostbite engine also change the way the shooter genre is played, making the safety of cover only temporary and increasing the tactical options available in each engagement. Bad Company 2 is first person shooting at its best and I plan to jump into the multiplayer modes a bit, hoping not to be hopelessly outclassed by players with more time on their hands.

Napoleon: Total War is a whole other beast. It certainly improves last year’s Empire and by focusing on a smaller period and on the personality of Napoleon, it manages to connect the player better with the actions of his men on the field and of his agents on the strategic map. I completed the Italian campaign, allying with Venice and defeating the Austrians just as time went out on the campaign clock.

I also managed to master Egypt, although the naval power of the British meant that Cyprus remained out of reach. Now, I am struggling to take Vienna in the grand campaign while making sure Prussia does not enter the fray against the mighty French Revolutionary Empire.