The battlefield is chaotic. The enemy attacks us from all sides, attempting to gain control of the flag position we defend. A tank rolls up the hill, one brave special forces soldier jumps from behind a wall, planting C4 around the armoured beast, the tank is powerful but too slow and fails to keep up with the soldier's movement and *BOOM* the C4 is detonated, a rain of debris showers the area. Meanwhile, an engineer attempts to block the other road with a few mines but concentrates so much on his task that he fails to notice an approaching buggy, which promptly runs him over. A medic rushes to the scene, attempting to bring vital first aid but gets caught up with an enemy soldier, they lock in close combat, the enemy soldier trying to knife his victim, the medic using his electro-shock-paddle to try and electrocute his foe to death. A nearby aircraft could help us turn this attack into our favour but unfortunately the pilot is too busy doing a loop-de-loop under a bridge, showing off his flying skills to nearby helicopters.

A familiar Battlefield theme, sometimes it can serious, sometimes it can be silly but it's never boring. While there have been games that have attempted to mimic the original Battlefield 1942, which practically invented the vehicular based online shooter, few have really come close to matching it. This sequel, while perhaps not boasting any massive groundbreaking improvements, is a step forward for the series and a new benchmark from which future games will derive their inspiration.

Veterans will immediately know what to expect from this sequel. A modern day setting replaces the past battles from Battlefield 1942 and Vietnam, offering three new modern armies from which to choose: the good old USA, the ever so topical Middle Eastern Coalition and the Chinese. The game itself is simple enough to understand; two teams fight it out over a various number of maps, each map having a set amount of flags to capture, vital as they also affect the tickets of each team, basically how many times you are allowed to respawn. Capture enough flags and the opposing team loses their tickets, eventually losing the match. Simple, but Battlefield's large scale means that actually managing to take and hold each of these flags is no small feat.

The overall structure of the game is unchanged from Battlefield 1942. Before starting the match you have a choice of six kits to play as: Special Forces, Assault, Support, Medic, Anti-Tank and Engineer. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses on the battlefield - Special Forces for example can plant C4 and destroy certain structures such as bridges, but have a weak main weapon, The support class can be used to lay down a massive amount of suppressing firepower with a machinegun but is only really effective when prone, the engineer can repair vehicles and structures and can also plant mines but is poor in combat, coming with the weakest weapons in the game and so on.

Though while each class does come with weaknesses, it does allow for players to work with their strengths. It's not uncommon to see people utilise the abilities they have in the battlefield and do a little experimentation. Why sit back and plant C4 charges on the road, waiting for a passing tank or jeep to destroy? Better to just strap a few explosives on a buggy, drive it as fast as you can towards the nearest enemy vehicle, jump out at the last minute and detonate. Each class can work around their weaknesses and turn them into strengths. Engineers for instance may not be suited to combat but they can use themselves as bait, luring unsuspecting tanks right into some well-hidden mines.

But this is Battlefield, so if on foot action isn't your bag then there's a generous selection of vehicles for you to commandeer. The flags in each map not only act as a spawn point for your team, they also spawn a variety of vehicles. They range from the speedy but weak such as jeeps and buggies to the slightly larger and more powerful such as tanks and a new, all purpose APC that not only deals out a fair amount of damage but can also carry passengers and travel on water. The vehicle roster this time around is slightly smaller than it was in Battlefield 1942. This is no huge loss, as developers Dice have simply removed those vehicles that didn't quite fit and were underused by players. The biggest change here as far as vehicles go is the almost complete absence of sea warfare. No battleships this time and though aircraft carriers still make an appearance, they only show up as fixed spawn points. The focus here is put primarily on ground and air combat.

The modern setting allows for a nice selection of some new and powerful machines to control. While there may not be as many vehicles to play around with this time, the ones that have remained have been upgraded considerably. Tanks now move much faster, load quicker and can even deploy smoke to cover themselves from any pesky anti-tank soldiers lurking about, even the machine gunner can now protect himself by ducking into the turret; a small but welcome addition given how vulnerable those turrets were before. Jeeps, while still primarily used to get from one point to another, now boast a massive upgrade in firepower. Passengers can man mounted machine guns, turning them into quite formidable combatants, though they somewhat pale in comparison to some of the other vehicles on offer. Also, a special mention should go to the new anti-aircraft tank with its twin Gatling guns; any infantry foolish enough to charge this beast soon get other ideas when it unloads a torrent of machine gun fire towards them.

But it's airpower that gets the most attention this time. There are now numerous helicopters to control and small attack craft such as the Cobra sport some devastating firepower, while transport birds like the Black Hawk can ferry players across maps with ease and also come with enough firepower that they can defend themselves pretty well against ground forces but are a sitting duck for any passing aircraft. While the increase in weaponry may be off-putting to those who experienced the low level bombing raids of Battlefield 1942 (I lost count of the amount of times I lost tanks to those darned planes) this time air units are put to more use in the air. Jet fighters, bombers and helicopters now get involved in some intensive mid-air combat, helicopters may be easier to control but picking off troops on the ground becomes especially difficult when enemy aircraft fitted with anti-air weaponry are out hunting you.

In fact, one thing you learn early on in Battlefield 2 is that vehicles this time around don't have the dominating effect they used to have. There are more countermeasures in place to make it easier for the man on the ground to survive. Various anti-tank and anti-air weapons are fixed in various positions around the map, while the Special Forces, Engineer and Anti-tank class are now more capable of surviving attacks against some of the bigger ground units. That's not to say vehicles are weaker this time around, far from it; they still play a huge part in the game, it's just that this time being in a vehicle means having to be more aware of your surroundings.

Thankfully, one thing that hasn't been changed and has been improved on is the enormous size of the game. The maps here are huge, but this time they are only as big as the server you join. Maps now differ in size depending on how many people are playing. Enter a 16-player server and the maps become smaller with fewer flags dotting the landscape and vehicles reduced, making it easier for those who enjoy small squad based action. Go to a 64-player server however and the maps open up into huge, sprawling landscapes where flags are numerous and vehicle spawn points increase dramatically. These maps can be so big that it's almost impossible to go anywhere without using a vehicle, simply because it's just too far to walk, but their size does allow for some truly amazing battles, while also letting players sneak about the map freely, tip-toeing into enemy bases and stealing their most sought after vehicles.

It's not just the scale that impresses however, it's also the overall design. Battlefield 2 boasts perhaps the most varied maps of the entire series but looks are only part of it; each map now requires that you to learn different tactics in order to adapt to your surroundings. Picking an example, Dalian Plant showcases the enormous scale of the game's maps impressively. A huge open area set on the coast with massive chimney stacks and a number of buildings, the American team have to launch transport helicopters and boats to land and begin capturing costal positions, while the Chinese team are nestled safely inland. Most of the fighting takes place in the centre of the map, where infantry has to constantly find cover when moving from place to place, or a tank or APC with free reign over the massive open landscape will hunt them down. Helicopters and aircraft buzz overhead engaging in mid-air, some even attempting to showcase their supreme flying skills by flying in between a couple of chimney stacks, while a few snipers make use of the structures and climb to overhead sniping positions.

In complete contrast, Strike at Kirkland is a smaller map focusing on close range urban combat. A built up area set in a town, vehicles here have more difficulty than they do in the more open environments. Various obstacles hinder movement for tanks, APCs and even jeeps, while the buildings themselves can house any number of enemy troops, all waiting for that tank to roll by, right into an ambush. Instead, many resort to guerrilla tactics, from flag to flag it's constant close range, brutal fighting where each player makes use of cover as they move house to house, edging closer to the opposing team's base. Vehicles are still effective but they need support from the troops on the ground if they want avoid being picked off by a hidden anti-tank unit or blown up by some well placed C4. Those who require help can look to others to provide it, or they can get assistance from the team commander.

One of Battlefield 2's big new features is the ability to elect, or be elected, as a team commander. The role of the commander is to provide aid for the rest of the team, even attempting to co-ordinate attacks. The commander himself has various simple options to play around with, using fixed structures (which can be destroyed by Special Forces and repaired by Engineers) he can call in artillery strikes, temporarily make enemy positions on the map available to the rest of the team and drop in supplies anywhere on the map. While this mode has obviously been designed to give some kind of authority over the game, it's debatable whether the commander actually adds much to the team play side of things other than occasionally providing cover. While the abilities are helpful, it's difficult for any commander to bring about a sense of order when the players largely prefer to go it alone and play the game how they want, rather than be ordered about.

To combat this, the game also now allows players to form their own squads. These squads can be formed by anyone in the game and once they're up and running, the leader of that squad can invite other players and choose who he lets in. The benefits of this are obvious; it allows for those who prefer teamwork to band together, often proving to be more helpful at bringing about a win than the commander. It also means clans and friends can group together far more easily. The squad leader also acts as a beacon; any vehicles he commandeers turns into a mobile spawn point for the rest of his team, allowing that squad to get in and get on with things rather than wandering the map searching for one another. Squads also tend to rake in the most points, an important factor this time around, as gaining points now means gaining awards.

Another new big feature for the series is an extensive and detailed ranking system. It records everything, including the amount of time spent on each map, how well you did at teamwork, to how accurate you are with each weapon, as well as the usual tally for successful kills and so forth. Gain more points and you'll start gaining rewards, nothing special, but seeing those Specialist badges flash up after a successful ambush is still immensely satisfying, especially when you see the collection you've acquired. For the competitive, there's that chance to rise through the ranks on the leader board, while for those who aren't really that concerned about getting the highest score possible, there's still the chance to reap a few rewards. Points win prizes and gaining a certain amount of them allows you to unlock new weapons for each class, more powerful and deadly than the default weapons. With added incentives like these, people tend to be a little less careless in the game and there has been quite reduction in the amount of deliberate team killing, especially when players can now choose to punish team mates who kill them accidentally or otherwise, depriving them of precious points.

Yet, while the Battlefield experience is, on the whole, a much improved one, it isn't without its share of problems. The new, improved graphics, while stunning to look at and really showing the true scale of the game with a much wider viewing distance, are a system hog. Those with below minimum specs are going to struggle running the game, especially on the big maps. The game is still very much playable scaled down however and while it may take some tweaking to get it running at an acceptable frame rate, the graphics are largely without glitches.

The biggest problem the game has is a little more troublesome however. Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield Vietnam hardly went down as having the smoothest of launches and, unfortunately, Battlefield 2 follows suit. It's disappointing to see that both Dice and EA have failed to learn from the mistakes of previous releases, but Battlefield 2 is buggy. Lag, problems with the ranking system, an odd bug that temporarily shows teammates as enemies, which leads to some embarrassing but quite accidental team killing; some of these have been fixed by a recent patch, yet amazingly this patch ended up causing more problems, leading to a fix (and you've got to worry about a game that needs a patch for its patches).

Yet another familiar Battlefield theme, this sequel often feels like it would have benefited greatly with an extra month in development to weed out the bugs it currently has. Some people don't seem to have many problems with the game in its current state while others have nothing but, which is a shame, as underneath these annoying little glitches lies a truly excellent, addictive and truly enjoyable online game.

You've got love a game that can have you dodging bullets as you ride through an enemy base in a buggy, guns blazing one minute, then sneaking onto an enemy runway, blowing their aircraft to pieces and stealing one of their helicopters to escape the next. The variety is what makes Battlefield 2 the enjoyable game it is; the unpredictability means it rarely gets repetitive. Yet, once again, bugs bring the final score down a peg or two. Without them, Battlefield 2 is one of the most gratifying and enjoyable online games of the year, but with them it creates unnecessary annoyances in a game that deserves more polish. Battlefield fans will no doubt look past the imperfections and focus on what's beneath, while those still unsure will do better to hang on until the inevitable release of a few more patches fix the game and make it an essential purchase for everyone.

Reviewed by Kieron Giacopazzi for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).