You return as Preston Marlowe, along with your entire squad from the first game, consisting of Terrance Sweetwater, George Haggard, and Samuel "Sarge" Redford. But before you get to play the games from the eyes of Private Marlowe, the game takes you on a trip to the past. You begin in Japan on a mission set during World War II. You are in search of a secret weapon the Japanese have, called Aurora, and ends with serious consequences. Flash back to the future and you are ready to take on your present day missions.

Right away you can feel the improvements. Gone are the health syringes, and in its place is typical regenerating health. Unlike most games using this feature, Bad Company 2 delays and slows down the regeneration time. This helps to create even better tension during gunfights and helps eliminate the run and gun style of play. Try to run out in the open and take on everyone at once, and you will surely die.

Tactics play a great deal of importance in the game. You can take out gunners and enemies on and in building by bringing down a section, or even the entire building. But stay too long in your own hiding spot, and you may suffer the same fate. You have the opportunity to swap weapon load outs thanks to airdrops placed strategically through out each mission. Choose wisely, as you don't want to regret those decisions. And always stay with your party and remain behind cover when possible. Don't forget to pick up enemy weapons laying on the ground, as once you do, that weapon is now available to you at anytime you can change your load out.

The level design is outstanding. Whether it is the amount of detail put forth in each one, or just how streamlined the experience is. In one mission, you have to stave off the cold by running from house to house before you freeze to death. This was one of the best, and most fun, missions I have experienced in a game. Enemies don't run out endlessly, and you are never stuck in what feels like a never ending firefight.

The voice work is excellent as well. You really can feel the chemistry between the characters, and it rarely falls flat. But the best moments aren't during cut scenes, but instead come during unexpected times while waiting or moving to the next objective. If you don't give the conversations time to trigger, you will miss out on some of the funniest moments of the game. Bad Company 2 is not above making fun of the competition, with plenty of swipes at their rival, Modern Warfare 2.

The game does have its faults though. Character models are not it's strong suit. While your squad looks solid, the rest of the game's characters feel thrown together. The enemy fighters and soldiers constantly repeat themselves and don't even have subtle differences, like the color of their clothes. A little more variety would have been a nice upgrade.

I also felt that the enemies could easily figure out where you were at at all times. I would sneak around to another building or hiding spot, and it seemed like they would immediately know where I was. This was frustrating when trying to flank your enemy for a better position. Also vehicle control during the game, specifically missions where you are driving ATVs left a lot to be desired. The controls were not tight enough, and sometimes the checkpoints you restart at were very unforgiving.

It would have been nice if the game included co-op or had a lengthier storyline, but this does not hinder the fun to be had here. The game also skips a nonsensical boss fight, and instead sets up B Squad for the inevitable Bad Company 3. With plenty of destruction, a story that never takes itself too seriously, and excellent humor, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is an excellent experience overall when it comes to it's single player campaign.

This game was played on the XBox 360 and purchased by Michael with no considerations from EA or DICE.