The Battlefield series has always had the design idea to build the gameplay around the shooting mechanics. Like DICE Veteran Lars Gustavsson says, if you don’t get the running and gunning right in a shooter, why bother?
Rusty but reliable.
No surprise, then, that one of the major features of their upcoming expansion pack Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam is an arsenal of new weapons. Or old weapons, as it were. Since the Vietnam War took place in the 60’s and early 70’s, the look and feel of these pieces are totally different from the modern day equipment we are used to from the base game.
Sure, we still have an M16 in Vietnam, but it’s the first generation model, with a different sound and handling than in the base game. Not to mention how it actually looks when you are gripping it. Every weapon in this expansion shows the wear and tear of jungle warfare. Think rusty pieces of metal and wood tied together with cloth. And you can forget to slap on a 4X scope on any old weapon. In Vietnam, you have to get close and personal and get the enemy in your iron sights to take him down.
The M79 grenade launcher (commonly referred to as "The Blooper") is also here. With its 40mm grenades and characteristic firing sound, this powerful weapon will clear out any tunnel so you can enter and arm that MCOM station in relative peace.
Below, you can see the NVA machine gun RPK in action. Note how it’s all rusty and tied together with a piece of cloth. This is a consistent art style throughout. In the jungle, you’re happy just to have a functioning gun. No time to muck about with weapon maintenance and the like.
Lastly in this blog post, let’s say a few words on the RPG. It functions much like in the base game, but remember: There are no tracer darts in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam. Shooting down helicopters obviously is very hard now -- that’s why we have made the helicopters in this expansion take damage from ordinary weapons. And before you shout "imba!", rest assured we have spent a good deal of time balancing both sides on each map.
Learn your weapons: RPK, left, not to be confused with RPG, right.
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