Battlefield: Bad Company free vs. paid weapons showdown

by Ross Miller { Apr 2nd 2008 at 3:27PM }

Interested in how the Battlefield: Bad Company pay-to-play weapons stack up against what's available on the retail disc? Our investigative brethren at X3F have created a comparison video of the five DLC weapons and show how they match up. If you are thinking about buying some digital armaments, check out this video first.

Tags: bad-company, battlefield, battlefield-bad-comp...

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Fox318 @ Apr 2nd 2008 3:33PM

Doesn't change the fact that its bullshit.

ChooChooCharlie (Brawl: 1504-5357-9285) @ Apr 2nd 2008 3:46PM

Exactly.

It's not like they are offering something that has no real bearing on community gameplay, like costumes or songs or themes. What they are doing is allowing those who choose to pay extra to have a slight advantage over those who pay the regular retail price (regardless of how small that advantage is).

By doing this they are potentially skewing the results of every single multi-player match that involves these optional weapons. The only way they could possibly make this fair is to have separate matchmaking lobbies for those who have the weapons and those who don't.

Wonderflex - Brawl Digits 4811-6636-9333 @ Apr 2nd 2008 5:51PM

Exactly.

I can't seem to view back far enough into my comment history, but in 2005 when I read an article about the possibility of downloadable cars in Gran Turismo HD, then I went off on a crazy rant about how if things continue in this manner then we will find ourselves playing FPS that come shipped with only 1 gun and you have to pay to get the rest. Looks like for once something I say might just come true.

s-Paw @ Apr 2nd 2008 3:37PM

Gamers shouldn't have to pay extra for any features after purchasing a game. Period. It's a joke, along with the fact that the series consistently leaves out Southpaw and Legacy players... feel free to join in the discussion on that at http://www.alt-controls.com :)

PojoMofo @ Apr 2nd 2008 3:41PM

If this were for Battlefiled heros and the game was free and you had microtrasactions, that is fine. but paying $60 for a game then charging for better guns is a fucking disgrace.

I say boycott this game and play Heroes to promote this type of game

wootman @ Apr 2nd 2008 6:06PM

yep, it looks like heroes is just going to charge for avatar changes, which is awesome.

eugene @ Apr 2nd 2008 3:40PM

sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I’d never know ’cause I wouldn’t eat the filthy motherfucker.

copa @ Apr 2nd 2008 3:42PM

At the end of the day, they are charging over $60 for the full version of this game. Paying a flat $60 gets you a gimped version.

So look over the last year. $60 was enough to purchase The Orange Box, Call of Duty 4, BioShock, Halo 3, and Mass Effect.

Do you think that Battlefield: Bad Company offers so much more than these games to justify a higher retail price? If so, go buy it.

Otherwise, let this shit rot on the shelves. Gold Edition will be marked down to $40 in three months.

ThePremierAssassin @ Apr 2nd 2008 3:48PM

You may have a point there...

I like the beta but it isn't THAT good. The graphics need to be improved on a lot in my opinion. The sound is excellent and so are the maps themselves. The controls for the vehicles SUCK. The controls for the player are okay but could use a lil tweaking...

Depending on how well they address the major issues I had with the beta I will decide whether its worth the price.

Mr.ESC @ Apr 2nd 2008 5:13PM

The game itself looks pretty but that's it.Judging for the multiplayer I pass,I rather buy the COD4 maps.

Anyone knows when the new TF2 maps are going to be avalible for the xbox version?

riggs @ Apr 2nd 2008 4:06PM

i like the game and i think the guns dont make the player, their skill level do.

Ocelot13 @ Apr 2nd 2008 5:30PM

ok. we'll play a game of halo.
one person has a sniper. the other has a shotgun.
we'll play it on say, valhalla.
we'll see who wins.

nerrrrrrd @ Apr 2nd 2008 4:09PM

where are the people that said these guns available for purchase were mearly 'skins' and didn't give an advantage?

Steve @ Apr 2nd 2008 4:16PM

Anybody who buys these things should be tied up and forced to watch as their family is beaten to death with a shovel. DLC is going to kill gaming if this is the direction it's taking.

Rabidkeebler @ Apr 2nd 2008 4:25PM

What gets me is that this isn't even really DLC. It is content, already made, that is separated on the disc. You download a 1025 KB key that tells the game to access those weapons already on the disc.

Obie @ Apr 2nd 2008 4:29PM

I was part of the beta, but I deleted it off my hard drive. Enough is enough...I will NOT stand for bullshit DLC ripoffs! Screw you EA, suck it!

Now where are my COD4 maps? ;)

s00pcan @ Apr 2nd 2008 4:45PM

Lol, he didn't know the USAS-12 is a shotgun, not a machine gun

LaughingTarget @ Apr 2nd 2008 5:01PM

What I find even more entertaining is how DICE calls everything clips. They aren't clips, they are magazines. Magazines house the ammunition, clips are generally used to store ammunition outside the magazine for easy loading, or in some weapons (M1 Garand) the clip is the actual storage device. None of the weapons in Bad Company use clips though, especially weapons like the M60, they are box mags.

Clips aren't really part of the mechanism in modern military weapons. Stripper clips are used to quickly load magazines, but are dumped after loading.

As R. Lee Ermy put it - The clip loads the magazine, the magazine loads the gun.

So, given that DICE is tossing out "I have no clue about weaponry" terminology, I can forgive the video reviewer for not being aware of a type of weapon.

Obie @ Apr 2nd 2008 5:04PM

Clip, magazine....then what the hell is a bandoleer?
Wait, I don't care.

LaughingTarget @ Apr 2nd 2008 5:06PM

Bandoleer - that thing Rambo wears across his chest with the bullets in it.

ThornedVenom (Harley Quinn Defense Force) @ Apr 2nd 2008 5:10PM

Real DLC or just an unlock from the disc (for h4x sake)?

Doesn't really matter at this point though: never planned on playing the game, and now I'd never planned on buying one either.

LaughingTarget @ Apr 2nd 2008 5:26PM

You're not missing much. It's just Battlefield 1942 with destructible environments.

Jfk Aok @ Apr 2nd 2008 5:27PM

Essentially, EA is trying to have their cake and eat it too. You can't sell a game for 60 bucks AND micro-sell things that are already made before the game goes gold. You can't do a BF2 and a Puzzle Pirates at the same time. Choose one, go with it.
Now, they CAN get away with this crap if the consumer decides to let it happen!
This game is boycotted on Jfk island. I hope others do the same.

Mills and Boom @ Apr 2nd 2008 5:36PM

I'm sorry this is the first I've heard about this. Fucking sad acts thinking their game is better than other full priced games.

Piss of developers. I don't like you and you won't be getting any pennies off me.

Jacksons @ Apr 2nd 2008 6:04PM

I've still not seen a single person post anything positive about this model on any website (what a surprise.) If they're really "testing the waters" they should have already noticed the massive amount of negative hype they're generating, rather than sucker punch their already tarnished reputation. The very idea that they're seeing how far they can nickel and dime people before they get angry is poor form.

The old "Keep It Simple, Stupid" acronym still holds true. Nobody likes unnecessary complexity.

RazarX @ Apr 2nd 2008 6:27PM

Is that John Freeman?

John McPoop @ Apr 2nd 2008 6:44PM

You guys can say what you like about the game but I have played the beta and its an incredible experience... Its a combination of Call Of Duty 4 and a game like Frontlines as far as the vehicles.... Now, they need to show me a great story and the game will be the total package....

I hate the idea of having to purchase extra content to have a complete game... However, all of you 360 fans who are foaming at the mouth for the GTA IV content shouldn't be to upset about paying for more... But then again this content is not exclusive so now its a raw deal... Am I missing something?

John McPoop @ Apr 2nd 2008 6:47PM

Whats funny is the double standard being applied between this and the fre to play battlefield game... In one weapons would give an advantage and in this one its not a big deal... Money talks and BS walks... So, I am sure if people actually buy the Gold version or purchase the weapons we will see this trend continue... Its going to be hard for me not to buy this game because the Beta is so incredible and thats just the multiplayer... If the campaign mode is awesome and compelling its a can't miss game IMO

Mills and Boom @ Apr 3rd 2008 11:36AM

No I don't like that TF2 EA clone thingy game.

Theres a TF2 server I used to visit, really good place till (it was German) they introduced a "pay for extras" service which gave you more ammo, faster running speed, +50 health for each kill.

Basically if you didn't pay for the so-called Extras then you lost, badly. It was impossible and looking over the server rankings all the people in the top 20 paid for their position.

Fuckers.

Gurei @ Apr 2nd 2008 7:36PM

well,i dont like the fact that the ONLY way to get em is via real money...i mean,atleast on WOW people that Ebayed would the same stuff ,we "can" get it,they just get it for money and we gota work for it.
But on these game its a complete new way.

Its unfair,and i dont like it.
My personal boycott to that game is simply not buyng the weapons or the game.

makesevenupyours @ Apr 2nd 2008 7:42PM

@ John Mcpoop:

i too really want to buy this game. wasnt very interested until the beta came out, but now i think it looks AWESOME. but if it is true that they are just selling download keys for content already on the disc, dont you think that is bullcrap? you bought the disc!

and im not a GTA fan, and im not trying to defend the game, just the idea. people will pay to get hours more of gameplay and story for that. same thing with selling new maps(im fine with it, but the pricing can be ridiculous, like halo 3 maps). no big deal there, but they are essentially selling wins or advantage to people.
that doesnt seem wrong to you at all?

Rabidkeebler @ Apr 2nd 2008 8:33PM

@John McPoop

Comparing GTA IV content to the guns in Battlefield is like comparing a four diamond hooker (thanks Spitzer) to a sack of rocks. The DLC for GTAIV is not originally on the disc. GTAIV is not an originally gimped game. We aren't going to download a 1024 KB package to unlock the various islands. What EA is doing is creating content, locking it, then demanding extra fees to unlock it.

I do have to wonder about the legality of this though, unless there is a statement on the box about extra fees to unlock the rest of the game I can't help but wonder if this violates some type of trade agreement about hidden fees or extortion.