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I got Special Forces the day it came out, and I've been playing the hell out of it since then, trying to develope an opinion on whether or not I like the game. I know a lot of people in these forums have bitched and complained how not up to par Special Forces is (Even though they havn't actually played the game...), but, I've come to know the levels and gameplay fairly well now, so thought I'd write a review on the game, as un-biased as possible.
I'll start with the basics:
Zip-Line: The zip-line REALLY has become a lifesaver (especially for snipers, who have constantly had to parachute and run through gun-fire just to find a new perching spot). You can go pretty much anywhere with it (I myself generally start off on a high building, that way I have plenty of room to go whereever I please and travel fast). The major downside to the zipline as far as I can tell is sometimes when shooting it, the zip-line tends to actually knock you off the building your on, thus rendering your zip-line useless, and possibly killing you. Allies also tend to push you off by mistake when they try to get on it, too. Use it carefully.
Grapple Hook: This thing can help you climb virtually anything, except curvy hills and mountains (and that seems to be when you need it the most). It's a nice tool to have, though.
Flash Bang: USE IT CAREFULLY, DAMNIT! I've had to many of my own allies experimenting with FB, and blinding our entire squad (leading to our deaths). This is one of my favoirte tools, however. It allows for a quick distraction and kill.
Tear Gas: A very fun little toy. I use it on myself occasionally, just to look at the kickass affect it has on me. I wouldn't say that this is better than the FB, however, because it still allows a person to see, and can (at rare times) allow them to still kill you, even when disoriented. The Tear Gas can act as a great way to escape from your enemy (put on your gas mask and hide in the smoke) but can also be a flare for your enemy to know where you are, depending on how you look at it.
Gask Mask: Saves you from Tear Gas (duh). The only downside to this is you have to use it litterally before the smoke hits you to take effect. If you put it on while already disoriented, it will help you very little (although I think it may decrease the rate at which you are disorented).
Night Vision: A great new aspect to the game. It's self-explanatory. The only downside is having to constantly switch it on and off--by the time I get it on or off, I'm usually already dead.
Levels:
Devil's Perch: My favorite nightime level so far. This adds for a mixture of things to do. A good strategy (that most regulars have already picked up on) is to go the back-route as a Navy Seal and go up the stairs. Generally you'll have some company waiting for you, so make sure to take a squad or a good buddy who doesn't mind dieing with. Going the back way also makes it easy to take out that UAV, Scan, And arty early in the game so you don't have to worry about it, making for an easy time capping flags the rest of the game. The back-route also has a gate (as seen in the intro movie) with actually opens and closes, so make sure you keep an eye on it. Night Vision obviously plays a key role here, but adds an entire new element to the game. You litterally feel like a secret agent running around, capping guys off quietly in the night. This is also a very hard level to get around in with the night, however. Because of the dark scene, it is hard to know who is shooting you and where they are, usually ending in your own death. For me, every time I got a kill, it felt like I got a thousand. Nothing says "bad-ass" like killing someone in the night without them knowing it.
Ghost Town: Ghost Town? More like Sniper Heaven. I got my Vetern Special Forces Sniper here just today (racking up 23 kills with a sniper, and only two deaths). This level has so many buildings on it for a sniper, you might just go into shock. The zip-line especially comes in handy here, too. This level provides very close-quarter combat, making every battle there VERY unique and different. They've got the new choppers too, which is always a plus in my book. There is a tower in the middle of the level which is good for sniping, but you generally won't want to be on it to long, as the enemy will spot you quickly, and you'll be dead quicker then you can say "God damnit..."
Iron Gater: I came into this level expecting a lot from it--expecting it to be, by far, my favorite level. The fact that the level is entirley based upon a carrier just sounds awesome as hell! Unfortuantly, so far I havn't been that impressed. The level starts off with the opposing team (if your America) coming into litterally the only place they can go to get on the carrier. It adds for some good battle, but gets old fast. Because everything is so close together (being trapped in cooridors and such) and the fact that there are a lot of graphics in it (the mess hall and engine room, especially) it gives you (at least me) some major, unwanted lag. Generally I have to spend my time off the carrier, on the enemy island taking out arty and such with C4, and ultimatly base camping when I don't want to. To add to the pain, there are helicopters constantly patrolling the area and little people can do about it. Most of my deaths on this level have been from a helo, and it generally just gets me frustrated.
Leviathan: I havn't played this level to much, only because it's probably the less appealing night-level to play. That isn't to say it is a bad level, but just that there are better night ones. There is a huge body of water in this level, and, when not careful, you'll find yourself stuck in the middle of it. There are a mix of helicopters in this level, and some pretty decent ground fights as well.
Mass Destruction: A highly underrated level in my opinion. This level is an incredibly fun, fast-paced, shoot first ask questions later level that is bound to give you a good time. Almost every battle occurs trying to get the other persons flag (weird concept, eh?) but the flags are incredibly close to each other, making the fighting even more dramatic. The scenery is bad-ass, too. You can occasionally be a sniper (there is a smoke tower you can get on) but you won't last long...and if you do, you'll be bored out of your mind. I've had my best luck with assualt: putting some G3 bullets into some terrorist scum and chucking FB gernades all over the place.
Night Flight: A fantastic night level! Even as 64 players are in the game, the map is still reletivly small, leaving very little room to be alone. A good strategy (as America) at the start of the level is to capture your first immediate flag, capture the flag at the carrier, and then head down to the very last enemy flag, capturing it and taking out the arty/UAV/Scan on the way. This strategy has been flawless for me, and always racks up the points quickly. A neat feature in this level is an elevator that allows to get to the top of a roof to capture a flag without getting caught in possible gun-fire (and, let me tell you, the elevator music is just beautiful). Night plays a very important role in this level as well, so make sure you've got that finger hovering over "7"
Surge: Perhaps my favorite level. Surge is based in the daytime, and takes place at a miso silo, with a giant missle in the center of the map. You'll not only get in great ground fights, but as a sniper you can also win big, too. If your worried about other snipers, then make sure you have one (or two) designated on the crane, while a couple others (like yourself) are at the very top of the actual missle silo. I love these sniping places because they're so high up, generally other enemies can't get to you unless they take the time to be a sniper themselves and find a good place to pick you off. If your in a good squad, then you'll have the time of your life strategizing by using your grapple-hook, then going down with your zip-line, but making sure to confuse the enmy with a FB or Tear Gas.
Warlord: If your afraid you won't get in your Strike at Karkand level, then have no fear, because SF has it! This level makes for some great battling and flag-capturing. The structures are bad-ass (with a high-level T.V station and a Palace), and there are plenty of rooftops to coordinate your zip-line strategy (I've capture about three flags, with no interruptions, just by zip-lining from building to building as spec ops). If you manage to capture a point in the Palace, don't except to live for long, because that place will be SWAMPED with the enemy wanting your head. Generally I take a car, and go the back route with my squad. We go behind the palace, grapple up the wall, take out the UAV/Scan/Arty with C4, and capture the control points on this level. This level especially always seems to provide a very close game (1-0 and 3-0 being the closest the games have gotten for me). I can assure you, you won't be sitting around waiting for an exciting battle to happen...it's already there.
Overall:
Overall, this is worth the 30 (not 40, not 50) bucks for the game. It has it's flaws, but finds a nice way of making up for it. There are also a few new unlockable guns (the SCAR-L for Spec Ops being my favorite) but you won't find any new Sniper guns. You can still play the old BF2 levels (with your new equipment, providing for an entriley new game-play) but get your night levels in as well. Night levels have definatly made this expansion what it is--you would not believe the complexity of these night levels until you have experienced them yourself. You may be ranked number one in BF2, but once introduced to a level (especially a night level) here in Special Forces, I assure you...your world will be rocked. There are so new, kick-ass vehicals as well. The motorcycle and jet ski provide for a VERY quick getaway on land and water, while a new tank fitting everyone comfortably in the nice seat for a glass of wine before the big fight. Plus, who doesn't like they're Ford truck equiped with a machine gun on the back of it?
That about does it. If anyone has anything else to add, or wants to correct me or anything, please feel free to do so! My name in BF2 is Vital8, so I look forward to possibly seeing some of you on the battlefield. TTFN, Ta-ta for now.
I'll start with the basics:
Zip-Line: The zip-line REALLY has become a lifesaver (especially for snipers, who have constantly had to parachute and run through gun-fire just to find a new perching spot). You can go pretty much anywhere with it (I myself generally start off on a high building, that way I have plenty of room to go whereever I please and travel fast). The major downside to the zipline as far as I can tell is sometimes when shooting it, the zip-line tends to actually knock you off the building your on, thus rendering your zip-line useless, and possibly killing you. Allies also tend to push you off by mistake when they try to get on it, too. Use it carefully.
Grapple Hook: This thing can help you climb virtually anything, except curvy hills and mountains (and that seems to be when you need it the most). It's a nice tool to have, though.
Flash Bang: USE IT CAREFULLY, DAMNIT! I've had to many of my own allies experimenting with FB, and blinding our entire squad (leading to our deaths). This is one of my favoirte tools, however. It allows for a quick distraction and kill.
Tear Gas: A very fun little toy. I use it on myself occasionally, just to look at the kickass affect it has on me. I wouldn't say that this is better than the FB, however, because it still allows a person to see, and can (at rare times) allow them to still kill you, even when disoriented. The Tear Gas can act as a great way to escape from your enemy (put on your gas mask and hide in the smoke) but can also be a flare for your enemy to know where you are, depending on how you look at it.
Gask Mask: Saves you from Tear Gas (duh). The only downside to this is you have to use it litterally before the smoke hits you to take effect. If you put it on while already disoriented, it will help you very little (although I think it may decrease the rate at which you are disorented).
Night Vision: A great new aspect to the game. It's self-explanatory. The only downside is having to constantly switch it on and off--by the time I get it on or off, I'm usually already dead.
Levels:
Devil's Perch: My favorite nightime level so far. This adds for a mixture of things to do. A good strategy (that most regulars have already picked up on) is to go the back-route as a Navy Seal and go up the stairs. Generally you'll have some company waiting for you, so make sure to take a squad or a good buddy who doesn't mind dieing with. Going the back way also makes it easy to take out that UAV, Scan, And arty early in the game so you don't have to worry about it, making for an easy time capping flags the rest of the game. The back-route also has a gate (as seen in the intro movie) with actually opens and closes, so make sure you keep an eye on it. Night Vision obviously plays a key role here, but adds an entire new element to the game. You litterally feel like a secret agent running around, capping guys off quietly in the night. This is also a very hard level to get around in with the night, however. Because of the dark scene, it is hard to know who is shooting you and where they are, usually ending in your own death. For me, every time I got a kill, it felt like I got a thousand. Nothing says "bad-ass" like killing someone in the night without them knowing it.
Ghost Town: Ghost Town? More like Sniper Heaven. I got my Vetern Special Forces Sniper here just today (racking up 23 kills with a sniper, and only two deaths). This level has so many buildings on it for a sniper, you might just go into shock. The zip-line especially comes in handy here, too. This level provides very close-quarter combat, making every battle there VERY unique and different. They've got the new choppers too, which is always a plus in my book. There is a tower in the middle of the level which is good for sniping, but you generally won't want to be on it to long, as the enemy will spot you quickly, and you'll be dead quicker then you can say "God damnit..."
Iron Gater: I came into this level expecting a lot from it--expecting it to be, by far, my favorite level. The fact that the level is entirley based upon a carrier just sounds awesome as hell! Unfortuantly, so far I havn't been that impressed. The level starts off with the opposing team (if your America) coming into litterally the only place they can go to get on the carrier. It adds for some good battle, but gets old fast. Because everything is so close together (being trapped in cooridors and such) and the fact that there are a lot of graphics in it (the mess hall and engine room, especially) it gives you (at least me) some major, unwanted lag. Generally I have to spend my time off the carrier, on the enemy island taking out arty and such with C4, and ultimatly base camping when I don't want to. To add to the pain, there are helicopters constantly patrolling the area and little people can do about it. Most of my deaths on this level have been from a helo, and it generally just gets me frustrated.
Leviathan: I havn't played this level to much, only because it's probably the less appealing night-level to play. That isn't to say it is a bad level, but just that there are better night ones. There is a huge body of water in this level, and, when not careful, you'll find yourself stuck in the middle of it. There are a mix of helicopters in this level, and some pretty decent ground fights as well.
Mass Destruction: A highly underrated level in my opinion. This level is an incredibly fun, fast-paced, shoot first ask questions later level that is bound to give you a good time. Almost every battle occurs trying to get the other persons flag (weird concept, eh?) but the flags are incredibly close to each other, making the fighting even more dramatic. The scenery is bad-ass, too. You can occasionally be a sniper (there is a smoke tower you can get on) but you won't last long...and if you do, you'll be bored out of your mind. I've had my best luck with assualt: putting some G3 bullets into some terrorist scum and chucking FB gernades all over the place.
Night Flight: A fantastic night level! Even as 64 players are in the game, the map is still reletivly small, leaving very little room to be alone. A good strategy (as America) at the start of the level is to capture your first immediate flag, capture the flag at the carrier, and then head down to the very last enemy flag, capturing it and taking out the arty/UAV/Scan on the way. This strategy has been flawless for me, and always racks up the points quickly. A neat feature in this level is an elevator that allows to get to the top of a roof to capture a flag without getting caught in possible gun-fire (and, let me tell you, the elevator music is just beautiful). Night plays a very important role in this level as well, so make sure you've got that finger hovering over "7"
Surge: Perhaps my favorite level. Surge is based in the daytime, and takes place at a miso silo, with a giant missle in the center of the map. You'll not only get in great ground fights, but as a sniper you can also win big, too. If your worried about other snipers, then make sure you have one (or two) designated on the crane, while a couple others (like yourself) are at the very top of the actual missle silo. I love these sniping places because they're so high up, generally other enemies can't get to you unless they take the time to be a sniper themselves and find a good place to pick you off. If your in a good squad, then you'll have the time of your life strategizing by using your grapple-hook, then going down with your zip-line, but making sure to confuse the enmy with a FB or Tear Gas.
Warlord: If your afraid you won't get in your Strike at Karkand level, then have no fear, because SF has it! This level makes for some great battling and flag-capturing. The structures are bad-ass (with a high-level T.V station and a Palace), and there are plenty of rooftops to coordinate your zip-line strategy (I've capture about three flags, with no interruptions, just by zip-lining from building to building as spec ops). If you manage to capture a point in the Palace, don't except to live for long, because that place will be SWAMPED with the enemy wanting your head. Generally I take a car, and go the back route with my squad. We go behind the palace, grapple up the wall, take out the UAV/Scan/Arty with C4, and capture the control points on this level. This level especially always seems to provide a very close game (1-0 and 3-0 being the closest the games have gotten for me). I can assure you, you won't be sitting around waiting for an exciting battle to happen...it's already there.
Overall:
Overall, this is worth the 30 (not 40, not 50) bucks for the game. It has it's flaws, but finds a nice way of making up for it. There are also a few new unlockable guns (the SCAR-L for Spec Ops being my favorite) but you won't find any new Sniper guns. You can still play the old BF2 levels (with your new equipment, providing for an entriley new game-play) but get your night levels in as well. Night levels have definatly made this expansion what it is--you would not believe the complexity of these night levels until you have experienced them yourself. You may be ranked number one in BF2, but once introduced to a level (especially a night level) here in Special Forces, I assure you...your world will be rocked. There are so new, kick-ass vehicals as well. The motorcycle and jet ski provide for a VERY quick getaway on land and water, while a new tank fitting everyone comfortably in the nice seat for a glass of wine before the big fight. Plus, who doesn't like they're Ford truck equiped with a machine gun on the back of it?
That about does it. If anyone has anything else to add, or wants to correct me or anything, please feel free to do so! My name in BF2 is Vital8, so I look forward to possibly seeing some of you on the battlefield. TTFN, Ta-ta for now.
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