At the end of the day, the Euro Force expansion is more than worth the price of admission for the new maps alone.
Download & Install
BF2: Euro Force is the first of two upcoming booster packs from EA for the ever-popular Battlefield 2 PC game. Taking a page from Valve's book, EA is selling this booster pack only as a download via their EA downloader system. Personally, I don't mind the downloader as it saves me a trip to the local Best Buy to purchase the game.
One thing I did not care for was that once you download the file, you can only install the pack, not copy it or save it to disk. I have a much faster connection at my office and I wanted to download BF2: EF there (it's 330MB in size) and burn it to a DVD to bring home for install and was unable to. The good news is that the EA downloader does allow you to install multiple times.
Also important to point out is the fact that Euro Force requires not only that you own the original BF2 game (which is a given), but also that your copy of BF2 is fully patched before you can install. I was able to download Euro Force to my system in about 45 minutes with my super pokey Cox broadband connection. The Euro Force expansion is quite a bargain at only $10.
New Maps
Euro Force contains three new maps, Great Wall, Operation Smoke Screen and Taraba Quarry. The new maps are placed in the same location as the original BF2 maps in the selection screen we are all used to, so there is no new shortcut to use to launch the expansion pack. I liked this approach as I had all the maps in one place. Owing to the newness of the booster pack, online server selection for the new maps is not nearly as robust as for the core game. I am sure that will be changing in the coming weeks.
Great Wall
The first new map is Great Wall. This map pits the EU forces against the Chinese on the Great Wall of China. I really liked this map and all the ramparts and nooks make this map a snipers dream. It was cool to be able to not only fight around the inside and outside areas of the Great Wall, but to also fight on and inside the wall itself as well.
Tanks and vehicles are also available on this map. The design of the level makes for some natural choke points where tactics come into play. If you want to get your tanks and vehicles into areas held by the enemy, you have to use squad tactics lest your tanks be blown to bits by well-placed mines and tank killers as they try to make way through the narrow passages.
Operation Smoke Screen
This map is an outdoor environment that puts tanks and several other vehicles at your disposal including air support. Perhaps the most notable feature on this map is the smoke from burning oil tanks that offers cover for those industrious enough to use it. Tanks and anti-tank fixed emplacement and anti-tank soldiers are important on this level, as tanks are plentiful. The addition of air support to the level also brings air to ground tactic into the mix for more excitement.
Taraba Quarry
If you likely the tanks, this map is for you. Tanks are available in abundance and they seem to respawn quickly ensuring that tank on tank action is virtually nonstop. The hilly terrain allows the tank driver to hid almost in plain site, pop over a hill shoot your opponent and drop back into cover. The map is very large and has no air support. There are also several nice sniper platforms such as the top of a tall water tower that can give a sniper the high ground.
New Weapons
Personally, I feel what you are really paying for with this Euro Force expansion is the maps alone, as the weapons are not particularly different from what the other armies have. I did quite like the new Famas shotgun the medic gets to carry and I like the default sniper rifle better than the US counterpart, but those are both personal likes.
Other new weapons for the Euro Force are:
HK53A3
Famas
SA80 L85A2
SA80 L85A2 with UGL (AG-36)
HK21
Benelli M4
P90
L96A1
New Vehicles
Like the weapons, the new vehicles have nothing to really set them apart from the other weapons in the game. The Challenger 2 is a cool tank, but not that different from the others. While the Eurofighter Typhoon T1 looks really cool, it just has nothing to really make it stand out. I guess I should not have expected the weapons and vehicles to really be that different form the other army's weapons in the game or one army might have a marked advantage over the other. That said part of me did hope for some gear different from the other stuff in the game.
The new vehicles for Euro Force are:
Leopard 2A6 Main Battle Tank
Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank
Eurofighter Typhoon T1 Jet Fighter
Eurocopter Tiger HAP Attack Helicopter
Go into the purchase of the Battlefield 2: Euro Force expansion pack with the mindset that you are buying three new maps and you will be very happy. Go into the purchase hoping for some different and exciting weapons and you will be disappointed. At the end of the day, the Euro Force expansion is more than worth the price of admission for the new maps alone.
Review by Shane McGlaun.
Highs
Three cool new maps; famas shotgun is memorable; low cost at $10.
Lows
Weapons and vehicles feel like the same old, same old.
Final Verdict
Go into the purchase of the Battlefield 2: Euro Force expansion pack with the mindset that you are buying three new maps and you will be very happy. Go into the purchase hoping for some different and exciting weapons and you will be disappointed. At the end of the day, the Euro Force expansion is more than worth the price of admission for the new maps alone.
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