Mmm... tanky.

ack in November, Modern Warfare 2 sold more copies on its opening weekend than any game in history. Left 4 Dead 2 arrived a week later, and in January, PS3 owners got MAG. And let’s not forget Halo 3: ODST, which preceded them all by several weeks.

That’s four top-flight shooters, more or less all at once, one of which now boasts 25 million unique online players. In other words, gamers have eaten a lot of lead this winter.

But spring is fast approaching, the days here in Vancouver are growing less grey and depressing, the city still seems to show signs of its Olympic high, and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (EA, DICE, Mar. 2, PS3, 360 and PC) has thrown down the gauntlet (or anti-tank mine, maybe) and wants to compete for our shooter dollars and hours. All of this serves to cheer my ass up in a big way.

Now, if you’re a shooter freak, you probably already have a clear sense of what you like, and don’t need to be told what’s what. You may even own all four games already. Furthermore, FPS love is often about gaming with others, so your preferred game may simply be the one your friends are playing. In other words, it’s probable that your standard ‘side-by-side-by-side’ comparison article won’t sway you, or even help you much.

So instead of doing that, I’m just going to talk about my experience. I was pretty into Modern Warfare 2 for a while there, but Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (and not MW2) will be my go-to multiplayer shooter in 2010. Here’s why:

Is there anything more satisfying in life than shooting a camper in the ear with a shotgun?

BC2 mastery requires the total package: good shooting, planning, sneaking, and thinking, and Modern Warfare 2 rewards the quickdraw: those with raw reflexes, and those with better ping. Period. And I much prefer (and do much better in) games that reward the former.

Yes, there are windows to shoot from, static obstacles to run around, and some basic fake-’em-out and stealth action in MW2, but most of the map designs promote everyone being funneled down one or two main corridors, resulting in lots of twitchy, head-on firefights where tactics don’t help much, and there are few opportunities to outthink your enemy; the dude who starts shooting straight first wins.

The fact MW2 maps are tight and fast also means lots of dances—scenarios where 2 players more or less bump into each other, spotting each other at the same time—where the quicker draw or faster connection gets the kill.

BC2 has vehicles, and they aren’t gimmicky! They’re a ton of fun to drive. Tear around the perimeter of the map on a quad bike to flank, or crash an enemy stronghold with a tank, feeling the ground shake as you unleash hell with missles and a chain gun. I dare you not to smile while doing it.

In BC2 there’s lots of space. Maps are really big (making those speedy quad bikes even more appealing) and because of how things are laid out, flanking is always a viable strategy. In Modern Warfare 2, ‘flanking’ usually means retreating, because you have to leg it a LONG way to get behind the guy, and usually have to run a set route, so you’re unlikely to get there without running into combat somewhere else.

Similarly, there’s time to stop and think (and plan) in BC2. You can stop and heal your squad, repair your tanks if need be, and decide from which direction to approach the next target.

Stop and breathe... but stay here for too long and your ass WILL hurt.

Virtually every hiding spot and perch is vulnerable to attack from behind or the side… making camping a losing strategy for all but the best snipers (who would probably kill you regardless). There’s nowhere you can stand still in BC2 without leaving stalkers and flankers a way to kill you.

Many times in the first couple of nights playing, I chased someone into a building, but then turned on a dime, ducked around the side, and shot them in the side of the head through a window, while they were watching the door. Now THAT is satisfying, much more so than just being the guy who got to the trigger first. And that’s the result of good map design.

The environments in BC2 are destructible, which means you can knock down walls and fences (creating new pathways and destroying your enemy’s cover) and—get this—collapse buildings full of snipers!

Similarly, if you know someone is out of ammo and cowering in a house with his sidearm trained on the door, you don’t need to poke your head in there and get it blown off; you can just blast holes in the wall of the house.

I’m pretty sure blowing stuff up is a base pleasure for most of us, and the thrill of wrecking things is greatly enhanced by sound design and graphical flourishes which are better than I’ve ever seen. Even when you aren’t killing anything, it’s pretty satisfying to shoot an RPG at a window and hear that deep thump and see the window get twice as big, bricks and dust flying everywhere.

A MW2 match is over in ten minutes or less. BC2 games are generally twice that long, giving you time to observe opponents and start predicting which window they’ll try to shoot you from.

Destruction 2.0. Yes, they actually call it that.

The spawn ticket system: In Rush and Conquest game modes, when you run out of tickets you lose; game over. Ticket depletion is linked to how well you capture and hold objectives, but also, every time you spawn, you lose a ticket. BUT if a medic revives you, your team doesn’t lose a ticket. Thus, medics actually directly help your team win. In MW2, medics don… oh right, MW2 doesn’t have medics; everyone is just a killing machine.

And, despite being bigger and slower, BC2 gunplay is more chaotic, frenzied and somehow more exciting than in MW2. I’m not the only one who thinks so; I did some informal research in some gaming forums and a player named Machine74 hit the nail on the head, as far as I’m concerned:

When it all comes together, BFBC2 creates that firefight that I like. And watching buildings come apart as the battle progresses is too freaking cool. I thought MAG had some great maps, but BFBC2′s maps are even better and more beautiful (but that is not a surprise). And let me say this…The firefight is what i like about shooters. Unloading copious amounts of ammo, is what’s fun to me. Bullets flying all around and tearing everything up; those are the fun games. That’s why I play.

And he added that BC2′s assault class has the ability to drop ammo for his squad mates, providing still more incentive to run with a squad and do things cooperatively.

There are no killstreak rewards in BC2, which, after a bunch of MW2, I missed at first. But in time I realized that with no one getting “rewarded” with 5 or 10 free kills, victories weren’t continually going to the team with one hot player.

And finally, nobody has screamed obscenities at me in a screechy prepubescent voice, in three full nights of BC2.

I liked MAG in principle (tactical, big maps, varied multi-step objectives, classes, leadership roles) but it didn’t grab me; I found it visually bland, and too few people properly utilized leadership roles and squad tactics. The run-and-gun fun of Modern Warfare was more casual and more accessible, and for a lot of reasons (including 60fps, the callsigns, the ACR, and a shortage of friends with MAG) I went back to MW2 after only a week or less. But after acclimatizing to Battlefield: Bad Company 2, unless future expansions swing things back in someone else’s favor, I doubt I’ll be going back to either. I freaking love this game.

hat’s right, The Side Mission is having a contest, and we’re giving away an actual prize.

A brand-new game of your choice can be yours, just for being your clever, witty self.

What’s more, your odds are pretty good, as it doesn’t appear that buzz for this contest is exactly spreading like wildfire; we haven’t received many entries, despite announcing the contest awhile ago… I know, right?

The Challenge: In 300 words or less, describe your funniest First Person Shooter moment ever.

It may relate to something you heard someone say on mic. It may recount a gruesome and screaming, yet comedic death that you witnessed. It may be an entirely made up story about how Robin Williams, furious at you for camping on Karachi, devolved into rambling cartoon voices, and vowed to make you his bitch. Whatever; there are no limits on what you can write about, just don’t be a sick bastard, and for best results, make it funny.

To help you get started: think of a time when you laughed your ass off while playing (or when your friends laughed at you, for that matter) and just try to convey the humour to someone who wasn’t there.

Email your entry (no attachments please, just put the text in the body of the email) to chris@sidemission.com

CLOSING DATE: Extended again; No closing date until we receive some entries.Want to say sorry the couple of dudes who already sent in a story we’ve had to keep changing the closing date because we weren’t getting entries. Just know that your odds are still pretty good, this contest hasn’t generated a ton of buzz… people are shy about sharing their writing, I guess.

The rest of you: SEND IN A STORY! Maybe you’re funny as fuck and just don’t know it.

PRIZE: A brand-new game for Wii, PS3 or 360, delivered to your door from Amazon or Gamestop. Any regular game of your choice, no special editions or premium-priced bundles.

Devil Girl art by Al Rio.