The first booster pack for Battlefield 2142, Northern Strike 2142, brings players to the wastes of northern Europe. The spread of glacial ice rendered the landscape nearly uninhabitable, but resources still lay hidden deep beneath the sheets of ice. The Pan Asian Coalition (PAC) realized this and moved in to take control of the territories before the European Union (EU) had a chance to respond. With the PAC firmly entrenched, the EU must work to drive them out.
Being a booster pack, Northern Strike doesn't offer as much content as a full expansion. However, three multiplayer maps, two vehicles, a new game mode and additional unlockables offer a nice selection of content. Two of the new maps support Titan mode, which brings its game play to an urban setting for the first time. The narrow city streets significantly change the game's strategy compared to the wide-open Titan maps from the original game by creating multiple choke points, so taking and holding missile silos gets even more challenging.
As for vehicles, the EU operates the powerful Goliath, which functions as a mobile firing platform. This behemoth moves so slowly that most players can probably get out and run faster, but shield generators and multiple heavy gun placements make the vehicle near unstoppable when fully manned. The PAC gets a light hover vehicle called the Hachimoto, which functions much like the buggies from Battlefield 2, except they drive much faster and have a tendency to drift when making turns. Driving the Hachimoto takes some getting used to, but few rides transport players from one point to another faster than this one does.
In addition to new rides, Northern Strike introduces a mode called Assault Lines, which gives the PAC immediate control of all strategic points, as EU forces work to take them. Only after taking and controlling these points will the EU begin the assault on the PAC's main base. Destroying it, or holding the other control points until the enemy tickets get reduced to zero, wins the match. Although the mode brings some intense new game play, EU forces start at such a severe disadvantage that winning can sometimes seem like an insurmountable feat, especially on the Port Bavaria map. Its mountainous terrain can only be traversed using aircraft or drop pods, which makes it a fantastic map for Titan matches (its back story states that it used to be a Titan docking area), but extremely difficult to overcome using ground-based tactics. The key control point at the center of the map can only be accessed through drop pods, but the PAC can set up a near impenetrable defense, which means players will get fragged by the dozen shortly after their pods land. The roofed area makes it impervious to artillery fire, so Commanders can do little to help their troops. However, winning the area will reward the EU access to a Goliath, which gives it a big advantage when continuing the assault.
Allowing players to practice Assault Lines with bots instead of tossing them straight into the fire instead of heading straight into multiplayer feels like a puzzling decision when the similar Conquest mode offers the practice option.
Northern Strike delivers exactly what it advertises: a boost of fast-paced excitement to Battlefield 2142. The booster makes the game more challenging in subtle ways while preserving the play balance, and gamers looking for a big fight will enjoy Assault Lines.
Final Score: 8 (out of 10)
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