After months of waiting, Electronic Arts finally let us get our mitts on its upcoming shooter, Battlefield: Bad Company, and while we came away mostly impressed, we think that this big, bad frag fest has the potential to be one of 2008's more explosive games. Not only does it look gorgeous, its Frostbite engine allows for lots of destruction, making it an ideal candidate for furious multiplayer matches.

Hey, that thing that blew up! Let's get closer! Click to see more images from the game...

Almost any first person shooter player will tell you that campers ruin the online experience. There you are, running across a grassy knoll when all of a sudden, a sniper's bullet tears through your brain, thanks to a guy that crawled into hiding and intends to rack up kills without battling his opponents one-on-one. Battlefield: Bad Company changes that with its very destructible environments. The aforementioned technology allows you to blow apart just about everything, from vehicles to entire buildings. If a sniper takes residence in a tower, don't bother making a raid. Simply hit the tower with a grenade and watch it, and his dreams of a running kill streak, go down in a blaze of glory. Wood splinters, gas tanks ignite and bricks fly through the air. Not only is this an effective way to kill people, it looks amazing.

Unlike previous Battlefield games, this one features an extensive single player campaign that is more than glorified training missions. This several hour adventure sees you, along with buddies Sarge, Sweetwater and Haggard battling Russians across hostile terrain. And to further tell the story, the game offers cut scenes and plenty of humorous banter between the characters.

Thanks to the game's sprawling environments, you have the option of completing missions out of order and in any number of ways, from going in with guns blazing to taking a more stealthy approach. In addition, you can also hunt for hidden gold bricks to unlock achievements. It just gives you something else to do.

Furthermore, you don't always go on foot. Bad Company includes a plethora of land, sea and air vehicles, from jeeps to tanks to boats, each of which serves a specific function, such as added firepower or a means for a quick escape.

All of these game mechanics carry over to multiplayer, where you'll blow up buildings, utilize vehicles and wield a large assortment of real world weaponry, including machine guns, shotguns and rocket launchers. There will also be plenty of modes, though EA was only willing to let us play Attackers vs. Defenders, a mode in which the Attackers attempt to capture crates, thus opening up different areas of the map, while the Defenders do their best to repel the assault. It's a neat idea, but it's also far from original. Although we enjoyed running around injecting our hearts to heal and blasting fools into next week, the game has a nasty habit of re-spawning characters in the middle of a firefight, which leads to disorientation and quick deaths.

Although we love the destructibility and the game's visuals, it's too early to tell whether Bad Company's a keeper. Unless it offers something other than flashy graphics and unstable buildings, it may quickly become the flavor of the week. Thus far, however, it appears that EA's newest Battlefield puts us in good company.

Related Links

Battlefield: Bad Company Game Guide (Xbox 360)

Battlefield: Bad Company Game Guide (PS3)

Battlefield: Bad Company Official Site