Last Wednesday I got a copy of Battlefield 2 and its expansion, Battlefield 2: Special Forces. After patching it to its latest version (for co-op mode) I found that this is like several times better than Battlefield 1942, which was already an awesome game that I could play it for hours and hours. And today I just got Need for Speed: Carbon.

Silly me for thinking that I have no time for more offline games. I mean, I still play Dynasty Warriors 4, we just got the old Day of Defeat beta 3.1 working again, and I'm also running my offline private server of Lineage 2 (and Frank got to play on it a bit last night). And even with that, I still semi-actively play the online game Space Cowboy Online, which is the only online game I've been reduced to as of now. I mean, surely I should have no more time for more offline games, right?

Wrong. Sadly.

What makes it sad is that I can't give myself more play time. I think I already play too much as it is. If anything I should be cutting down on play time. So the only reasonable solution is cutting the play time for each and spreading myself thin. So I'm left hanging and clambering for more whenever I play, especially the new games.

Now, you may be thinking: why is this guy just now talking about these games that came out like 1-2 years ago? Well until about July, I was only into online games. Particularly MMORPGs. I have several blog entries on how frustrated I am that I can't find a MMORPG that suits my tastes to at least 50%. And even if I do find one, it turns out to being a game I don't enjoy too much because it forces you to spend like 16 hours a day playing (possible when you're a bum, impossible when you're trying to prove you aren't one).

So let me talk just a little bit about both games right now. Let's start with Battlefield 2 and its expansion.

First I was stunned by all the new features. Grappling hooks, sensible medics, wonderful A.I. including squad-based tactics, and well-built maps with lots and lots of places to hide, and alternate routes to go so that you aren't forced into a big firefight all the time.

Second, it's visually stunning. I mean that. If you play with a headset (it has nice audio, as always) and a nice monitor + a machine able to handle high graphical settings, it can almost blur into reality at a squint, like you're watching a movie. The feel of lying helpless after you've been incapacitated by bullets, calling for a medic. You still hear bullets ricocheting nearby, and some whizzing above you. A grenade goes off somewhere in the distance. Suddenly a medic shows up and picks you up. You realize you're not dead yet, as your vest stopped the bullets. So you get back in the action. Seconds later, your medic is shot in the head, and you end up having to fire on 5 or 6 infantry including one sniper. If you weren't dead yet then, you probably will be now.

They captured all that properly.

Next, Need for Speed: Carbon. I was already a fan of NfS: Underground 2, and I'd missed out on playing NfS: Most Wanted. So when I learned that Carbon is even more terrifying than the other two, I felt obliged to play it.

And the wait has paid off. I'd just finished playing it for about an hour, before writing this entry. And it was awesome. Motion blur makes it feel a little realistic, though I couldn't say for sure because I've never driven a car at over 90 km/h. Not that I could even if I wanted to, in this urban traffic scene.

So anyway, as much as I didn't like the idea of being an underground racer having to always keep an eye out for the cops (who incidentally do chase you and try to take you down), my first car chase with cops on my tail (or second, rather, as when you start the game, you're forced to get into an easy cop chase) turned out to be extremely exhilarating. Considering how rusty I am on playing a high-speed racing game, I hadn't gotten completely accustomed yet to driving, so trying to get away from like 5 squad cars proved to be a bit of a problem. Finally after I think 15 minutes of chasing and causing their cars to crash into walls and stuff, I got away and hid in a parking lot. When it was over, my heart was beating and I was almost laughing. It was a pretty good experience.

Contrary to what people might think, though, it doesn't inspire me to become an underground racer and break traffic rules and want to total police cars. In fact, after that experience, it did the opposite. I want to be careful and never ever have to get in such a situation in real life. D: I guess if I want the excitement of the chase, I can always get it in the game. Cheaper, and nobody gets hurt. :D