It’s been just over a year since we soaked up all the glory of the fantastic first installment of Bad Company, and with release date growing ever nearer, we should be expecting to hear more and see more information on the title. We’re all hoping that it will be just as good, if not better than it’s predecessor, and fortunately according to game designer Alan Kertz, we’re in for a fantastic time, vehicle wise at least:

For the first time in Battlefield history we’re adding customization to the Battlefield Vehicle Combat. In Bad Company 2 players can earn customizable vehicle upgrades that let them tune a vehicle towards their own play style. Vehicle Specializations allow players chose between Enhanced Armor, an Upgraded Weapon package, Smoke Grenades to hide, an Electronic Warfare package to locate nearby enemies, or an Optics Upgrade to zoom in on targets. These upgrades can give a vulnerable tanker the means to escape, defeat, or outlive his opponents. Finding the right Vehicle Specialization to fit each play style is crucial to success in Vehicle Combat.

While standing toe to toe and slugging it out is always a valid tactic in any skirmish, the experienced Battlefield player knows that there’s tons more depth to who wins and who loses than just accurate fire. To bring greater depth to Bad Company 2’s Vehicle Combat we turned the page back and drew inspiration from the original Battlefield 1942. Tank shells that hit armor at extreme angles will glance off doing less damage, while direct hits deal critical damage. Armor thickness also varies significantly between the front, sides, and rear of armored vehicles. A hit that front armor simply shrugs off can quickly become a problem if the same shot is delivered from behind. You’ll need to watch your back and mind your flanks to stay ahead of the competition.

Of course teamwork is the ultimate trump card to any tactic; the best tanker drivers work with their Engineers to achieve total victory in Battlefield: Bad Company 2. We’ll talk more about how Vehicles and Infantry work together to build a balanced Battlefield in the near future.

With Battlefield’s rich vehicle pedigree, we simply weren’t satisfied with just providing new rides in Battlefield: Bad Company 2. We took our existing rides back to the mechanics for tuning and expanded Vehicle Combat even further by adding customization and new gameplay features.

I always get a warm fuzzy feeling inside getting to blow stuff up from the relative safety of my tank or any other vehicle conveniently parked in the near vicinity. Seems like we’re in for the good ol’ blow ‘em out madness we were spoiled with in Bad Company once again. Source