FPS: Battlefield 2
For my first person shooter I chose the game Battlefield 2. This is the sequel to Battle field 1942 but is very similar in its gameplay and player interactions. I had played this game a lot in single player, but this was my first time playing online with others. The setting is modern day warfare as opposed to WWII in Battlefield 1942. There are a variety of maps and each map a number of “control points” which each side tries to capture. Each team starts with a set number of points and each time a player is killed, that team loses a point. If one team as more control points then the other teams points slowly goes down, even if they are not being killed. When you die in this game you are dead for a few seconds, then you respawn at one of the control points that your team has. You can choose between different characters such as infantry, sniper, anti-tank, or medic, and you can select what type of character you are each time you respawn. Each team can also select a “commander” who can call in artillery strikes, UAV’s and supply drops; a player applies for this position and the rest of the team votes if they want him to have the position. There are about ten different maps available for play, and a number of mods that you can download that offer different maps and characters.
I definitely experienced flow while playing this game. Starting off I was very caught up in simply trying to get kills and capture control points. After dying a few times I switched from infantry to sniper and moved around the map trying to find optimal sniping points. For one, the detail of the maps is quite fascinating, and exploring the map can be exciting in itself, and once I found a good sniping point it was exciting to try to remain undetected while getting kills. All of these aspects of the game make it flow very well and I could play for hours without even realizing it. You could play for multiple hours and not even see the majority of the maps. In addition to this there are lots of different weapons and vehicles that you can use. Some of these vehicles/planes/helicopters have a very high learning curve for mastering them. However, even if you are not good a operating the vehicle it can be fascinating to explore their capabilities and features; firing a guided missile can be fun even if you run it into the side of a mountain.
Beyond the basic gameplay and graphics I think the feature that makes the game flow best is the competition. The points are kept track of in the top right corner of the screen, and the points can swing very quickly. If you see your teams points start to drop it makes you strive that much harder to get kills and avoid being killed. Even in the event of a defeat you can still have much personal satisfaction by checking your own personal statistics (kills, deaths, assists, headshots). It is also very easy to join a new game when it is over, allowing you to jump quickly back into the action and try for victory again.
My only complaint about this game is the long load time. I have a pretty powerful computer and the load time still was quite long for me, I think this also brings up some lag issues for some players, however I didn’t have much trouble with lag.
No matter what your skill level is this game seems to have enough aspects to keep you out of the anxiety/boredom levels. Beginners can spend hours exploring maps and different characters/vehicles. Advanced players can hone their skills and harness the specialties of each characters, and all players experience the adreanaline of killing, dying, fighting for control points, and striving for victory.