History VideoGame / BattlefieldBadCompany

* JustPlaneWrong: In Bad Company 2, Haggard misidentifies Kirelenko's Antonov An-124 as the larger An-225.

** [[spoiler: Aguire gets betrayed and killed by the Russians after he defects to them when he stops being of use.

* OrangeBlueContrast: The second game was the first Battlefield series game to use the trope, in the cover art. The Vietnam DLC also used it for the cover art, but it only bled into the game itself in the subsequent Battlefield 3.

** In ''Bad Company 2'', upon observing a South American jungle camp, your sarge will remark that they are [[Film/{{Predator}} "dug in like an Alabama tick."]]

** A particularly memorable comment about ice cream from [[http://www.break.com/usercontent/2007/6/10/Gunship-strafing-run-310145.html this gunship recording]] can be heard while piloting UAVs.

* TechnicalPacifist: Flynn, the helicopter pilot in ''Bad Company 2''. He has absolutely no problem with killing as long as he isn't the one who actually pulls the trigger (he says it's bad for his karma). [[spoiler:It seems he was right, as once he starts killing the enemy himself, he's quickly killed himself.]]

* TheMole: [[spoiler: Aguire wants Aurora to be released over the United States, he's not actually trying to stop it.]]
** [[spoiler:He actually spends most of the game as a genuine US operative. He doesn't defect until he learns that the US government covered up the fact that the mission his father died on (Operation Aurora) was a SuicideMission, only started so high command could learn about the potential of the scalar weapon)]]

* GogglesDoNothing: In the cutscenes of both games Marlowe has goggles around his helmet, but he never puts them on.

Of course, this still being ''Battlefield'', both games feature a hefty multiplayer component. Multiplayer in both games is on a somewhat smaller (though still large) scale than the main Battlefield games, with a somewhat reduced vehicle focus (no jets being one large change). This, combined with some other changes such as RegeneratingHealth and [[CrouchAndProne no prone]] have lead to accusations by some of the series’s more hardcore fans that DICE was [[PCVsConsole pandering to console gamers]]. Still, critical response has generally been good and Bad Company 2 still has a thriving community even after [=GameSpy's=] servers, which handled the multiplayer of every ''Battlefield'' game up to this one, were shut down. Oh, and destruction physics extend to the multiplayer of both games, leading to a very dynamic battlefield.

* BadassBandolier: The character classes and protagonists of ''Bad Company 2'' generally wear grenades on their vests. The Assault class at least has a more realistic example of also carrying grenade launcher ammo on their chest, and the Recon wears shotgun shells, even while their class-specific weapons are '''[[{{Irony}} sniper rifles]]'''. A Recon player may easily elect to use a shotgun, to be fair.

*** To be fair, Russia doesn't seem to be doing too much better, if at all (U.S. forces are seen to be pushing deep into Russian-controlled Europe in a map at the beginning of the campaign).
** Also, they are very, very expendable... and somehow keep managing to escape being expended.
*** [[WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers They have the rare blend of expendable and invulnerable that makes them the perfect henchmen!]]

** Alternatively: Getting sent back to B-Company ''was'' their punishment.

** Quite specifically one might add, to the point that one would have had to do quite a bit of research on the An-225 to find out the information Haggard lists off the top of his head. Which makes the whole "missing the tell-tale twin-tail" thing all the more jarring.
*** FridgeBrilliance: Haggard is normally not the brightest bulb in the squad, and it's surprising to both the player and the squad when he starts spouting technical facts. The fact that he's wrong makes it even funnier.
* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:Flynn dies quickly after he violates his TechnicalPacifism (which he says he maintains to preserve his karma), saving the protagonists from being held at gunpoint.]]
** Less disputably and more conventionally, [[spoiler: Aguire gets betrayed and killed by the Russians after he defects to them when he stops being of use.]]

* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler:Rescuing Flynn is probably the only reason the protagonists survived the betrayal.]]
** [[spoiler: And for that matter, the main reason Flynn died. See KarmicDeath.]]

* GogglesDoNothing: In the cutscenes of both games Marlowe has goggles around his helmet, but he never puts them on. In a bit of FridgeBrilliance, though, you'll notice that during gameplay the edges of screen are significantly darker, as if Marlowe's peripheral vision was blocked. Marlowe only wears the goggles during gameplay - and rightfully he should, with all the debris from gratuitous explosions.

* ByNoIMeanYes: A programming bug in multiplayer matches may cause the loss caption, "Your team lost..." to display even if your team won, although the correct fanfare and dialogue will play.

-->'''Haggard'''

-->''"I belong to [[TitleDrop Bad Company]]. I don't wanna end up in some ''good'' company!"''

* ShoutOut: [[WholePlotReference Significant Plot Reference]] to ''Film/ThreeKings''.
-->Honour. Faith. Land. Oil. Wars are fought for any number of reasons. But... on the battlefield, every soldier has to find his own. As things turn out, [[HiredGuns me and my buddies found a pretty interesting one. ]]

** What the hell is that 1 next to people on my team's name in multiplayer?
*** People who own previous Battlefield games can register on the EA website to get a Veteran status, which is the only way of acquiring the M1 Garand in Multiplayer. The number refers to how many other games in the Battlefield series they own.

* InvisibleWall: Artillery is actually launched at you in ''Bad Company'' if you go out-of-bounds. Strangely, however, completing objectives reduces the range of the artillery-objectives such as "Storm the village" or "Get to the supply depot" or "Regroup with your squad".

* {{Retirony}}: Subverted. Despite always being on his last mission before retirement, constantly TemptingFate, and [[BlackDudeDiesFirst being the only non-white member of the squad]] Redford always manages to come alive through everything that thrown against him. Unfortunately, this apparently also have the inverse effect of getting his retirement constantly postponed.

** Haggard seems to follow the stereotype a bit more in the sequel, where he's a bit meaner and calls their rather hippie-appearing helicopter pilot a "hippy", "liberal", "pinko", and some more, but he is later the one to initiate the rest of TheSquad to [[NoOneGetsLeftBehind save him later]], and [[spoiler:is the most visibly-affected by his death]].

''Battlefield: Bad Company 2'' continues following B Company through a DarkerAndEdgier storyline that [[WholePlotReference might feel a bit familiar to]] [[ModernWarfare Call of Duty]] [[WholePlotReference fans.]] B Company has been promoted from glorified CannonFodder to [[SurprisinglyEliteCannonFodder cannon fodder that gets things done.]] The squad is tasked with stopping a [[MakeTheBearAngryAgain Russian plot]] to obtain a [[ForgottenSuperweapon secret WWII-era Japanese superweapon]]. Of course, not everything goes according to plan, and things start to get a little out of hand.

Of course, this still being ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}'', both games feature a hefty multiplayer component. Multiplayer in both games is on a somewhat smaller (though still large) scale than the main Battlefield games, with a somewhat reduced vehicle focus (no jets being one large change). This, combined with some other changes such as RegeneratingHealth and [[CrouchAndProne no prone]] have lead to accusations by some of the series’s more hardcore fans that DICE was [[PCVsConsole pandering to console gamers]]. Still, critical response has generally been good and Bad Company 2 still has a thriving community over a year after release. Oh, and destruction physics extend to the multiplayer of both games, leading to a very dynamic battlefield.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The Japanese really did have a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_4_rifle M1 Garand knockoff]].

* AwesomeButImpractical: The UAV can be equipped with a heavy machine gun that does good damage to infantry and light vehicles and never runs out of ammo. The problem is that a low-flying UAV with a huge muzzle flash and very visible tracers quickly gets the attention of the entire enemy team and gets shot down in no time. Therefore it's [[BoringButPractical far more practical]] to stay at a high altitude, just spotting targets and calling in the occasional hellfire missile - and it's ''still'' vulnerable way up there, but hey, it'll get destroyed in less time.
*** The machine gun damage really wasn't that good. Unlike other machine guns in the game, you really had to focus on a target at full health, making it only really useful against weakened targets, and like stated above, at closer ranges.''.

* CoolGuns: ''Bad Company 2'' eschews a realistic armament for the American and Russian troops in favour of allowing players to shoot as many cool guns as possible, amongst others including the F2000 assault rifle, the [=MG3=] and the WWII era ''Thompson SMG''.

** ''Bad Company 2'' includes a bunch of these for ''Battlefield 1943''. For instance, you can hear the post-battle radio news from ''1943'' at the end of the first mission, all the USMC weapons minus the Springfield 1903 are available for use in multiplayer, and the whole plot from the campaign revolves around a ForgottenSuperweapon from the Pacific theater WWII.

* GogglesDoNothing: In the cutscenes of ''Bad Company 2'' Marlowe has goggles around his helmet, he never puts them on. In a bit of FridgeBrilliance, though, you'll notice that during gameplay the edges of screen are significantly darker, as if Marlowe's peripheral vision was blocked. Marlowe only wears the goggles during gameplay - and rightfully he should, with all the debris from gratuitous explosions.

* HiddenDepths: Haggard has read Literature/TheIliad and think's its a good book. He can also recite [[Theatre/{{Macbeth}} The Scottish Play]], and even avoids mentioning the actual title.

*** FridgeBrilliance: Haggard is normally not the brightest bulb in the squad, and it's surprising to the player and the squad when he starts spouting technical facts. The fact that he's wrong makes it even funnier.

* KeystoneArmy: [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted.]] After destroying the scalar weapon and killing the BigBad over Texas at the end of the game, Haggard assumes that Russia is no longer invading the US. General Braidwood then informs the squad that the Russians are coming in... '''through Alaska'''. ]]

* PrecisionFStrike: In BC2, your character Preston Marlowe, who barely ever swears in any of his dialogue, will scream out "FUCK!" during a particularly intense scene. Haggard responds "Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?", while Sweetwater says, "I'm proud of ya, Pres!"

** The M79 grenade launcher has the same tiger stripe pattern as Roach's one in Apocalypse Now.
** You might hear an American soldier shout "[[DrowningPool Let the bodies hit the floor!]]" while playing in multiplayer.

** While in Bolivia B-Company have a conversation about ButchCassidyAndTheSundanceKid and its sequence in said country and somehow manage to not mention the [[BolivianArmyEnding ending.]]

* TechnicalPacifist: Flynn, the helicopter pilot in ''Bad Company 2''. He has absolutely no problem with killing as long as he isn't the one who actually pulls the trigger (he says it's bad for his karma). [[spoiler:It seems he was right, as once he starts killing the enemy himself, he's quickly killed himself.)]]

* BoxedCrook: ''Bad Company'' - Actually, the game is titled over a company whose troops are supposed to be all of this. Marlowe took a joyride in a helicopter, wrecking it and a general's limo.[[note]]In both games, Preston Marlowe ''does not'' have a helicopter rating: he's a private and an infantryman. He just wanted to see if he could do it. He could not.[[/note]] Sweetwater uploaded a virus into the US defense grid. Haggard blew up the largest ammo dump east of Paris. Sergeant Redford is the only one who's not a discipline problem, but he agreed to command B Company after cutting a back room deal with the army for an early retirement.
** B Company (the titular Bad Company) is so named because they get the shit jobs and absolutely none of the credit. It's a place for rejects and attitude problems. The catch, however, is that service in B Company counts towards your discharge much faster: if you survive, the Army gets rid of you faster (and good riddance).[[note]]This is Sarge's reasoning for joining the company.[[/note]] If you die, well, the Army is still rid of you, isn't it?
* ClusterFBomb: Almost the entire battle chatter of American soldiers in the multiplayer mode of ''Bad Company 1&2''. For some odd reason, in the Bad Company 2 multiplayer swearing over the in-game chat function is censored, but after a patch it can be disabled if the owner of the server allows it.

* HitScan: Averted. ''Bad Company 2'' even gives you bonus score for killing from a far range for managing to deal with it.

* RightHandedLeftHandedGuns: Inconsistent in the ''Bad Company'' spin-offs, resulting in stuff like the [=HK416=] and [=M16A4=] with right handed controls and left-side ejection ports to properly-modeled belt-fed light machine guns.

* TakeThat: The plot of ''Bad Company 2'' is essentially ''Modern Warfare 2'', and it misses no opportunity to suggest that the latter is silly. Given that gamers abandoned [=MW2=] for [=BC2=] over the server debacle above, this may also qualify as FanService.

** [=DiCE=] isn't even dancing around it any more. They released a video called [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Qpui1hYBw&feature=player_embedded "Friends Really Against Grenade Spam"]] ("'''F'''riends '''R'''eally '''A'''gainst '''G'''renade '''S'''pam")which directly mocks [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnLxFkWv5SM a similar video that Infinity Ward created]] ( "'''F'''ight '''A'''gainst '''G'''renade '''S'''pam" )to promote ''Modern Warfare 2''. The original video starred Cole Hamels, a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. To double the burn, the mocking video starred C.C. Sabathia, a pitcher for the New York Yankees team that just beat the Phillies in the 2009 World Series.
*** Funny enough, it appears to be a rant against using random celebrity pitchers... until C.C. blows up Sweetwater for trash-talking him ''and'' being a noob.

--> '''Haggard:''' I've been thinking about Miss July. How do you ''know'' she's good looking? I mean, I got a cousin who's got a beautiful voice, but a face like a can of dog food.
--> '''Sweetwater:''' Wasn't she the one you dated?
--> '''Haggard:''' [[BluntYes Yeah.]]
--> '''Sweetwater:''' Cool.

* {{Expy}}: Sarge looks and sounds alot like [[{{Halo}} Sergeant Avery Junior Johnson]] while wearing his hat.

** Sweetwater also qualifies as a BigGuy, specifically Class 5 which doubles as SmartGuy, since being physically imposing isn't a requirement, just common. He's the squad's SAW gunner and thus carries a larger, faster-firing weapon, he's competent with it, and in one instance, smashes a Russian soldier off a rooftop with it, without breaking stride.

* {{Retirony}}: Subverted. Despite always being on his last mission before retirement, constantly TemptingFate, and [[BlackDudeDiesFirst being the only non-white member of the squad]] Redford always manages to come alive through everything that thrown against him. Unfortunately; this apparently also have the inverse effect of getting his retirement constantly postponed.

** Haggard seems to follow the stereotype a bit more in the sequel, where he's a bit meaner and calls their rather hippie-appearing helicopter pilot a "hippy", "liberal", "pinko", and some more, but he is later the one to initiate the rest of TheSquad to [[NoOneGetsLeftBehind save him later]].

* DuelingGames: ''Bad Company 2'' appears to be headed down this road with ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare 2''.
** The expansion, Vietnam, seems to be an attempt to counter ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps''.

* ContinuityNod: For ''Bad Company 2'', see this [[http://www.gametrailers.com/video/exclusive-single-player-battlefield-bad/61088 video]]. At 27 seconds, the skull on the sign is from the flag of the Nationals from ''BattlefieldHeroes''.

* AluminumChristmasTress: The Japanese really did have a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_4_rifle M1 Garand knockoff]].

** There are similar conversations that the squad has in all the levels from "Upriver" to "Zero Dark Thirty".

* {{Irony}}: Marlowe's videotaped message to his younger brother in America as a promotional means to advertise the game. Watch it.

* BoxedCrook: ''Bad Company'' - Actually, the game is titled over a company who's troops are supposed to be all of this. Marlowe took a joyride in a helicopter, wrecking it and a general's limo[[hottip:*:In both games, Preston Marlowe ''does not'' have a helicopter rating: he's a private and an infantryman. He just wanted to see if he could do it. He could not]]. Sweetwater uploaded a virus into the US defense grid. Haggard blew up the largest ammo dump east of Paris. Sergeant Redford is the only one who's not a discipline problem, but he agreed to command B Company after cutting a back room deal with the army for an early retirement.
** B Company (the titular Bad Company) is so named because they get the shit jobs and absolutely none of the credit. It's a place for rejects and attitude problems. The catch, however, is that service in B Company counts towards your discharge much faster: if you survive, the Army gets rid of you faster (and good riddance)[[hottip:*:This is Sarge's reasoning for joining the company]]. If you die, well, the Army is still rid of you, isn't it?

* ClusterFBomb: Almost the entire battle chatter of American soldiers in the multiplayer mode of ''Bad Company 1&2''. For some odd reason, in the Bad Company 2 multiplayer swearing over the in-game chat function is censored, but after a patch it can be disabled if the owner of the server allows it.

* BoxedCrook: ''Bad Company'' - Actually, the game is titled over a company who's troops are supposed to be all of this. The PC took a joyride in a helicopter, wrecking it and a general's limo[[hottip:*:In both games, Preston Marlowe ''does not'' have a helicopter rating: he's a private and an infantryman. He just wanted to see if he could do it. He could not]]. One of your sqaudmates uploaded a virus into the US defense grid. The other one blew up the largest ammo dump east of Paris. The Sarge is the only one who's not a discipline problem, but he joined B Company for reasons of his own.

* HiddenDepths: Haggard has read Literature/TheIliad and think's its a good book. He can also recite TheScottishPlay, and even avoids mentioning the actual title.

* TakeThat: The plot of ''Bad Company 2'' is essentially ''[[ModernWarfare Modern Warfare 2]]'', and it misses no opportunity to suggest that the latter is silly. Given that gamers abandoned [=MW2=] for [=BC2=] over the server debacle above, this may also qualify as FanService.
--->'''Sweetwater''': No! No no no, he'll just send some [[ElitesAreMoreGlamorous special-ops]] [[SubvertedTrope douche-bags]] with pussy-ass [[ModernWarfare heartbeat monitors]] on their guns instead of [[BadassNormal us]]!
*** This is especially funny if you know the history of the real-life heartbeat detector, as made famous to gamers in the original Rainbow Six. It doesn't work, because ''it's a scam.'' Dissecting one reveals that it can't possibly work the way the manufacturer claims it does, and independent testing has never borne out the claims even under ideal conditions. Someone who uses it, realistically, is at best guilty of not doing the research or is an idiot.
--->'''Sweetwater''': If we were racing on snowmobiles I'd take you down!
--->'''Haggard''': Snowmobiles are for pussies!
** [=DiCE=] isn't even dancing around it any more. They released a video called [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Qpui1hYBw&feature=player_embedded "Friends Really Against Grenade Spam"]] ("'''F'''riends '''R'''eally '''A'''gainst '''G'''renade '''S'''pam")which directly mocks [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnLxFkWv5SM a similar video that Infinity Ward created]] ( "'''F'''ight '''A'''gainst '''G'''renade '''S'''pam" )to promote ''{{Modern Warfare}} 2''. The original video starred Cole Hamels, a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. To double the burn, the mocking video starred C.C. Sabathia, a pitcher for the New York Yankees team that just beat the Phillies in the 2009 World Series.

* AffectionateParody: ''Bad Company'' had trailers who's point were to make video game references. They were titled [[GearsOfWar Bad World]], [[VideoGame/RainbowSix Rainbow Sprinkles]], and [[Franchise/MetalGear Snake Eyes]].
* BattleTrophy: The game rewards a player successful in assassinating an enemy in online multiplayer with the knife with their dog tags. This has been included in every ''Battlefield'' game released since then.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Justified in ''Bad Company'' - you routinely perform badass acts of heroics that would earn you a bunch of medals under normal circumstances, but the missions you're being sent out on are literally suicidal tasks your superiors are assigning you to in a deliberate attempt to get you and your squad killed, so they're understandably less than happy when you succeed. Later in the game, when [[spoiler: you and your squad mutiny]], there isn't anyone to receive respect ''from''.

* ShoutOut: [[WholePlotReference Significant Plot Reference]] to ThreeKings.

* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: Mike-One-Juliet in ''Bad Company''.

** the American Recon sounds almost nerdy whereas the Russian Recon sounds like he smokes a pack a day.

* DuelingGames: ''Bad Company 2'' appears to be headed down this road with ''ModernWarfare 2''.

* HiddenDepths: Haggard has read the Illiad and thinks its a good book. He can also recite TheScottishPlay, and even avoids mentioning the actual title.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: If anything, there's a total lack of good people getting shot, bad things happening to idealists, and a distinct lack of grayness [except for ''one'' event in ''BC2'', in which a soldier defects because he has family in America].

** Another from ''Bad Company 2'': as you and your squad trudge through the snowy wastes of the Andes in "Crack the Sky", Sweetwater remarks, "Where are we, [[TheEmpireStrikesBack Hoth]]?".
** In the same level as above, a subtle shoutout to BlackHawkDown can be heard during the jeep sequence. "We can't slow down, WE CAN'T SLOW DOWN!"

* WholePlotReference: Angry Russians waging war on the United States, [[spoiler:an officer in charge of covert operations turning on his operatives because they're in the way of his revenge, and EMP used as a weapon.]] You can tell ''Bad Company 2'' apart from [[ModernWarfare Modern Warfare 2]] because there's at least two {{Take That}}s at ''Modern Warfare 2''.
** Not to mention a final level consisting of close-range firefights on board a plane.