Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is divided into single player and multiplayer. In terms of storyline, the single player and multiplayer occur concurrently, with some multiplayer maps occurring after the single player. It is worthwhile, however, to practice on single player before proceeding onto multiplayer, even though some important elements are removed from multi (most notably the spotting of enemies).
Single Player[edit]
The single player storyline picks up where the first Bad Company left off. The story doesn't build on itself, however, so a new player won't find spoilers from Bad Company 1 in this game.
The story follows a squad of four characters in their quest to uncover a secret Japanese weapon the Russians have unearthed. They intend to use the weapon as a prelude to an invasion of the United States, and it's up to Bad Company to stop them.
Bad Company consists of four characters.
Private Preston Marlowe[edit]
Preston Marlowe is the player character of Bad Company 2. As a result he doesn't generally talk, though he does speak in cutscenes. As the point man of the squad, it's up to you to perform most of the dirty work for your squad. According to the manual, Preston was assigned to Bad Company after he attempted to take a helicopter for a joy ride and ended up crashing it into a limousine.
Official Description: Raised on two generations of war stories, Private Marlowe joined Bad Company to get some combat under his belt. Now, as Bad Company's latest "recruit," Marlowe's getting all the action he can handle. Maybe more.
Sergeant Samuel Redford[edit]
Sarge's gruff, serious demeanour acts as a foil to the loudmouthed Haggard and smart-alecky Sweetwater. He leads the group and is often one to issue orders on behalf of the squad. In this game, he carries an XM8 as a weapon. He is the only person who was assigned to the squad voluntarily, as he's looking for a shorter tour of duty.
Official Description: Sergeant Samuel D. Redford is the only soldier to actually request transfer to Bad Company. Some paint that decision as crazy or suicidal, but Sarge has his reasons. He used to buy into the whole military lifestyle, Mom and Apple Pie, all of it. Not anymore. Especially not after Sadiz.
Private Gordon Haggard[edit]
Loudmouthed and unorthodox, Haggard can appear a little dim at times, but his enthusiasm for explosions know few bounds. He is extremely proud to be a Texan. He is the only person in the squad who enjoys being in Bad Company. He carries an XM8 as his standard weapon.
Official Description: Private George Gordon Haggard, Jr. actually likes being in Bad Company. His better personality traits include low-impulse control, consistently poor hygiene, and an encyclopedic knowledge of explosives. The upside is that Haggard's a hell of a soldier. He's just a little … unorthodox. And loud.
Private Terence Sweetwater[edit]
The smart alecky Sweetwater acts as the computer and technical expert for the squad. A fan of special ops (though apparently not fond of "special ops douchebags"), Sweetwater also acts as the impromptu brawn of the team, fighting with the large M60 machine gun and even with the occasional physical brawl during the campaign.
Official Description: Private Terrence Sweetwater is too smart for his own good. He enlisted for the college scholarship his recruiter dangled in front of him, figuring his brains would keep him in the rear with the gear. And maybe they would have, if he hadn't "accidentally" uploaded a virus to a secure military network he wasn't supposed to access in the first place.
Collectables & M-COM Stations[edit]
Each and every weapon you can pick up through the campaign, including the default weapon, are considered collectables. Collectables are weapons that you, the player, have unlocked in the single player campaign. You may unlock a weapon by picking it up.
Throughout the campaign you will locate a large green crate with a yellow parachute draped over it. This supply drop differs from ammo stashes in that these enable the player to switch their current weapon with any weapon that they've unlocked. Supply drops also resupply ammunition.
Most of the collectable weapons are multiplayer weapons with a few additions. The starting weapon, called the XM8-S in single player, is simply referred to as a scoped XM8 in multiplayer. The only exceptions to this is the TOZ-194, which is replaced by the Remington 870 in multiplayer, and two Japanese weapons: the Type 100 SMG and the Type 5 battle rifle, which are specific to the campaign's first mission.
Throughout the fight you'll also encounter M-COM stations. These desk-sized terminals are objectives hidden on various maps. Destroying them all simply yields prestige and a few achievements. M-COM stations do not respawn once destroyed, and destroying an M-COM station in one map will prevent it from appearing anytime afterward, even if you restart the mission.