by Flyswamper » Fri Mar 18, 2011 4:44 pm
The design of the game, especially Hero Assault mode, does not promote teamwork. That doesn't mean that teamwork isn't very effective, but..... if the game design doesn't promote it the odds of players actually functioning as a team are pretty low.
There are other games out there that have more design features which promote teamwork. In fact, when I moved away from SWBFII and migrated to Battlefield 2 (and now Bad Company 2) the *MAIN* reason I enjoyed it so much more was because of the team work. You see, the game is designed around the idea of teamwork. Each team is broken into squads and you can spawn at the location of your squad leader or other squad members. Also, there is built-in VOIP communication right inside the game. You don't *HAVE TO* rely on teamspeak, ventrilo, xfire, etc.... to have voice communications with your squad mates. It is just there available already.
Also, depending on the game mode, there tends to be some sort of objectives such as a flag to capture and repel enemy attacks from or mcom stations to destroy/defend. These elements help emphasize the need for your team to work together if you want you team to have a prayer of winning. Certainly JBA style of SWBFII has the flags to capture which helps. However, the other games often reward players with points/achievements that only come from playing in a teamwork-oriented style. i.e. you get points for healing teammates, resupplying them, and even for stuff like spotting the enemies. There is no such direct reward for good behavior in SWBFII.
Now.... I'm not suggesting to you that those games always have great teamwork either. Certainly there is a healthy amount of players that run around as nothing but lone-wolf style players. But.... the design of the game is a dominant reason that there is MUCH MUCH more teamwork in some other games relative to SWBFII.
If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics stink!