Battlefield: Bad Company 2’s marketing begs for comparisons to Modern Warfare 2. The little details in BC2’s trailers — from the weapons, to the experience points, to the diagonal lines that show up on your cross hair when you shoot someone — bore similarities to Infinity Ward’s shooter. Loading up the BC2 beta, I expected a wannabe Modern Warfare. Instead, I was surprised by how BC2 felt. From Battlefield 2 to 2142 to 1943: the classes, big maps, and vehicles come together into a uniquely Battlefield experience.

As with every other game in the series, the chaos of a match hit me like a slap in the face. The first thing I do in any BF game is die. If it isn’t the sniper from across the map, it’s the tank that notices me while I crossed the road, or the jeep that runs me over as it speeds into my team’s spawn area. Well, okay, dying is more like the first five things I do.

I was ready to give up when — just like in every other BF — the gameplay clicked. I found a squad who was using voice chat and drove tanks almost exclusively. Up till that point, I had been bouncing back and forth between the Assault and Support classes, trying to find a good niche to fill. However, when I saw how skilled these players were at driving tanks, I switched to the vehicle repairing engineer. They hung back, taking advantage of the tank’s range and frontal armor. I hopped in and out of the tank’s machine gunner seat repairing it when it took damage and fending off pesky infantry that tried to flank us.

The experience points for repairs and kills came pouring in. To top it off, we got bonus points for working as a squad. Typically, hopping into a vehicle meant attracting the attention and subsequent explosives of every enemy infantry that sees me. The average vehicle lifespan lasts about as long as it takes to drive from your spawn to the enemy base. With our teamwork, our tank lasted more than half the round as we steamrolled the other team across Arica Harbor.

Then I remembered why I played Battlefield games in the first place: the teamwork. Success in BC2 required finding the simple and effective symbiotic relationships between players in a squad.

The next time I hopped into a match I immediately picked Engineer. Let’s do this, squad: I’m ready. As I ran toward a tank in the spawn area, my squadmate jumped in and sped off without me.

Um, guys, could I maybe get a ride?

When I finally caught up on foot, I saw my squadmate firing at another tank. I ran up with my drill out and held off all the ensuing waves of damage. The experience points poured in. +30, +30, +30. But then the points stopped. What gives? I’m still repairing all his damage. A quick glance at my radar, and I saw my squadmate running for the hills. He had bailed, leaving me to repair an idle tank.

Then I remembered why I stopped playing Battlefield games: playing alone is no fun. In BF 2142, I played with a squad of friends. We stuck together, we shared ammo and health when we needed it, we pushed and captured points when we needed to, and — most importantly — we didn’t bail on a tank when an engineer had us backed up. As the game got older, they moved on one by one. Logging on alone hoping to find good squadmates just wasn’t as much fun as having my set of go-to buddies.

So herein lies the difference between MW2 and BC2. I can hop into MW2 matches with friends but be at a loss for how to team up with them. Working alone can be as successful as working with a teammate. On the other hand, when I enter a BC2 match, I am at a loss for how to play alone. BC2 has the potential to be more fun when everything clicks. However, those highs come with tedious lows. I just don’t have the friends anymore to enjoy Battlefield games to their fullest.