First impressions:
Im running on a e8400 C2D @3ghz (stock), 8800GT OC, 19" CRT @1280x1024, Graphics set to "Medium".
Got my BF2 Player name reserved (Gully_Foyle_1), yay!
Configure the controls: everything looks fine, except it doesn't recognize parts of my joystick (Top Gun 2 something or other), can't use my throttle slider, nor the "hat" for looking right/left, etc.
Also, I don't see an option for toggle crouch on and off, you have to hold the crouch key the whole time.
Also, there's no screenshot button that I can see. That explains a lot :hmm:
The news ticker is telling me the server browser is borked. Try it--yep, CTD.
Join now button gives me errors connecting to server. After getting the error, it seems like the Join Now button has a cool-down period. It does nothing when you click it for a few minutes. After a few tries it looks like I made it through! I load up to a server but at the status screen it says I was kicked from the server! Damn. On the right of the screen is a servers tab, when I open it I see two multi-play UK servers, and a server in Paris. This is what it is trying to connect me to (I'm in Pennsylvania, USA). The one server probably kicked me for high ping. Come back a little later and try it again, and it connects me to a server in Virginia. I'm in!
Movement feels a little strange. Lots of people were complaining about lag, I was wondering if my movement is related to this. After playing a while, I don't think so. My connection was good. Movement is just not as "crisp" as BF2.
I played engineer mostly. The default gun is underpowered. It does take a whole clip to bring someone down. The RPG has a large amount of arc. That's OK, it just means it takes skill, and with experience you can excel over others.
Graphics: As I said, I am running at "Medium" settings. Given, I am not running a wide screen, but the FOV does look a bit low. Not enough to disturb me, though.
They've packed a lot more on the screen than BF2, with smoke and other effects, but I'm not noticing any related slow-downs.
Some of the bushes/tress look great, others look a bit flat.
I'm still tweaking and learning the controls here. I can be a slow learner, probably why I stick with games I like for a long time. Most of the game I carried an RPG around waiting for vehicles to show up, only late in the game when I saw a guy shooting out of a third window did I wake up and blow up the wall he was hiding behind, killing him in the process!
All in all, I ended up playing almost 10 rounds, pretty much lag free. If you can get on to a good server, you're golden. I just need to get in game with a few of my buds on VOIP. Then it will rock! I didn't hear anyone on mic last night.
More random thoughts:
Fell off the second story of a building and seemed to take no damage. Dumb.
Jumped over what looked like a 5 foot fence???
Everyone else can see your health level, except you?
Wasn't bothered by the triangles over heads. Btw, they only show up when the enemy has been spotted.
Spotting requires putting your cross hairs on something,then hitting Q, which was the commo-rose from BF2. In BF2, you also hit q, then the trigger to spot. In BFBC2, the trigger is not required, this shoots your weapon. I keep shooting my squadmates when requesting ammo or health

!
Are there any secrets about how to save screenshots? If I hit PrintScreen in game, then go out and paste it in Paint, all I see is a 1280x1024 block of white? Is it just me? Thx.