know this is going to come as a shock to a lot of you, so brace yourselves: Battlefield 2142 is little more than Battlefield 2 with mechs and gunships. In nearly every way, a round of 2142 plays out exactly like a round of its predecessor. Not that that’s a particularly bad thing, but for all intents and purposes this is a $50 mod.

The new content, to be fair, is pretty cool. The battle walkers (a mech by any other name is still a mech) actually feel like you’d imagine a bipedal armored walker would –they’re big, slow, clunky, mobile weapons platforms that dish out pain like nothing else. Gunships operate under their own sets of physics and behave uniquely, though they’re not really any easier to control than the jets and copters of Battlefields past. And the new Titan mode, which primarily involves controlling missile silos on the ground that shoot at the enemy Titan (an enormous flying aircraft that performs similar duties to a Star Destroyer), is a neat twist on the standard Conquest gametype.

The unlock system has been expanded and refined, though its basic nature is very similar to the one in Battlefield 2. You’ll now be able to unlock a huge variety of equipment, from better grenades to stamina upgrades and cool toys like recon drones. Unfortunately, these also serve to further disadvantage new players against veterans. It’s hard enough to play against people who already know the maps inside out and can headshot you with a pistol while jumping from 40 yards – trying to fight them when their guns and equipment are leagues better than yours is just demoralizing.

If you can make it past the learning phase of the game without being turned off to it, however, there is a surprising amount of depth to the strategy contained here. From sniping placements to team loadouts to hit-and-run tactics and support powers (artillery strikes, etc.), there’s a lot of room to come up with your own tactics and strategies. Of course, finding a team that will follow your orders or a commander who you can trust is another matter entirely.

As with all primarily online games, the biggest determinant over your enjoyment of Battlefield 2142 will be the crowd that you play with. A good server with friendly, teamwork-oriented players (yes, they do exist) can be one of the best places to hang out and have some fun on the whole Internet. Conversely, playing with a bunch of teamkilling cheaters is even less entertaining than the game’s bare-bones single-player mode. Trust me – it’s well worth the effort to find a group of like-minded players to frag with.