Battlefield 4 Review
Battlefield 4 is the 3rd edition to the modern series of the Battlefield franchise. It is an action packed first person shooter that is set 6 years after the events of Battlefield 3, in New York, and features both single player and multiplayer capabilities. For the very hardcore battlefield fanboys, this was a long awaited release in the current series of games and surely EA and DICE have come up with a good enough release to rival some of the best other first person shooters out there today.
Genre
The Battlefield franchise really has progressed form the original release of Battlefield 1942, which was one of the most adventurous FPS of its time as it was the first game to include all-out war with open world maps and vehicle combat. Ever since this release the battlefield franchise has just been getting better and better, apart from Battlefield 2142 which seemed to take a step back as it was marked down by users. Battlefield 2 was the first modern day shooter to come to the battlefield franchise and brought along a whole load of new features. It was the game that most people say was the backbone to the development of the newest battlefield games with many of today’s features, such as the commander mode, being featured in the newest release. Can this new battlefield title match the level of expertise that the foundation games were built on?
Platforms
From the start you will find that DICE have made the game slightly differently for consoles as they have for the PC in terms of how the game is started. From the initial boot up of the game console players will find themselves in a rather well designed menu screen with smart and simple UI. PC users will find themselves on the battlelog webpage. This webpage is the backbone to the game and provides the launcher, forums and stats engine that players are going to use heavily, battlelog can track every single player’s progression and can allow for players to compare stats within the community. It also forms the base for the launch engine for PC as everything is launched through battlelog. It includes server lists, relevant challenges and the campaign mode. Console users will find that they will launch the game normally and be presented with similar menus once inside the game, but can still use the battlelog website to view their stats and unlocks.
Narrative
Battlefield 4 is very multiplayer focused and so for that matter, like the previous release, the game has suffered in the campaign mode with many faults and bugs appearing as if the campaign wasn’t properly finished or was rushed to get the game out on time. This is a real shame considering after battlefield 3, the community really wanted the campaign to be dropped altogether as they said it was rushed and unfinished to allow for the game to be released on time. This can be said about Battlefield 4 but you really would think that after such a negative vibe towards the last games singleplayer, they would either drop it all together or pull out all the stops to make the campaign the best it can be.
During the production of the game the developers said that they would be including a brand new innovative gameplay feature called “levolutions”. This involves a certain part of the map changing to completely change the aspect of the round that the players can trigger through a number of steps, this can be anything from a skyscraper falling down in Siege of Shanghai, to a dam breaking a completely flooding a town in Flood Zone. The levolutions work really well on some maps but on others I feel as though they rather spoil the game, turning the map into a rather ruined flat mess.
After the most recent updates it seems like the guys at DICE have finally pulled up their socks and fixed the net code and rubber banding issues within the earlier versions of the game. This is only true however after the first few hours of playing the game as it still does suffer from these net coding and bad lag issues. This is still one of the main things that dice are trying to combat in the next series of updates for the game.
Characters
The game looks fantastic and I can still say this after 800 hours of playing time. The multiplayer is something to be amazed by as there are a selection of beautiful maps with 64 player combats. There is a selection of vehicles to choose from, including Tanks, Helicopters and Boats, which all help to perfect the gameplay and make the multiplayer really stand out from its competitors. Battlefield is a very tactical game and you will find that team work is essential to the way the multiplayer works and teams are rewarded for working together to take over objectives. The multiplayer also offers many different weapons ranging from assault rifles to snipers and then there is the class system. This involves players playing as different roles within their squad i.e. and engineer or medic. Each class has its own sets of gadgets and weapons which can help out the team and achieve the overall teamwork finish.
The multiplayer does fall short in some areas however. The map design is something to be desired as many of the maps feel as though they haven’t been thought through very well and can often lead to very linear battles that do not include teamwork but two teams battling in one area pushing each other back and forth. Another problem comes with the net code and rubber banding where many shots that a player fires do not actually hit the enemy despite being on target and many players reported being killed behind cover as plyers are in two different places on each other’s screens. DICE and EA have come under heavy criticism for this issue as many gamers say that the game was rushed so it could be released on launch day.
There were many DLC’s released to try and help boost sales. There were eventually five DLC’s that included new maps, challenges and weapons that can be used. This was a good idea as EA released a Battlefield 4 premium pass that allowed for players to get access to all 5 DLC and excusive content for a cheaper price. This proved very popular as the DLC’s alone would have cost over £100 to buy.
Since the games release in 2013, the price has dropped quite significantly in stores. This was due partly to the heavy criticism on release but also due to the down figures on the previous title battlefield 3, which was an unprecedented success.
It’s a shame then really that such a strong release can fall short of expectations despite updates and many DLC’s that were added at a later stage. The sequel however, Battlefield Hardline, was an even bigger flump in the battlefield franchise and had many hard-core battlefield fans shy away from the franchise for a good few years. I would say overall though that battlefield 4 is a good game for the casual eye and somebody who wants to jump into a world and play with guns but for the serious battlefield fan or hardcore gamer, this game falls short on a lot of necessary things that make a game truly great. I would say that the game looks good visually despite the awful loading times but really falls down in the singleplayer campaign and the bugs of the multiplayer. It is a disappointment to many battlefield fans as this game had such high hopes but fun can be had and even battlefield 4 can produce those “only in Battlefield moments”.
Graphics: 8/10: “on a high setting, the graphics are simply amazing for this game and the levolutions make for an awesome spectacle when in gameplay. It does not get higher than an 8 out of 10 as there are often a lot of bugs with the visuals.”
Gameplay: 5/10: “the gameplay is really something that lets this battlefield title down. From the truly awful campaign to the bugs and problems with the net code and balancing issues online it is a real shame that this game didn’t perform in this area.”
Controls: 7/10: “the control mapping is rather average for this type of game. There are some better games and some worse but in terms of default mappings, it favours controller mappings over keyboard mappings as often a lot of the main keys used for different things has you trying to reach form one side of the keyboard to another.”
User Interface: 8/10: “I would say that this is where the game really shines and the UI is smart, contemporary and easy to understand. It is often really easy to navigate and gives the game an overall user friendly sort of feel, targeting at more of the casual gamer who can jump in and understand the menu’s”
Lifetime: 6/10: “Personally I have played this game for around 800 hours since the games release. I have also played it on multiple consoles and pc. From my experiences the game is actually quite addictive after a while and most of the time you find yourself playing for the few “only in battlefield” moments which will keep you going through the bugs and glitches”
Overall: 5/10: “I think that overall the game is let down in several ways from the net code to the bad single player campaign. It is good for casual gamers who just want to pick up the controller and start paying but will continue to disappoint the more serious battlefield fan boys who have played the battlefield series and will be able to pick out small little details about the game.”
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