Battlefield 4: A Day One Launch Title

I just want to mention that I am very excited about this game.  At first glance I assumed that this was just going to be Battlefield 3 with better graphics, but the further I got into researching this game I realized that I couldn’t have been further from the truth. 

Just a note before I begin, the majority of this post will focus on the multiplayer side of the game, I will take a more in depth look at the single player campaign in the future.

Battlefield 4 is powered by the Frostbite 3 engine, and there are some major changes from the previous version.  The first big thing is that it completely connects the entire environment.  An example of this is the wind.  When the game decides to throw in a gust of wind, that same gust affects everything on the map, from the trees to the grass to bodies of water.  This means that if you see the trees moving violently back and forth, you know that the ocean is going to be rough.  This also applies to shock waves and helicopter rotors.  So when you knock down a building the dust cloud that comes out of the resulting explosion will move trees, flags, paper etc.  Although this feature doesn’t seem like much I think that tying all the small things together results in a much more realistic feeling game.

Another feature that DICE has added is something they called Levolution.  This is the feature that allows you to change the map with small things such as creating a hole in a wall to run through to causing a dam to break and flood the entire map.  This is possibly my favorite thing about Battlefield, I LOVE the destructible environment.  To me it just feels right, it is what makes Battlefield what it is and what sets it apart from other games in the genre.  I watched a video that come out recently that shows a player running into a train container and the guy stalking him throws a grenade in and closes the door behind him, sealing his fate.  These are all things that make the game feel more genuine.  On a larger scale this feature permits you to destroy massive buildings/dams by weakening the structural integrity and triggering map altering events.

Something else that has been added is a sort of power system which can be disarmed in a variety of different ways, leaving people in the buildings in the dark; DICE has created an environment that lends an advantage to the quick witted player.

An example of naval combat with rolling waves

 A note about Battlefield 4 on the PS4 and the Xbox One, they will both support 64 player matches and run at 60 FPS.  The current gen consoles will maintain the 24 player system and there doesn’t seem to be any plans to change that.  As someone who plans to play this on the Xbox One I like this change.  When playing BF3 on my 360 I found that on the larger maps you find yourself trekking across the entire map just to find the enemy team.  BF4 will feature the same four kits as the previous game; assault, engineer, support and recon. 

DICE has really taken the Battlelog to the next level, allowing you to connect to the Battlefield universe through smart phone, tablet and of course PC and console.  From watching the videos and reading some interviews it is obvious that they are really trying to pull the community together and add to the replay-ability.  There are a lot of new things in store for BF4 with the Battlelog but I am primarily going to focus on my top two:

•  Missions- with this it allows you to create challenges between you and your friends.  Say you are like me and you have that one friend who thinks that he is a much better sniper and isn’t afraid to let you know.  Well, all you have to do is pick a challenge like, who can knock out the most headshots in a weekend and the Battlelog will track your progress.  At the end of the time period it puts everyone’s scores together and maybe now you have the right to rub it in your buddy’s face.  

• Second Screen- If you own a tablet of any kind this will really be a benefit to you, because it can now be used to view your map, the same way that you would view it on your screen normally but now it’s on your lap or sitting beside you.  You can also use your tablet to play in Commander mode which gives you a top down RTS view of the battle with the ability to call in gunships, missile strikes or tactical advice. 

The Commanders viewpoint 

Earlier I said that rough seas would have a major effect on gameplay, and the reason for this is that DICE has put a ton of work into making naval combat more interesting.  They have added in fast moving, versatile, heavily armed boats and jet skis.  Naval combat was never really something I had thought about having in a game before but, after watching gun boats chase each other with guns blazing over high seas and jet skis being launched into the air off of a cresting wave I’m in.  With one of the five expansions being titled Naval Strike, I think I am safe in saying that we will be seeing more of this is the future. 

Battlefield 4 is set to release on October 29^th on PC, 360 and PS3.  It will also be available at launch for both the PS4 and the Xbox One (which by the way finally has a release date, check back soon for a post with my thoughts on that).  Let me know in the comment section what you guys are most excited for with the release of Battlefield 4, and if it’s something you aren’t excited for I would love to hear your opinion.