THEY ARE BACK....IN THE BATTELFIELD!!
Battlefield 4’s appearance at the EA E3 keynote this year brought the house down by literally bringing a virtual building down. The live demo for DICE’s online fragfest showed a firefight in a multiplayer match involving 64 players in a map with a towering skyscraper at the centre of it.
As the battle reached its apex, the audience in the Shine Auditorium watched gobsmacked as the multi-storied building had its supports blow out. With a scream of tearing metal we then crashed into the map like a felled Redwood made from steel and glass.
Battlefield 4: Environments
The Battlefield series has always put a premium on destructible environments - last seen in Battlefield 3 - but in the latest entry in the series, the scale for this feature is off the charts. Not only does it occasionally look spectacular as in the case of the tumbling skyscraper – which provides the centrepiece of the game’s Shanghai map – it also opens up a ton of new gameplay options.
For example, when the skyscraper drops, it creates new pathways through the map, although strictly speaking, players can do their own tinkering with their surroundings. They can, for example, use explosive and grenades against certain walls to create new routes.The skyscraper drop also covers the whole map in a massive dust cloud that limits players’ draw distance and visibility. This makes ground troops harder to spot from higher vantage points and it makes providing air support a logistical nightmare.
The Battlefield series has always put a premium on destructible environments - last seen in Battlefield 3 - but in the latest entry in the series, the scale for this feature is off the charts. Not only does it occasionally look spectacular as in the case of the tumbling skyscraper – which provides the centrepiece of the game’s Shanghai map – it also opens up a ton of new gameplay options.
For example, when the skyscraper drops, it creates new pathways through the map, although strictly speaking, players can do their own tinkering with their surroundings. They can, for example, use explosive and grenades against certain walls to create new routes.The skyscraper drop also covers the whole map in a massive dust cloud that limits players’ draw distance and visibility. This makes ground troops harder to spot from higher vantage points and it makes providing air support a logistical nightmare.
Battlefield 4: Commander Feature
To help coordinate the efforts on the battlefield, DICE have brought back the Commander feature from Battlefield 2, although it’s been slightly tweaked for this iteration. The Commanders on both teams view the battle from a top down point of view and they’re able to issue orders and deploy equipment, vehicles and drones for their side.
Their stock of resources, however, isn’t limitless. Rather, it’s linked to the amount of points their team acquire in the battle. While they’re still able to issue orders and make their team aware about enemy troop movements, they’ll require their team to rack up points for, say, capturing a point on the map and holding it for a time, before they’re able to send in better equipment or call in a missile strike. Commanders can take part in online matches from tablets, providing they have a decent enough internet connection.
Battlefield 4: Gameplay
To help coordinate the efforts on the battlefield, DICE have brought back the Commander feature from Battlefield 2, although it’s been slightly tweaked for this iteration. The Commanders on both teams view the battle from a top down point of view and they’re able to issue orders and deploy equipment, vehicles and drones for their side.
Their stock of resources, however, isn’t limitless. Rather, it’s linked to the amount of points their team acquire in the battle. While they’re still able to issue orders and make their team aware about enemy troop movements, they’ll require their team to rack up points for, say, capturing a point on the map and holding it for a time, before they’re able to send in better equipment or call in a missile strike. Commanders can take part in online matches from tablets, providing they have a decent enough internet connection.
Battlefield 4: Gameplay
On the ground, Battlefield 4 plays the way you’d expect it too. Players pick a class and head into the map with a couple of firearms and items of equipment. Once there, their objective is to keep the Commander well stocked with points by completing whatever objectives the match type requires of them.Running on the Frostbite 3 engine, Battlefield 4 looks stunning; particles hang in the air in shafts of light in darkened environments and sunlight bounces off the HUD causing the odd, cinematic glint of lens flare. It’s hardly surprising that it’s one of the most widely used tools in EA’s game creation across most of its developers.
Battlefield 4: Verdict
-Battlefield 4 lives and dies on its multiplayer and all the signs are here that DICE should have another hit on its hands.The gameplay hasn’t really changed all that significantly since the last iteration, but between the new environment transforming mechanics and the Commander battle coordinator, Battlefield 4 feels like a step forward for the franchise. Lock and load for the online war this November…
On the ground, Battlefield 4 plays the way you’d expect it too. Players pick a class and head into the map with a couple of firearms and items of equipment. Once there, their objective is to keep the Commander well stocked with points by completing whatever objectives the match type requires of them.Running on the Frostbite 3 engine, Battlefield 4 looks stunning; particles hang in the air in shafts of light in darkened environments and sunlight bounces off the HUD causing the odd, cinematic glint of lens flare. It’s hardly surprising that it’s one of the most widely used tools in EA’s game creation across most of its developers.
Battlefield 4: Verdict
-Battlefield 4 lives and dies on its multiplayer and all the signs are here that DICE should have another hit on its hands.The gameplay hasn’t really changed all that significantly since the last iteration, but between the new environment transforming mechanics and the Commander battle coordinator, Battlefield 4 feels like a step forward for the franchise. Lock and load for the online war this November…
Battlefield 4 release date: 1 November 2013
Battlefield 4 price: From £38.00 (on PC on amazon)
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