Storming the trenches. Sprinting for your life across no mans land. Looking up at the sky in terror to the behemoth raining death upon you and your squad. You’d think I was talking about the battlefield 1 trailer, but no, I’m talking about the complete game. EA have returned to us with yet another sequel but this time, something’s different.
Game companies have a tendency to overhype things, make games or trailers look really good and then when the time comes for us to take the works home and enjoy it ourselves, it’s roughly like looking at a menu in a cheap takeaway, the pictures look amazing and the product, well, it can be good, but more than likely will be disappointing in some way. I love many types of games, even bad ones, but I’m sure we’d all prefer a dinner by Gordon Ramsey over a microwave meal.
Certain independent companies have done it recently, one large company is a serial offender of doing this, and after the atrocity we can call need for speed, or the digital embodiment of a full price demo we call battlefront, we all thought it was EA’s turn. The trailer was released, it was great. The beta was released, it was great. Then the full game came. I personally cannot stop playing, and will gladly call this a master piece, and here’s why.
From the very beginning you’ll notice the menu and HUD is easy to manage and understand, so straight away you can get into the action you want to see, although it starts with a little nearly tutorial level. But this isn’t one that introduces you to the game, it introduces you to the war. I’m pretty confident nobody who reads this will have served in world war 1, I’m actually rather sure of that. But from my best understanding after years of studying history and watching documentaries, I can say from my opinion it looks authentic, the smoke clouds and flashes of light, even with the sounds.
You can hear the fear in their voices as they shout warning you of gas, the eerie whistles to signify a charge that led to the loss of so many soldiers. And the rumble, the ground shaking and the slow crawl of the tanks, looking like they’ve come straight out of a museum.
With controls as typical to all shooters nowadays, even those new to battlefield can pick it up and play. Within only a few minutes you will have immersed yourself in the gorgeous settings, beautiful scenery and voice acting, already feeling like you’re a member of the squad in this war, your battle brothers around you, ready to take on the world. Or in my case, ready to sit in a corner and hide.
Once you’ve managed to get over how beautiful it looks, and sounds like it’s straight out of an Oscar winning movie, it’s time to snap back to reality and take it online. This is what you’ve been dreading, the high pitch squeals of someone spinning around in circles jumping off a roof with a sniper rifle while describing in the most offensive way, which family members of yours he knows intimately, all because you won last rou
nd. Deep breathe, and brace yourself, what to expect? Everyone cramped into one small area? The ability to turn into a giant mechanical dog? Don’t be ridiculous, this game has stuck true to how good it is by bringing the experience online.
Huge sprawling maps looking like they’ve come straight out of a story book, castles and m
ountain ranges, fields deserts and forests. All starting looking good enough to check out online to see about retiring there one day, then the match starts. There’s no dip in the graphics, and you can form squads with your team to be tactical, or chaotic, fighting in tanks, planes, armoured cars or even horseback.
The weather system can change a game in a second, sandstorms will stop snipers and obscure artillery, while rain, well, rain looks pretty. Ok, so maybe it’s not 100% perfect, but that can be forgiven by the fact you can destroy, technically everything. Camper in a building annoying you? Level the building! Sniper hiding behind a tree? Tear the tree down! Maps will start looking great, and finish looking like a war torn land filled with destruction and death, which in a world war 1 game, is definitely the effect you want.
With battlefields 4 iconic classes, as well as customisable classes for pilot, tanker and one for the horse riders, there’s also a few new ones dotted about the battlefield, including but not limited to a flame thrower soldier, and a heavily armoured machine gunner. All classes come equipped as standard with gas masks. That’s a thing now. Gas. Don’t underestimate it, it sucks when you ignore it. Moving on…
Then battlefield introduces the behemoths. From zeppelins casting a great shadow across the land, to an armoured train tearing a line of danger through the war, or a dreadnaught battleship overlooking from the sea, in large games, the losing team gets one of these to give them that little boost, and if you spend too long looking at how awesome they are, you’ll surely feel how hard they hit too.
Endless customisation options, over a hundred weapons, millions of ways to play the game in a style you choose, this truly is one of the best first person shooters out there. The graphics are intense, the story is well performed and written, the multiplayer is addictive and diverse. It is a clear masterpiece and deserves nothing less than 10/10. The game is out now for those who purchased early enlisters edition, but for everybody else it comes out on PC, PS4 and Xbox One on Friday 21st October. I’ll see you on the battlefield guys.