Battlefield Hardline is the next game in the popular FPS franchise. However, this time round, things are a little different. Visceral Games have taken the lead on this project and blended the tried and trusted Battlefield experience with brand new experiences in a Cops and Robbers styled gameplay environment. We’ve managed to spend a few hours in the Battlefield Hardline beta and our first impressions of the game are as follows:
Game Modes
I think the biggest change to Battlefield Hardline will be the game modes. Whilst we can expect to see many fan favourites make a return this year, Hardline will introduce a range of new game modes that are new to the franchise.
In the beta, there were two game modes available and both of them took a Cops and Robbers twist on gameplay concepts we’ve seen in FPS games for years. The first Hardline beta game mode was Blood Money. In Blood Money a big stash of cash spawns in the centre of the map. The cops must recover the money for ‘evidence,’ whilst the robbers are set out to steal it.
Both teams can take money from the stash and return it to their own base in the attempt to reach the game ending $5 million target however to make things more interesting, both teams can also steal cash from the opposing team.
The second game mode is Heist. In this mode, robbers are set with the objective to take packages from armoured trucks and deliver them to a secure location. The cops must do all they can to stop the robbers in their tracks. Despite both modes having a fairly new concept, they still feel very similar to other Battlefield game modes, making players feel familiar with Hardline right off the bat.
Weapons, Vehicles & Game Mechanics
Battlefield vehicles have always been important and in Hardline there are a wide range of civilian vehicles that players are capable of spawning into every time they respawn. It’s nice to see a less militarized approach to the vehicles in Battlefield, and I’m sure this will mix up combat on large scale maps quite a lot.
Speaking of maps, the Battlefield Hardline beta came with just one map; High Tension. This map was a small downtown L.A environment filled with roads, buildings and overpasses which all give players a different route to their objectives. This map can get pretty crowded when playing 64v64 battles, so hopefully the full release of Hardline will have a decent set of maps to play through.
When it comes to guns, equipment and the overall feel of the game, Hardline feels very similar to other Battlefield titles. However, there are a few new additions, including an awesome zipline feature that unfortunately seemed to be a bit broken in the Hardline beta.
Graphics & Sound
Hardline may be a brand new Battlefield title but as far as graphics and sound go, it feels like any other in the series. This may not be such a bad thing though as there’s no denying that Battlefield has always looked stunning, especially on the PC, since Battlefield 3and the sounds have always been satisfyingly immersive.
Battlefield Hardline has been planned for release for all platforms this October, including PC, Xbox One, PS4, PS3 and Xbox 360. Hopefully we’ll hear more about the various maps and game modes the game will feature leading up to its release.
