Just when you thought you’d seen it all out of the popular Battlefield franchise, things are about to get ‘old’. Get ready for the next round of Battlefield, this time going back in time and inspired by real events. Watch the trailer and read on.
In case you can’t watch the clip above, the next game in the long running Battlefield franchise is no longer looking to the future, but going back to World War I. Promised to be focused on real historical events, EA DICE, the game’s developers, claim the game will feature all authentic and real-world weapons and locations. These weapons include bolt-action rifles, automatic and semi-automatic rifles, artillery, flamethrowers, and the dreadful mustard gas, something that appears to have some real merit to the gameplay (note the gas masks). Furthermore, players will have access to a variety of melee weapons, such spiked clubs, swords and even shovels (trench warfare will certainly be a key factor in some of the missions).
The game will feature a robust, single-player campaign and of course, a large-scale multiplayer component with up to 64-player support. The developers emphasis that the multiplayer is squad-based and claim that not joining one will significantly lessen player’s chances for survival, so signing up is the way to go. There is a change to the class system with multiplayer choices being Assault, Medic, Scout and Support (dropping the Engineer). It’s important to note that the Medic is the exclusive dealer of med kits and is the only one with revive skills now, meaning not everyone on the team can run and gun if they want to live. Likewise, Support is also crucial, having access to heavy machines guns for suppressive fire and Scouts will provide intel, scoping and sneaking on enemies with sniper rifles. It all means there is something here for every player’s play style.
Like any Battlefield game, vehicles are a big part of the action with some fun new options previewed in the clip, including two classes of tanks, light and heavy, with each having different abilities. There is also a brief look at open sea battles and a gigantic blimp. Oh, and you can ride a horse. But let’s face it, the only thing really to take away from this teaser is the awesome bi-plane action, which looks to be a major feature of the combat, even if these planes were relatively new to the scene.
Another key aspect of the teaser (which claims to be gameplay footage) is the destruction. There are two key moments to best illustrate this, one being the dogfight between the bi-planes where one chips away at the other and crashes into a windmill and then a forested setting with an old stone building that crumbles under gunfire. Both of these really show off the Frostbite Engine’s power and addresses issues where some fans felt the last two games lacked that blow-up fun the series is known for. That dogfight alone is enough to start throwing money at EA right now.
Battlefield 1 looks to carry on the tradition of its behemoth franchise. Let’s hope this release isn’t plagued by the bugs of the last entry and does more with the setting than redress the environments. The appeal of massive combat scenarios have always been the draw to the multiplayer and this one is poised to really bring that to the next level. If the campaign is as equally fleshed out then this next title in the series might just put an end to the question of which is the best military shooter out there.
Battlefield 1 drop October 21, 2016 for Xbox One, Playstation 4, and Microsoft Windows.