It had been awhile since I had played Battlefield, but recently a guy I work with asked me if I’d played the new Battlefield.  I said, “no” and then he told me that he heard it was amazing and I should try it and let him know. I didn’t think too much more about it, but my weekend was coming up and I was itching for a new game. On my weekend, I watched a video of the multiplayer gameplay and one of my friends was coming over, so I thought “FUCK IT” I’ll go buy it and we can check it out ( I had a Best Buy gift card).

I decided to purchase it for PS3 instead of Xbox 360, even though all my friends I’ve met playing previous Battlefields are all on Xbox (and all my other friends in general).  I did this because a) I’m really bad at shooters with the PS3 controller and I’m planning on getting a PS4 when released and thought I would get better with practice; and B) Fex has made me a trophy whore and I wanted the platinum.

My friend came over and we played Conquest (alternating matches for about 3 hours). I cannot tell you how much I love my Turtle Beach headset! Anyway, I got my face blown off because 1) I did not know the maps, 2) the fucking PS3 is hard for shooters, 3) I was rusty as hell at it and 4) I had yet to find “My Gun”.  I think my overall K/D ratio was like .6 or some horrible number after 4 or 5 games.  It wasn’t pretty but we both had fun and it wasn’t a wasted afternoon.

Battlefield 4 Review Highlights

• • Better gear customization: More gun modifications, loadouts and control than any other BF game to date.
  • Dynamic Maps: Maps that change as the battle wears on.
  • Squad Bonuses: Gain bonuses as your squad climbs the leaderboards that make you tougher and deadlier.

Battlefield 4 Maps

The maps in the game vary widely an that’s an understatement. We played some pretty typical battlefield maps with open space and lots of vehicles and some not so typical. One map is constantly flooding and it changes the feel and lay out of the map over the course of the match. One map is a Naval Captain’s dream, with naval combat, huge ocean waves, a storm that comes ou of nowhere, and a giant ship running aground at one of the control points half way through the match. While these untypical maps sound and seem cool, they were often much more boring and had much less combat then the others, as players were confused and could rarely find each other.

There are 10 maps overall (not counting any upcoming DLC).  And unfortunately I only really like 5 of the maps, which are the more traditional Battlefield maps with tanks, planes and helicopters etc.  I really disliked 3 of them and abhorred playing on them.  These were the ones that tried to “think outside the box”, fixing something that wasn’t broken.  And 2 were neither bad nor good (1 of these was a small MW type map with no vehicles at all).  While the gameplay is amazing and fun, it definitely is frustrating to have to play a shitty map now and again to get to a good one (especially when some matches last upwards of 45 minutes).

Battlefield 4 Gear and Equipment

After having played a couple of hours, we had unlocked some new guns and equipment and while in the deploy screen in a match decided to check some of it out quickly…or so we thought.  Unfortunately the game has a very confusing and terrible layout for gear, with hardly any instructions on how to change gear.  After a couple minutes of trying to equip and modify my setup, I gave up because my team was losing and needed my help (no one wants to be that guy that just sits in the deploy screen).  I was very frustrated to say the least.

Later on, we took a break and I was able to spend some time looking through the gear and equipment and finally figured out how to change guns and modify them with sights and rails etc.  Sadly, even once you figure this out, its still a pain in the ass to do and is just poorly designed in my opinion. Previous Battlefields did this much better and it’s a shame they changed it.  There are, however, tons of options for each gun and I really loved the small tweaks you could make to your weapon of choice.  There may actually be more than Modern Warfare, but I don’t know since I haven’t played since CoD Black Ops.

Battlefield 4 Kits and Specializations

We messed around and played several classes, and I have played them all multiple times since. I generally play an Engineer as people vehicle whore so much and I usually outfit myself with rockets and landmines to slow them down and make them think twice about getting in a tank every fucking time it spawns!  The other kits were largely the same as the previous installment, with Assault having the med kits/defibrillator and Support having the ammo boxes.

One of the new features they added (which feels similar to MW) is the specializations.  You can now pick a specialization in your class line that gives you added benefits to that class.  For example, one of the specializations the Engineer class has is Anti Tank. This gives the person more rockets and mines to start with upon spawn and makes them take less damage from explosions etc. The twist here is that these perks tier up the better your squad does in combat. Conversely, if your squad is wiped out you lose a tier (each squad member can chose their own specialization). I generally play Defensive, as the 10% less incoming damage to chest armor at Tier 1 has saved my ass more times than I can count!

Battlefield 4 Weapons and Vehicles

The weapons and vehicles really got an overhaul in Battlefield 4 and it was badly needed. There are so many more options and setups available and they’ve really made it so you can create your kit exactly how you want it. I like to use the AK 5C as my primary.  I actually stumbled upon it whilst running out of ammo with an Assault Kit.  Picked it up off a dead guy and been in love with it ever since and I use grips and barrels to increase its stability. It’s always been my philosophy that you have to be able to hit the same target at least twice for a kill and if your gun kicks like a mule, well, good luck trying to do that. The guns seem fairly balanced and to improve one stat, you almost always lose the same or more of another stat.  It really is pick your poison so figure out what works for you and master it.

The vehicles feel the same, but there are so many more upgrades now. I was scrolling through the tank upgrades and I think there are like 30 unlocks. Helicopters pissing you off? Get a guided homing missile to take em out. Engineers rocketing you? Get an anti rocket system that deflects them for 10 seconds. I was a bit overwhelmed to say the least and it is one of the reasons I haven’t gotten around to vehicle whoring just yet. P.S. People still helicopter whore like a son of a bitch!

Battlefield 4 Gameplay

This is where the game really shines and let’s face it, it’s what you paid for. Combat is a good balance of tactics, skill, and of course, finding the right gun. There were so many moments in this game where I couldn’t believe what I had just seen unfold before my eyes. There is nothing like jumping off a building, free falling for 5 seconds, pulling your rip cord and floating down, landing on an enemy and knifing him in the chest. It simply gives you goosebumps and you almost unconsciously scream “FUCK YES”. Or, as another example, emptying your entire clip into an enemy squad only to run out of bullets and finish them off with your pistol. I was also run over by a chopper, a wave runner and a truck. I was knifed in the water.  I tried to stab someone, he countered me, and made me stab myself.  And I had a building collapse upon me (they just don’t build them like they used to). You get the idea, fun shit happens and it’s never a dull moment.

Compared to Modern Warfare, match sizes are much bigger in terms of playres. On PS3 they are 12 on 12 (when full) and on PS4 it’s 24 on 24. Although some people may like smaller match sizes, the size of the maps makes combat into small skirmishes across the map (usually between squads). Every now and again though, everyone shows up to take the same control point and it’s all out war which is just awesome in every sense of the word! There are various game types, but I mainly play Conquest (traditional Battlefield). You can play Rush, Death Match, Squad Death Match, Obliteration etc. In other words there is something there for everyone.

Final Verdict

I’ve been playing Battlefield since it was Vietnam on PC, so not since the beginning, but I didn’t fall off the BF truck yesterday. I consider Bad Company 2 to be the best shooter I have ever played (just ahead of Modern Warfare 2) and wish I was still playing it to this day (I still own both!) Battlefield 3, in my opinion, was a step backwards and it didn’t pull me in like BC2 did. I played it for about a month and then quit as I just couldn’t get into it (looks over again at dusty copy of it on my shelf).  Battlefield 4 feels like a hybrid between Bad Company 2 and Battlefield 3 which is obviously both good and bad. It feels more like the game I remember loving (Now if they could just add some more maps that are good).  And while it’s not perfect by any means, its definitely a step in the right direction from the previous title.  It has revived the competitive shooter inside me which is something no game has done in years.  I highly recommend it.

And for all of those who are thinking of getting CoD: Ghosts…watch this.

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