Battlefield Hardline

Battlefield Hardline isn't trying to revolutionize the first person shooter, but nobody was really expecting that from this game. What I think most people really wanted to know was if it was going to revolutionize the Battlefield franchise with its cops and robbers theme. The short answer; well, kind of. But did you ever really want Battlefield to be that different in the first place? First, let's talk about the multiplayer. Now, this is the area that really isn't reinventing Battlefield's core in any major way. You can still jump in and play Battlefield's outrageous 64 person Conquest mode where two teams fight to win control of 3 or 5 different points of interest. All of the classic Battlefield modes that were brought back are still fun for the same reasons any competitive multiplayer is fun: great maps, shooting mechanics that feel right, and sweet, sweet chaos and unpredictability. Just to briefly touch upon the quality of the multiplayer maps, when I said great maps, I really meant it. Most of the maps are very original and the layouts are creative. The developers did a good job making sure that each map was versatile, meaning it suits multiple game modes well. Battlefield Hardline still does one of Battlefield's greatest features extremely well, and this is destructible environments. The bast part about destructible environment is that most of the time it just makes sense, but the best times is when it doesn't. When a crane is falling in the center of the map destroying half of the map and you have no idea why, it doesn't really matter why because all you need to know is that it's awesome. It's an extremely satisfying game mechanic, and this really helps to set Battlefield Hardline apart from other first-person shooters. Unpredictability is one of Battlefield's strong points, and this is just one of the reasons why. I already talked about how Battlefield's older game modes are still a lot of fun, but I was also pleasantly surprised to find that some new game modes for the franchise ended up being some of my favorite modes. The modes that I'm really referring to are Heist, Blood Money, and Hotwire. These modes make the most sense in the context of Hardline's cops vs. robbers theme. Hotwire has you racing down streets providing a unique feeling of high speed urban warfare proving that vehicles are still awesome in multiplayer shooters. Heist and Blood Money pits cops against burglars attempting to transport stolen money to a certain area for collection, but both game modes do it in very different ways. Try these three new game modes and it's amazing how much fun you'll have and how balanced they are, but unfortunately, the developers didn't stop there. In a terrible attempt to try to make this game available for eSports competitions, the developers also added the game modes Crosshair and Rescue, and I wish I was lying when I say how absolutely boring and unbalanced these modes are. Many a time did I play a round of one of these five vs. five matches that both these modes have without seeing a single enemy player. Rarely is there an exciting moment in either of these modes, but nobody's making you play them, so it might be for some people, and if it's not, then you can just keep playing one of the other great game modes like I did. Now, what's the multiplayer's biggest weakness? Its tendency to pull you out of the experience, even if only for a short while, time and time again in numerous ways. The most prevalent problem, which is surprising for a first-person shooter that prides itself on being realistic, is its tendency to just be so mind-bogglingly unrealistic. The game is simply running on an engine that just doesn't feel right for the game. Vehicle physics just don't make sense half of the time, usually because it seems like the game just doesn't know what to do when put into certain situations. Be careful to never drive your vehicle into another vehicle on your team, because what's going to happen to you isn't going to be pretty. In fact, it's gonna look pretty atrocious. The game just doesn't seem to know what to do, and problems like these can be pretty prevalent and just take any sense of realism out of the game for the couple of seconds that you are experiencing the problem. Another instance where the game just doesn't seem to understand what's going on is in instances where a player is trying to melee another player. Hit detection reaches its lowest point in Hardline at these moments, and it's nothing short of frustrating. Another issue with Hardline is how confusing and just annoying customization is. Customizing classes isn't as easy to understand as many other first-person shooters, and on top of this, it's also shallow. It is just hard to understand for seemingly no reason. Also, one of the most annoying parts of the online customization is the fact that you don't seem to be rewarded when you level up the same satisfying way that other online shooters do. Most attachments and other unlocks aren't given to you by leveling up. Instead, you receive money for "Battlepacks" where you have the chance to unlock attachments and other equipment, but instead most of the time you're just winning profile emblems and different camouflage patters for your guns, as well as boosts that you'll just forget to use. Of course, you could get better Battlepacks if you spend your actual money on the game through micro transactions, just what EA does best. Still, although this may be annoying, eventually I was able to create classes I felt comfortable with and I believe most people will be able to eventually reach the point where they can do the same. If you want an in depth analysis of the Battlefield Hardline single player campaign, I'm sorry but I can't give it to you. Why? Because I played the first two episodes (they're called episodes to fit its TV cop drama theme) of it and it was just that boring. I know most people aren't buying Hardline for the campaign, and I think the developers know this too, because it just doesn't seem like a lot of effort was put into making it that fun. In the little bit that I played the game wanted me to put stealth first, and it just feels wrong in a first-person shooter that does shooting so well. The stealth feels forced, probably because of the decision to put you in the shoes of a cop, and you really can't just have a players go on mass shooting sprees as a cop. One of the few disadvantages of the game's cops and criminals theme. It was incredibly slow and just didn't grab me at all, and that doesn't happen to me often. Does it get better? I have know idea. It might, but when the intro is just that dull and boring, I have no will to find out. The game looks fine most of the time. The graphics aren't overly astounding and it just really just looks like what you'd expect from a game in 2015. Sometimes though, depending on where you are, the atmosphere just seems muggy when it shouldn't be. Textures are minimal and detail is only partial in some areas, so if you're expecting to be amazed by the graphics of the game, you are going to be disappointed. Again, they aren't bad, there's just nothing that makes the the graphics stand apart from many other games. The game was also very technically sound which is a big step up from the atrocious launch of Battlefield 4. Just to clarify, I played the PlayStation 4 version of the game, so I can't really speak for the other versions of the game. The start to the campaign may not have been very good, but I bought Battlefield Hardline for the multiplayer, and there, the game delivered. From the very start the multiplayer is fun, and it's great to not have to feel the need to grind to get to a higher level to get better guns in order to fully feel the experience. Eventually you'll get those more powerful guns, but there's no rush. The gameplay is simply enjoyable, and there is definitely dozens of dozens of hours that you could potentially spend with the game. The cops and robbers theme isn't drastically changing Battlefield, but they do mostly change it for the better. Many of Hardline's new modes and maps make it a worthy purchase if you're a Battlefield fan, or just somebody looking to purchase a multiplayer focused first-person shooter. Overall, Battlefield Hardline is a worthy installment in this long running franchise and is unlikely to disappoint MOST buyers, but will definitely disappoint some.