Battlefield 4: Review in Progress

 

 

I was a bit torn about how to write this review, but I’m calling it a review in progress due to the fact that there are many ways that my opinion of this game will change over the course of the next several months, or perhaps even the next year.  Since there will be periodic DLC releases over the next year as well as balance changing multiplayer patches and updates, BF4 will continue to grow and evolve into something that is too unpredictable to define in a traditional review.  Multiplayer games like this one are rarely finished until the next installment comes around, so for now it will be a review in progress.

Also, my opinion of the gameplay may change at some point if I move from one gaming platform to another for this title.  My current opinions of the game come from playing the PC version which is being run on my newly updated computer.  As such, there will be some growing pains as I acclimate to keyboard and mouse controls and manage the limitations of my new hardware.  If I get my hands on a PS4, the odds are in favor of me having a more familiar experience with locked video settings and gamepad controls, but I digress.  On to the review!

The biggest issue I’ve experienced so far is that I have trouble with keyboard based controls.  For some reason, I struggle with memorizing what commands are mapped to which keys even if I have remapped them.  I simply do better with a joystick setup even though the input is much slower and less accurate.  That’s not a fault of the game at all, but it does affect my enjoyment of the experience.  So, commands aside, BF4 keeps things as interesting as the franchise always has.

Sadly BF4’s campaign is the weakest part of the experience.  The story is flat, poorly written, and lacking in continuity although it still warrants a play through for those who may not be familiar with keyboard and mouse controls.  Also worth mentioning is the fact that there are some multiplayer gun unlocks that are only made possible by completing the campaign.  Aside from that, the campaign is just as confusing it is lifeless.  Set pieces fail to distract from the fact that levels are mostly linear with small, sandboxy areas, and enemy and friendly AI is a constant source of frustration. 

Friendly NPCs will frequently get in the way during firefights, and will at times push you from cover if you stand in areas that they have been programmed to occupy.  This is even more apparent during dialogue scenes where NPCs may inadvertently launch you through walls or across sections of the map if you get in their way.  It feels like walking in on a conversation that, despite the fact that you may be mentioned by name, you weren’t invited to.  Or that you are more of a side note in your own story line.  The writers made several attempts at creating emotional ties to the characters, but the setup just isn’t there for us to care about any of the game’s protagonists.  Most of the “surprise” deaths feel trivial, and seem more out of place than anything else. 

BF4 is a bit of a rollercoaster for me in terms of multiplayer performance.  I played a smidge of BF3 on my PC, and I never got used to the controls since I came into the game so late.  By that point, too many players had dominated the scene for so long that getting killed repeatedly upon spawning was too frustrating for such a steep learning curve.  Console versions were ruined by the “rent a server” feature, and the game quickly became more of a frustration than a fun diversion.  BF4 is different so far, and even though I have had my share of low scoring matches where no one seems to know what the meaning of teamwork is, there have been just as many enjoyable ones.

BF4 keeps all of the multiplayer modes from previous entries, and adds some new game types to the mix, and variety is always a good thing.  Most players will gravitate to two or three different modes, and my particular favorites are always standard Conquest, Domination (Infantry Only Conquest) and Rush.  The best thing about this variety is that all of the BF4 maps play differently depending on what game type is selected, and PC/Next gen console versions are really where the maps can be appreciated without being cut down for smaller player counts. 

Levolution is less impressive than I think DICE wanted it to be, but the scripted events do change maps enough to make things play out differently for each team during a given match.  Environmental destruction has been ratcheted up with the new Frostbite 3.0 engine as well, and more on map structures are completely destructible.  It still doesn’t feel as satisfying as leveling an entire map in Bad Company 2, but keep in mind that most of the maps in BF4 are much larger and so are the buildings on each map.  The tech just isn’t there yet to show that level of destruction.  I would say environmental destruction in BF4 sits squarely where it should for now.

Class configurations have been given a fresh overhaul with new weapon and attachment combinations, and with new secondary weapon unlock trees coming into the mix the combination possibilities are greater than ever.  The only negative side to this is that there may be too many options for newcomers to the series.  However, most players will settle into the weapons and classes that they are most familiar with and simply max out the unlock trees for those setups.  BF3 did a good job of opening up weapon customization, but BF4 has really honed it to a science of balances when it comes to configuring weapon accessories.  Some attachments will cancel out the effects of others if you aren’t careful, so it is more important than ever to take your own play style into account when customizing classes. 

Battlepacks also alleviate some of the woes of grinding out upgrades as they become available through ranking and through completing weapon and multiplayer assignments.  Some packs even offer XP bonuses to aid progression for those who find themselves doing poorly on the scoreboard.  What makes things even more interesting is that DICE has reintroduced primary weapons that can be unlocked and equipped to every player class.  The concept was explored in Bad Company 2, but the system is far more extensive in BF4. 

Entirely separate weapon categories can now be equipped to any class once they have been unlocked.  They must first be unlocked by accumulating a specific score for the root classes they are linked to, but after that point further unlocks can be attained for the new weapon trees independently from the original classes.  Carbines, for example, can be unlocked by accumulating a specific score in the engineer class which will thereby unlock that weapon tree to be unlocked for any of the other classes.  It’s a huge step toward opening up some of the benefits of other classes that was lacking from BF3.  For example, the recon class can now be used as a run and gun class that also has the ability to set motion sensors and remote spawn points for example.  And the support class can be used as a mid to long range marksman unit with the ability to restock fellow soldiers from safe distances outside the main fray.  The possibilities are exciting and quite interesting.

Unfortunately, there are still some things to be ironed out within the Battlfield franchise and the most inconvenient and cumbersome element of the game is its dependence on EA’s battlelog companion application.  Battlelog was manageable for BF3, but with so many possible configurations and new statistical data tied to BF4, the user interface has become more cluttered and confusing than ever.  Stat tracking is often delayed, and will sometimes take hours to update with weapon or accessory unlocks that were earned during matches which negates the convenience of configuring before launching multiplayer sessions. 

Furthermore, configuring and saving a class setup often fails to change in game load outs thereby forcing players to rely on in game tools anyway.  Other functions such as server browsing and social media options work well enough, but there are too many layers to filter through in order to complete the most meaningful tasks efficiently.  Long story short, Battlelog is more of a hindrance than a help, and it’s confusing that EA still insists upon attaching the application to all of its online shooters.  It will be interesting to see if Titanfall will employ the system in the future as well.

Another bane to BF4 multiplayer that has persisted from BF3 is the game’s overly obtrusive graphical overlay.  There is often too much information on the screen to decipher what is going on during more intense gameplay.  Objective identifiers are bold, and lack transparency, and friend or foe designators continue to be ineffective.  Enemy soldiers are easily mistaken for friendlies as the gamer tags of your teammates show up from behind walls, and other visual data makes it difficult to see distant enemies.  A simple fix would be to allow players to adjust UI element opacity in the game menus as other titles have done, but no such option exists. 

Bloom and motion blur seem to have been toned down in multiplayer, but it would be nice to have the option to reduce bloom the same way you can lower motion blur.  Too many bright objects on the screen at one time only add to the confusion of combat.  In game menus are easy to navigate, and it’s apparent that DICE has developed a simple and effective interface to tweak standard settings.  The standard battle map is largely unchanged from previous franchise installments, but squad spawning has been tweaked in an interesting way.  Rather than show a third person view of what your squad mates are facing, you are given a first person helmet cam like view of the action.  The issue with this, however, is that it can make spawning more treacherous than before as you may be dropping right into the view of flanking enemies without any defense or warning. 

The system isn’t broken, but it does make team communication more important.  Team speak is available through the game’s own chat system, however most of the players I have come across still rely on text communication which is fine.  The only issue is that I often focus on what’s in the middle of the screen rather than the top left which is where the text scrolls through. 

Commander mode is something that I haven’t played around with yet, and I expect that it could open up a ton of different play opportunities for those who are capable of frenetic multitasking.  The concept itself is great, and I’m glad they have brought it back.  Sadly, I haven’t seen it utilized to its full potential, and I’m not sure I would be good in the role myself.  It is an interesting feature that definitely warrants further exploration.

You may be exhausted by this point by how long this review is running, but Battlefield games are surprisingly despite their mainstream popularity.  There are many facets to what makes a successful entry into this particular franchise, and the most important thing is that the core concepts of past iterations shine through while other additions are made.  BF4 is more than a polished re skin of its most recent predecessor, and that’s what makes each new installment worthwhile.  Everything still lives and breathes Battlefield, but there’s enough newness to keep everyone happy.

For now, BF4 is still new to me, and it will take some time to really dig into the multiplayer.  I’ve put just over ten hours into the game, and perhaps several more hours will build my skills to the point where I can more fully enjoy playing as I did back in the Bad Company 2 days.  Perhaps it will take a jump to a next generation console version before I can really feel the joy that is Battlefield.  For now, I’m cautiously enthusiastic about the game, and I like what I have seen thus far.  Only time will tell if DICE can maintain balance without making a mess of things as I feel they did too many times with BF3.  In the meantime, I will be making many more visits to the battlefield.

As always, stay frosty!

~Krimmit