Battlefield: Hardline review

[Tobal]

I came to BF after long break, played 1942 for a long time when it was released, and dabbled in 1943 arcade release (for well over 100 hours) so the BF4 experience was all new to me after spending most of my online FPS time with COD or CS, I didn't go with previous BF's due to the low player counts on consoles and thought this new gen 64player is what its all about for BF(and it is), and I will say infantry vs infantry is just about serviceable for the chaos the entire BF experience is about, to slap hardline's mostly infantry vs infantry combat into that engine exposes the low response times, and shoves in a carry the bomb/flag to the destination and conquest mode already in BF over some lazy graphics. Add to that Hotwire as the only inventive mode, which really is just mobile conquest, it feels like mod right out the pc late90's/mid 00 scene. Your "Fun" is situational, getting good K/D in HL does not make it a good game(or a team player), and I'm betting its mostly down to camping the exit as a cop instead of rushing to defuse or letting your team mates carrying the bomb and sitting back ticking cops. In a games of heist which are skill balanced and players know where the choke points are the best you can hope for 2:1, and don't get me started on the respawn points in heist, it slow slog back if your teams down to get back to the action. Once the real game begins and the large skill base of "in-it for free" players as gone you'll be very likely matched against more skilful players and be right back low K/D again, will it still be "fun" ?

BF4 main problem (outside the initial exp hump) is the skill balance, 1 team of 4 or 5 people (usually a clan) can run a game and more so with a commander backing them up which make counter-attacks and sneaking up on a group useless if there's a constant UVA on you. I ended up in the 10 games i played yesterday 3 of them being beaten back into the base with ***** firing into the spawn, and another 4 lost by huge margins due to the players not working in teams, not doing the basic's which is keep your 1st base closest to spawn under control, so, so many times once a foothold is set in it makes it hard for armour to get out the door unscathed.

BF4 at its best when your working together (unsurprisingly this tends happen when others from the forum join me or i end up team leader and can issue orders) and mixing up what your doing minute to minute between driving vehicles, infantry flag captures, LMG suppression(I love wasting 200 rounds at suckers in the distance) and hunting the top players in safe their tanks and choppers.

[Synthesthesia]

Your "Fun" is situational,

Isn't this the case for any online game?

getting good K/D in HL does not make it a good game(or a team player), and I'm betting its mostly down to camping the exit as a cop instead of rushing to defuse or letting your team mates carrying the bomb and sitting back ticking cops.

Nice. Presume I'm a crappy player... Nope, usually I was in the action with my Operator class, protecting the carrier or the vault. Other times I'd cover the exit points as a Sniper on heist.

Plus, even if I did play like that, who cares? I can play it how I like. If I'm buying a game, it's my choice how I play it, not yours or anyone else's idea of how it "should" be played.

I enjoyed it. That makes it a good game to me. What other merit is there really to judge a game for? After you strip graphics etc away, what I care about is fun. This had that in spades for me, and I couldn't care less if that makes it a good game to you, it is to me. And that's the way I judge any game I play. And it's the reason I've sold Advanced Warfare, because it's garbage online IMO. That doesn't mean others can't like it- it just means I don't. Just like BF4.

In a games of heist which are skill balanced and players know where the choke points are the best you can hope for 2:1, and don't get me started on the respawn points in heist, it slow slog back if your teams down to get back to the action.

Hah! It's a lot worse for that in BF4. You can go for literally 5 minutes without seeing another player on some of the maps.

Once the real game begins and the large skill base of "in-it for free" players as gone you'll be very likely matched against more skilful players and be right back low K/D again, will it still be "fun" ?

Yes, because I prefer the way it plays. The weapons feel more accurate, I prefer the maps and even when I did poorly (there were a few matches I did) I still enjoyed the game because I was working towards the objective, and found that fun/ engaging. I've never felt like that in BF4. Not once.

[Tobal]

You can play the game how you like but your post read exactly as "this game is fun because I've got a good K/D", "BF4 is bad because I'd die everytime I spawn" and responding to how well you played the game does not "IMO" make it better or worse than BF4, when in fact the gunplay is an exact copy of BF4 so saying it your not seeing the same problem like double deaths and feeling hard done by who fired 1st is part and parcel of both games. For me its is BF4 with cutdown equip for classes, 3 modes(are their more?) and some pretty dull looking and playing maps (I would say the 1st HL beta heist map which is a hotwire map this time round is a lot better than the bank heist one in the 2nd beta) , nothing about it for me says this is a ?45/55 game or even more if you season pass it.

how you go 5 minutes in 64player map without seeing anyone is beyond me, your posts on BF4 sound like your throwing your toy's out of the pram as the exp curve at the start is to much of a grind, though I'd say the only class that is hard going at the start is support, no good starting LMG and C4 and mortar are along way from unlocking.

[Neon Ignition]

To me, the game's appeal is that it's somewhat out of tone with BF4. It's not mechanically massively different (though to me aiming does feel a little smoother than in BF4) but the Heist Map that was in the Alpha has been cracking fun in both modes they've demo'd. In the Alpha, once the verticality came into play it really shone as well and there are perks to utilising the whole map whereas even in BF4 there's a lot of maps with a lot of dead space in them. The Bank Job map in the Beta is really solid too, not sure how well it will adapt to the other modes but it's great within the Beta's context. Dust Bowl is probably the one I'm most indifferent too, it's pretty sparse and needs more to it to be honest. I've never felt the action was less immediate than in BF4 though, if anything the opposite.

I can easily see how for some it's not different enough to battle off the map pack vibe. There's going to be seven modes on launch so it should hold up fine, hopefully more will be added in updates later and this game so far does feel a bit better geared for smaller playfield modes than BF3 and 4 were. Getting mine for ?35 as well so not to pricey a shell out considering the hours it'll see.

[Synthesthesia]

You can play the game how you like but your post read exactly as "this game is fun because I've got a good K/D", "BF4 is bad because I'd die everytime I spawn" and responding to how well you played the game does not "IMO" make it better or worse than BF4, when in fact the gunplay is an exact copy of BF4 so saying it your not seeing the same problem like double deaths and feeling hard done by who fired 1st is part and parcel of both games. For me its is BF4 with cutdown equip for classes, 3 modes(are their more?) and some pretty dull looking and playing maps (I would say the 1st HL beta heist map which is a hotwire map this time round is a lot better than the bank heist one in the 2nd beta) , nothing about it for me says this is a ?45/55 game or even more if you season pass it.

how you go 5 minutes in 64player map without seeing anyone is beyond me, your posts on BF4 sound like your throwing your toy's out of the pram as the exp curve at the start is to much of a grind, though I'd say the only class that is hard going at the start is support, no good starting LMG and C4 and mortar are along way from unlocking.

I'm done talking with someone who finds the need to personally insult someone to support their argument. I've never needed to use the ignore list before, but you're on there now.

To me, the game's appeal is that it's somewhat out of tone with BF4. It's not mechanically massively different (though to me aiming does feel a little smoother than in BF4) but the Heist Map that was in the Alpha has been cracking fun in both modes they've demo'd. In the Alpha, once the verticality came into play it really shone as well and there are perks to utilising the whole map whereas even in BF4 there's a lot of maps with a lot of dead space in them. The Bank Job map in the Beta is really solid too, not sure how well it will adapt to the other modes but it's great within the Beta's context. Dust Bowl is probably the one I'm most indifferent too, it's pretty sparse and needs more to it to be honest. I've never felt the action was less immediate than in BF4 though, if anything the opposite.

I can easily see how for some it's not different enough to battle off the map pack vibe. There's going to be seven modes on launch so it should hold up fine, hopefully more will be added in updates later and this game so far does feel a bit better geared for smaller playfield modes than BF3 and 4 were. Getting mine for ?35 as well so not to pricey a shell out considering the hours it'll see.

Pretty much agree with what you said, and I can agree with why people are saying it's a map pack too- I just think BF3-4 was exactly the same with (IMO) less changes and no one seemed to say anything for that.

Where are you getting it for ?35 if you don't mind me asking?

[Neon Ignition]

Yup, to an extent, if it weren't for going from PS3 BF3 to PS4 BF4 and the shift to 64 players I think BF4 would have really struggled with me as it was really similar.

I've ordered mine from Rakuten.co.uk. If you order within (I think) the next three days and use FEBGIFT10 in the basket discount code box at checkout it will knock a full ?10 off the current listing of ?45. If you have a log in for Play.com just log into Rakuten with that, same owners

[Tobal]

Certainly a new low bar for getting upset over nothing but a disagreement of opinions.

Hardline will initially do well as it'll likely have no new competition until Battlefront/new COD is out, and BF4 getting on in years. With the quality of the maps show so far I don't hold out hope it will hold on to player base, its not like all the maps needed to be based in USA, and mixing up the locals with London/paris/Tokyo city maps or some beach town would help.

[Synthesthesia]

Yup, to an extent, if it weren't for going from PS3 BF3 to PS4 BF4 and the shift to 64 players I think BF4 would have really struggled with me as it was really similar.

I've ordered mine from Rakuten.co.uk. If you order within (I think) the next three days and use FEBGIFT10 in the basket discount code box at checkout it will knock a full ?10 off the current listing of ?45. If you have a log in for Play.com just log into Rakuten with that, same owners

Thank you very much! Wasn't sure if I wanted PS4/ Xbox One version but saving ?5 swayed me to Xbox. Plus I prefer the controller!

[Neon Ignition]

So, jumped straight into the multiplayer on this after it arrived today and despite some tweaks to the visuals it's pretty much as was known. Despite the obvious similarities to the main series it does feel different from BF4 to me purely out of being a faster paced game, I prefer the smoothness and speed of the aiming in this to the last game. I've veered straight towards the very easy to grab XP Hotwire mode and the Blood Money mode from the alpha.

Probably the biggest thing that's going to impact the game is the varying quality of the maps. All the bets ones by quite some margin are the city based building maps with lots of verticality and approaches to objectives. Half the maps are fairly standard open maps such as a couple of containers and small buildings in a field etc. It's the multi-floored, complex structures that add a lot to this so the direction the DLC goes in will have a big impact too.

It's not going to rock the experiences of seasoned BF players but the mp is very smooth and solid from the get go and good fun too so far, interested to see how the maps hold on other modes to see where my fave will lie

[djtickle]

Certainly a new low bar for getting upset over nothing but a disagreement of opinions.

Hardline will initially do well as it'll likely have no new competition until Battlefront/new COD is out, and BF4 getting on in years. With the quality of the maps show so far I don't hold out hope it will hold on to player base, its not like all the maps needed to be based in USA, and mixing up the locals with London/paris/Tokyo city maps or some beach town would help.

Wasn't planning on doing but picked this up for this reason. I'm board of all my other FPS's so needed something new to put me on!

[darkangel]

After spending so, SO many hours unlocking weapons and mods on BF4 for my perfect load out, I just don't have the energy to start from scratch on Hardline. I don't buy the unlocks on PSN because I feel that's just cheating, buying load outs on PSN so you have an easier time online shows no skill, it's cheating pure and simple imo.

I am interested in Hardline's campaign mode though, I have watched Stone Mountain 64 doing a play through on youtube and it seems great, far more fleshed out then what Dice have done in their campaign mode which is nothing more then a paint by numbers, boring as hell shooting gallery imo.

[EDDIE M0NS00N]

So these teaks to the visuals. Are they much improved compared to their pretty terrible look in the beta (xbox one version btw)?

[nonny]

I'm liking it. The maps are fine to me, a good mix and variety across the modes. Really what sets it apart from the other series entries is the modes. Heist and Hotwire are gold, and Rescue feels like a nice nod to Rainbow Six.

It's actually more fun than BF3 or BF4 to me but I can see how it would upset the purists. It's just good dumb fun.

[Uli]

i wish it was more of a nod to Rainbow Six. as far as i know there is no co-op in the game, it's all competitive, right?

[Neon Ignition]

Ironically, I'm now feeling myself in a position of climb down with this game after a few more days play.

The more I sink my teeth into the mp the more I'm finding myself being turned off by the game. I'll state from the outset that I do think there's a sense of general BF/online FPS fatigue that is having a factor to it but there's other factors that the more I play the more prevalent they get.

For anyone concerned about getting burnt by issues the way BF4 did for so long, there's absolutely nothing to worry about. So far the game is absolutely rock solid, I haven't had any technical issues whilst in a match at all. What's sitting in my way really is a series of small design factors that putting a halt on my enjoyment. The first of which is a feeling of... restriction from the multiplayer modes. Whilst there are several on offer you get a sense that there's too much similarity between them. When you boil them down it's pretty much TDM or CTF, Hotwire is the same but the heavy vehicle slant shakes it up a bit.

The problem with Hotwire, which quickly becomes a much played mode due to the easy XP grind, is it doesn't take very long to get too good at it. You pretty much spawn, mill about till you can get one of the vehicles, then loop around the map. you may die once or twice but typically you'll spend the whole match driving around whilst your XP counter rises. It doesn't take too long to start to grow a bit weary of what quickly feels like nothing more than a grinding exercise.

Heist and Blood Money are almost one and the same. Both are held back quite a bit by Visceral placing the loot areas in a fixed location, particularly in Heist where it could easily have been in two separate locations. Most of the time, between the grenades, vehicle gunnery, rocket launcher pickups and snipers, the loot points descend into death spams and the whole match sits in that same situation.

So, you eventually find yourself headed to familiar territory with Conquest. I don't know if it's literally the case or just feels like it but I feel a sense that the maps are too small for this mode to work well in this game. Nearly every corner feels busy with players and with so little verticality or scale to most of the maps, to be honest it starts to get a feel of CoD more as you go.

Health seems to deplete too quickly as well, most times you die you have that sense of one gunshot and you're out which with so many players is too common an occurance, especially when it's quickly becoming the case that snipers are able to set up shop in hard to reach high points and pick players off in single shots, even back at the default home base which is typically close to action rather than out on its own like in BF4.

The Alpha/Beta's Downtown map is the only one with varying approaches, size, large scale buildings etc to escape most of these troubles which is a shame given how much time I've already sunk into this map. The cops and robbers angle definitely has promise, but I can't shake the feeling that if Activision ever wanted to shake up CoD's 'Oo-ra' image, that franchise would be much better suited to the concept given it's greater focus on street level player-to-player play. It would also be a great out for the dev as a method of legitimately downscaling the killstreaks etc. In Battlefield, there's a sense of being short changed.

It's clear Visceral has done a cracking job on their first attempt with the franchise, there's honestly a lot of polish in places on the game and there's something to it... just not enough that I see myself sinking hour after hour in it or picking up the map packs etc.

I've only dabbled with the single player so it's very early impressions, so far there's been a lot of hand holding to it but I like the style and so far I haven't seen anything that warrants the frown facing it's received. It's a BF campaign, nothing more or less really, if it delivers a decent amount of smooth hollywood action it might even end up being one of the better BF campaigns.

In short, it's solid all round fun as a package. Just, for me, not one feeling balanced enough online or expansive enough in approaches to hold my interest longer than your usual game release.