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Last year, Prime Gaming gave us, if I clearly remember, Battlefield 4, Battlefield 1, and Battlefield 5 for PC gaming.
So, thank you, Prime Gaming.
I was not able to pick up Battlefield 4 but luckily, I was able to pick both Battlefield 1 and 5. As a Battlefield fan, I was dying to play this game, I was not able to play it before because I don’t have a video game console and my old PC was not able to run it, so last year was my first time playing this video game. I have to come clean, before playing it I was expecting something boring, hard to play and forgettable; maybe because they rebooted the series and decided to go back to WWI after giving us a modern conflict in both Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4… But I was so wrong.
What happens after Battlefield 4? What happens after something big? You create something bigger, and that is what Battlefield 1 is.
Battlefield 1 was developed by DICE and released by Electronic Arts in October 2016 for Play Station 4, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows as a reboot of the main series. This time, Battlefield take us back to World War 1 or “the war to end all wars” (what a joke). Just like the previous Battlefields, this one also has both campaign and multiplayer mode; but since this entry the Battlefield series has been more focused on the multiplayer mode.
Let’s start talking about the campaign: In the campaign you will find 5 little stories (6 if you count the prologue) portraying different aspects of the war; every story is different from the others and in every story you portray human characters with doubts, sacrifices, feelings of brotherhood, and fighting in a war they don’t want to fight. Unlike the past Battlefield games, the missions on Battlefield 1 have a more sandbox style, despite still having a linear tone you have more freedom than before; you can complete the mission by playing stealthy or transforming yourself into John Wick and bringing the war to them, it’s your choice.
Campaign mode will take you to different places around the globe; in the prologue you will play as a member of the Harlem Hellfighters in France. Then you will play as a British tank pilot, then an American pilot, then as a member of the Italian Arditi uni, then as an Australian messenger and then as a Bedouin rebel working alongside T.E. Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia. Every campaign is different from the others, one campaign can be more challenging, more easy or more fun than the others, but every single one is great and will leave a mark on you.
The narrative throughout the campaign is mind-blowingly emotional and memorable. This easily makes the campaign more eye-catching and also it helps to show you the ravages of war on the protagonist and their fates in each story. If I have to pick one story out of the six, I would pick the one of the Australian messenger: “The Runner”, the fifth one, but the end of the prologue is also excellent, it will leave you speechless waiting for more.
Ok, now let’s talk about what made Battlefield the monster that it is: the multiplayer mode. It features the traditional game modes of past Battlefields with some new features. In the first place, you have the game mode that defined Battlefield: Conquest. A 64-player battle where the objective is to control every capture point to increase your team’s score before the enemy team. It also features other game modes: Domination; Conquest’s little brother, it’s like Conquest but with a smaller map and less duration (10 min approx.), Rush; another Conquest variation where you have to capture 2 points before capturing the other enemy points, Team Deathmatch; a classic one, we don’t need an explanation of this one, and the 2 new modes: War Pigeons; basically a capture the flag where you have to capture a messenger pigeon and later protect it from the enemy, and Operations; a mode which takes places across various maps to simulate a campaign from the war.
But if you have all the DLCs you will have 3 new game modes: Frontlines; a “tug of war” that combines aspects of Operations and Rush, Supply Drop; where both teams will fight over supply drops, and Air Assault; centered on aerial combat.
There are 4 different main classes:
- Assault: The primary anti-vehicle class. Assault classes can use machine pistols, sub-machine guns and shotguns. They contribute with dynamite or anti-tank grenades to destroy vehicles.
- Medic: They focus on healing or reviving teammates. They use semi-automatic rifles or fully automatic rifles.
- Support: Supports use light-machine guns and semi-automatic carbines. They contribute to the team replenishing teammates’ ammo or repairing vehicles or stationary weapons.
- Scout: My personal favorite. Scouts are the snipers of the team, they use lever-action and bolt-action service rifles. They contribute to the team spotting enemies with a flare gun or with a periscope.
Technically speaking, Battlefield 1 is beautiful. The game looks great because the graphic motor, Frostbite, employs a technique that imparts photo-realism and is supported by eye-catching lightning and shading effects. On the other hand, the scenarios have small details that are only evident when you scrutinize the screen with a magnifying glass. Certainly, an outstanding technical achievement.
The sound section is immaculate, because of additional fidelity it offers dynamism and you can realize that while transitioning from open fields to bunkers. The noise from explosions is shocking and the guns sound very realistic. By the way, the headshot sound is one of the best sounds you can hear from a videogame, its perfect.
Did I enjoy Battlefield 1? Yes, absolutely yes. In the beginning its hard to play but it is still fun. Despite losing, it is still fun, not many games achieve that experience. The moment you understand how to “exactly” play, you will find yourself so immersed in the game that you will play non—stop for hours and hours, and that is if you are playing alone, if you play with your friends, it is 5 times more fun and immersive. I haven’t played Battlefield 2042 but it has been critically panned since its launch so I expect it is quite bad. But, is Battlefield 1 better than Battlefield 4? Yes, it is. Is Battlefield 1 better than Battlefield 5? Yes, it is. Battlefield 1 is hands down, the best Battlefield until now, period.
