The Battlefield community is something of an uphill success story. The past year or so has seen it grow with a brand new game on the horizon and the fruition of creativity from masses of community members. Battlefield: Hardline drew some serious skepticism when first announced back at E3. Many fans who still felt belittled by the poor launch of Battlefield 4 were no longer enthusiastic about the franchise in it’s given state. The concept, the development team, and whether it would work correctly under the frostbite engine were worrying questions.
The initial beta that dropped during E3 propped up even more questions for the development team to answer. Many felt the original beta was not what they hoped for with it even being branded as a DLC by the biggest of pessimists. With that information in their hands, the team at Visceral took the difficult but wise decision to delay the game to March of this year.
It’s been months since the public last got their hands on Battlefield: Hardline‘s multiplayer. Visceral have established an entire field of feedback collection from fans via social media, battlelog (forums), reddit, YouTube content and from preview events. At the final hurdle, with just over a month till launch a new Beta is launching on February 3rd and I was lucky enough to get hands-on early.
What first strikes you when playing the beta is just how astoundingly different Hardline looks and feels since the E3 beta. The colour pallet looks refined and how the game handles feels much snappier and responsive. You can see clearly how time and feedback certainly improved on an unfinished formula.
Many player-based suggestions such as the removal of rocket launchers as gadget have been implemented to good effect. Issues with the balancing of gadgets and weaponry has been resolved also. In fact, a vast majority of suggestions made by the community can be witnessed and used first-hand.
It’s an impressive feat to have a development team which has listened so tentatively to fans and made more than adequate improvements. The team at Visceral have made it boldly clear that this new beta is critical to collecting information and making any vital or small changes to the title before it launches in March.
Before we got underway at the event the developers outlined the corner stones of their game, what they had based their entire development process on from the ground up. First was fun, they wanted Hardline at any possible moment to be enjoyable to play and for you to have a good time. Action, they hoped to achieve a high-octane action-packed style of gameplay that would never feature a dull moment. Finally, strategy, they wanted Hardline to be tactical and reward players for working together in coordination. These aspects really can be admired when you actually play. As promised, the beta never featured a dull moment, crazy explosions and objective play made the game action-filled. The map design and structure of gameplay also attuned to the call for strategical emphasis.
Overall, what was outlined was delivered with solid emphasis on enjoyment and being active about community feedback. Even after the session developers took time to record a feedback session for in-house use. I as a fan, find it such an asset that we are given the opportunity to change vast amounts of a game through the simplicity of social media. It’s a rarity at any triple-A level to see a development team with such keen ears and a team who are willing to act upon what they have heard as soon as possible.
Dustbowl
One of the maps featured in the beta is set state-side in the sandy out-back. “Dustbowl” features a vastly open space, with an array of fully accessible buildings. The map’s riddled with roads and intersections which are open to mass amounts of fire from the surrounding structures. This particular map also emphasizes tactility; players can accommodate buildings at intersections to clamp down on infantry and vehicular movement across the map.
Infantry-centric gameplay can be found at key structures such as the diner and small run-down motel in the middle of the map. These key structures can also house battle-pickups, which is your chance at receiving a superior weapon such as an LMG or RPG to cause mayhem on the battlefield.
Coordination is key, teams who adopt the role of holding down sectors of the map in a “land-grab” style can cause damage at objectives and reduce the enemy teams efficiency. During the game a brief sandstorm passes through the map, this seriously distorts vision and makes it difficult to venture anywhere. Vehicles become essentially useless and infantry should seek cover in order not to be picked off in the storm.
Downtown
Set in the heart of LA, downtown is a map that features vast skyscrapers with accessible rooftops. In between lies a string of roads which can become fiercely contested in pursuits and incredibly dangerous for any J-walkers. On the rooftops players can battle for aerial supremacy. Teams with control of the roofs have a vantage point for picking off infantry below. They also have the option to use zip-lines to cover large amounts of space in a short amount of time.
Tactically, teams will contest the roads often, the team with more muscle and fire-power there will constrict what the movement of the opposition. More close-quarters combat can be found inside the skyscrapers with players battling to gain control of the LA skyline. Vehicular gameplay is prominent here, teams with large quantities of cars on the road or helicopters patrolling the sky will most likely dictate the flow of the game and the final result.
Bank Job
Definitely my favourite map in the beta, Bank job consists of a maximum security vault at the centre of the map. Players will have to utilize outside roads, nearby stores and rooftops to gain entry into the main structure. Inside teams will have to contest control of the building through close-quarters fire-fights, here teams with the most diversity and intellect will suffice.
In such tight spaces players who make use of shotguns and SMG’s will find themselves vastly more superior to assault and battle-rifle counterparts. The interior features different levels of verticality, a vault, bullet-proof glass and even defibrillators available on the wall to save any downed squad-mates. The rooftop provides a more tactical entry point with even the ability to blast your way into the vault from above. Players should be ready for fast-switching dynamics of play. One minute the fight will be to hold down the bank, the next it will be a rush to see who can lock down the surrounding streets. Bank Job looks to be a fan-favorite.
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Overall the Beta is a massive success, players have the chance to witness their feedback first hand and play in three fantastic maps with three awesome modes, Heists, Conquest and Hotwire mode. A beta is pivotal for the Visceral team to expand on what has already been a strong work ethic and the future for Battlefield Hardline looks incredibly promising. If you want some hands on footage of the game, check down below.
Battlefield Hardline Beta: Bank Job Overview