Preview: Battlefield: Hardline

Battlefield‘s single-player campaigns have had their fair share of Michael Bay action movie moments in recent years, full of bombast and big screen tension but light on exploration, alternate methods of approach and subtlety. While not Thief or Deus Ex, Battlefield: Hardline offers a lot of opportunity for a non-lethal stealth approach, with rewards tied to how well you role play an officer of the law, arresting enemies instead of face shooting them.

Battlefield: Hardline still hits some of those action movie notes — our two level single player demo included a helicopter assisted escape from a skyscraper penthouse that was very Matrix meets Die Hard — but it also scales things back to a character level. Steve Papoutsis, VP and GM of Hardline developer Visceral Games, mentioned several times the crime procedural nature of Hardline, an overarching narrative tying in to individual episodes storylines, right down to ‘previously on’ and ‘next time’ leads. The buddy cop nature of the game is evident in the great back and forth between the playable character Nick Mendoza and his partner Khai, backed up by some impressive voice acting performances from the big name cast (Kelly Hu, Benito Martinez, Nicholas Gonzalez among others).

Hardline wants you to slow down, perhaps even ponder your approach to its challenges. Open combat encounters appear throughout the campaign, we got to try one of the later episodes that offers you several approaches to infiltrating an office building, from a stealthy back entry approach to arming yourself with a machine gun and waltzing through the front door. You can also kit out with a grappling hook to sneak in from above or just get a better vantage point for sniping.

While there will be some situations where shooting your way out is the only option, the majority of the game will offer a non-lethal stealth alternative. There is no punishment for going in guns blazing, but taking a more ‘cop like’ approach will be rewarded with faster gun and upgrade unlocks (as well as the satisfaction of obeying the law). You have plenty of tools at your disposal for stealth: distractions, silent takedowns, a taser and freezing enemies by revealing your police badge, though once open combat begins few foes tend to pay much attention to your instructions or credentials.

Papoutsis made it very clear that ‘ugly’ behaviour like shooting people who have been handcuffed or have their hands up would not be possible, and that while taking a less police style approach wouldn’t be directly punished, there would be no reward for it either. I found Hardline a lot more fun when attempting to play as an officer of the law, yes there were some moments where shooting everybody in the room was the only way out, but when given the chance it was more rewarding to take the civil, stealthy approach.

The best tool in your stealth arsenal is your scanner, which can be used to mark enemies, ensuring they and their vision cones appear on your minimap. It also acts as your ‘detective work’ device. In some scenes you will be forced to search the environment for clues, but this was rather straightforward and didn’t prove very challenging in our demo. Later levels offer this investigative element as an optional task but it won’t leave you feeling like Sherlock Holmes after you complete a case.  Storylines and characters do get fleshed out in some of these investigations, making them worthwhile for those engaged in the narrative.

Hardline does a fantastic job of setting the scene, the bad neighbourhoods of Miami are well detailed and curiosity is usually rewarded with incidental dialogue from NPC’s. There was a trademark level of police procedural cheese in some of the interactions, particularly with the criminal elements in the opening stage and your companions in the later mission.

It almost goes without saying that the shooting is solid, the high standard of Battlefield games is retained in Hardline. The stealth and gadget mechanics integrate smoothly with standard shooter controls, guns feel great and the selection on offer is intimidating. Heavy weapons are shunned in Hardline but just about every type of rifle, handgun and semi automatic is available along with an extensive selection of upgrade options for barrels, sights and grips.

Battlefield: Hardline was a pleasant surprise. I expected Hardline to stick with a well worn series formula but instead it takes a bold direction, telling an engaging, character heavy story in a shooter that focuses as much on stealth as run and gun. The big screen moments will still be there but those left unimpressed by the corridor stroll nature of Battlefield 4’s campaign should take a close look at Hardline, it is doing something different and from my short time with the game, doing it well.