Preview: Battlefield: Hardline

So, Battlefield: Hardline has been delayed. Don’t panic friends — it’s a good thing. Battlefield 4’s launch was, frankly, a disaster and EA is rightfully looking to avoid making the same mistakes twice. Many of you will likely have jumped into the game’s recent beta and seen for yourselves what will be offered when Hardline launches in 2015. Details emerged recently surrounding the game’s single player campaign, but let’s focus on the multiplayer Stevivor experienced recently at E3.

The one map available during E3 was suitably titled High Tension as the two matches I played had it in spades. In the first round I played as a criminal and was tasked with busting into a heavily-guarded skyscraper to steal wads upon wads of cold hard cash. Cops swarmed the streets in police cruisers, SWAT vans, on motorcycles and even circled above in choppers waiting to take out any law breakers, all with extreme prejudice.

While it’s important to note that gameplay feels like classic Battlefield, the simple change from a war torn country to the streets of LA has a profound effect on the overall experience. Playing as a criminal — or cop — is much more personal. It hits closer to home in a way that war fails to do. It’s a sad indictment of the state of gaming when war seems so humdrum. We’ve simply seen it far too many times and a change is sorely needed. Granted, Hardline is still all about shooting dudes in the face, but it’s in a much more relatable location and one that — while not wholly original — is an excellent change of pace.

All the hallmarks of Battlefield are present and accounted for in Hardline. Multiple classes to choose from, squad and location spawning, vehicles and of course the series newest trick, Levelution. In ‘High Tension’ the Levelution is, in fact, utterly bonkers. Being set in a major metropolitan area, like downtown LA, there are of course construction works going on all over. Cranes appear in the distance, standing out like great hulking watch towers, just begging to be knocked down. Thankfully, one gigantic crane is situated within the confines of the map and yes, it can be knocked down.

Twisted, crashing, hulking metal gives way to concrete and glass smashing new pathways to the tasty cash and with the crane down the map takes on a whole new personality. With the crane standing, working your way — as either a cop or criminal — to the cash pile or enemy’s van (also full of cash, the currency not the country music legend) is a delicate, deliberate act. Weaving between abandoned cars. Hiding in alleys and avoiding other players a all costs. With the crane down though, the map becomes pure chaos. Movement becomes hasty and confusion reigns. It’s one of the most successful Levelutions in the entire series and truly sets a standard for the remainder of maps.

Playing as a cop was much the same as playing as a criminal albeit with the objective of guarding the cash rather than pocketing it. As I was playing I imagined how a great twist would be to allow players to play dirty and steal cash. Imagine being a crooked cop attempting to play the good guy. If DICE and Visceral could implement such a system I’d be a very happy gamer indeed.

One slight issue I had was that it was never entirely clear to me which vehicles were drivable and which were simply window dressing. Being a urban landscape there are cars and vans literally everywhere, but only a limited number could be interacted with. This may be a product of the game being unfinished, but it would be a massive improvement if usable vehicles were easily distinguishable from those that are just there to add colour.

Battlefield Hardline isn’t a revolution, but it puts a new spin on a rather worn out genre. Sure, it’s still Battlefield, but the changes really help in making it a whole lot more appealing a prospect. Honestly, who didn’t play cops and robbers as a kid? With Hardline you get to do it all over again, and this time, it’s personal…with a vengeance.