Friday, June 30, 2017

Game Review: Battlefield 1

                          The image above belongs to its respective owner, not me 

Hello Enthusiasts,

A lot of folks are familiar with the Second World War, thanks to a number of great books, shows, movies, and games. WWI though? Not nearly as much has been dedicated to that war, and likely because it was not nearly as cut-and-dry as WWII. Luckily, today's game has provided us with a bit of a history lesson on the first Great War. That's right, today I will be reviewing the 2016 game Battlefield 1, and while you may not care as much for a game like this, I still want to mention that there may be some Spoilers Below.

As mentioned, this game takes place during the war to end all wars. Once you beat what I think is an awesome tutorial mission, you are given the option of five different campaigns, each one focusing on a different aspect of the game to learn. You have one focused on planes, one on tanks, one on using heavy troops, etc. As you work through each mission, you get to learn about the protagonist for that story line, and each one will give you a bit of a lesson on that aspect of the war. And it wouldn't be a Battlefield game without a multiplayer mode, which I will touch on more soon.

This game has earned several positives from me here. The game looks great, especially the character models. The controls feel natural (playing on a PS4), and it didn't take long at all for me to not only learn them, but feel very comfortable with them. I also really appreciated the attention that the single-player game was given, seeing as most people will buy this just for the multiplayer. The campaigns are difficult as you go through them, and I became very invested in several of the characters (though my favorite one dies at the end of theirs). In terms of the history, this game does take some liberties, but does try to stay within the confines of history whenever it can. I think one of my favorite moments in the game is the tutorial, which I mentioned loving before. The reason I think it's so great is because you will be put into a soldier, fight against the enemy, and when you die (and you will), that soldier is dead, you move on to a different one. It shows the horrors on WWI, and that it wasn't am easy fight by any stretch of the imagination.

And yes, of course, the multiplayer is a lot of fun, very reminiscent of Battlefield 1942 with its fairly large maps and wide variety of vehicles to choose from. Even though you will likely play against people that are far better than you due to the time they've had to practice and get better, it generally doesn't feel like you can't accomplish anything, as long as you don't have squad members backing out. The multiplayer quickmatches aren't over as soon as they begin either, as they seem to usually last (in my experience) about 25 minutes each. There are also other modes to search for specific servers or go on a very long multiplayer campaign that will moving from one match to the next to take over a theater of the war. It is all a lot of fun, and I'm happy to see some variety.

A couple of negatives to speak on for this game (though not many). I think the game could have benefited a little with more customization options for online, as you can't set your soldier up with any variation of clothing or armor for others to see online. I have also been caught more than once in multiplayer where several members of my squad will drop out if we start to fall behind, making it near impossible for me to pull out a victory. With that, I think the game could do with penalties for dropping out, similar to what Overwatch does. These are somewhat minor things, but still, these are things that could easily be fixed in the game.

Overall, this is a lot of fun. If you're a fan of FPS games at all, you will likely enjoy this one. If you like games with well-built multiplayer modes, this one's for you. Sire, there are some things that don't 100% work for me, but this is a game that overcomes any criticism I throw at it.

I give Battlefield 1 a 9 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast

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