Battlefield 4 Beta

DICE has released the open beta for their upcoming title Battlefield 4 and I decided to give it a try. Fortunately I was pleased to see that the FPS shooter maintained the same calamity and intense combat that the series is known for. I’ve played my share of Battlefield titles, such as Battlefield 3 and Battlefield Bad Company 2, so I wasn’t entering DICE’s beta without having some prior experience. While the beta didn’t showcase Levolution in a stunning way I was gradually introduced to new refinements and changes that I can expect from the final product. Overall I was able to enter matches and play the beta without any issues, something that I doubted from the beginning. 

When entering the demo I was introduced to the classic blue and orange color hue from Battlefield 3 and given two gameplay options, Domination and Conquest, as well as one map called Siege of Shanghai. The new battle interface not only provided relevant battle information and class selection but a screen that showed what the person or place I was about to spawn. The presentation did shock me, I was expecting a graphical upgrade but instead was presented with something that looked similar to Battlefield 3. Perhaps this was to ensure that the beta would be a smaller download or perhaps because I was playing on a current generation console. Regardless I wasn’t impressed. 

Those familiar will the franchise will find a lot of old concepts returning for Battlefield 4. Like Battlefield 3 you’ll have access to four classes that include Assault, Engineer, Support, and Recon: each class had a specific roles and abilities. By playing specific classes you’ll earn experience and ribbons to earn new equipment for that class, the same system has been applied to vehicles. By completing objectives you can also collect custom dog tags for personal use. By performing certain tasks within a match you’ll earn ribbons that will grant the player extra experience and improve each of your soldiers.

DICE is encouraging fans to go Premium this year. Those who invest in Battlefield Premium is gain access to 5 expansion packs called China Rising, Naval Strike, Chinese Armada, Dragon’s teeth, and refined Battlefield 3 maps using Frostbite 3 called Second Assault. Other rewards include two week early access to new cosmetic items, which are released weekly, exclusive challenges,  double XP events, priority access to servers, extra access to statistics database, and one gold Battlepack for every month for the next twelve months. Battlepacks are items that are obtained by gaining enough experience and used to unlock addition content within Battlefield 4. If you plan to invest a significant amount of time in Battlefield 4 you might want to consider spending extra for the premium service this time. 

As you would expect Domination and Conquest haven’t changed from past Battlefield games. In Domination and in Conquest two teams must control and defend 3 points on the map while a ticket counter continues to decrease depending on how fast your allies die and how many flags you’re in control of. In Domination players are limited to a small portion of Siege of Shanghai, making for an extremely frantic fight for all three points leading to quick deaths. In Conquest players have access to the entire map giving players access to tanks, helicopters, and other land vehicles. Most importantly you finally make the skyscraper fall and see the giant building crumble before your eyes as seen at E3. 

DICE has added new refinements to their beloved formula. Powerful weapons are littered through the environment and cannot be swapped out for later use. For those who run out of ammunition or need added power this could benefit players looking for a well-placed grenade launcher. Also littered throughout the environment are interactive pieces that can raise bridges and call elevators for surprise attacks or getting on top of buildings. Kits have also been changed and no longer have a continuous aura effect, instead must be picked up for one time use. Other changes include the ability to manually call out for supplies, targets, and specific orders but since using this command requires you to hold down the same trigger used for spotting get ready for a lot of mis-tapped inputs.

Speaking of spotting, the range you can spot enemies has been reduced. Players can no longer target enemies from a certain distance. Plus is complemented with the inability to see your teammates, outside your radar, from a specific distance. I was unable to determine whether a specific player was on my team because the blue or green GUI didn’t appear until that player came closer. If enemy players does get to close enough than you can still knife them and steal their tags. However DICE has added a new counter-attack that allows you to counter a knife attack under certain circumstances.

The beta is full of graphic errors and issues, but this beta is intended on ensuring those problems will not manifest when Battlefield 4 is final released on current and next-generation systems. The traditional formula has returned with new additions and tweaks that will be familiar to long-term fans but welcome newcomers, but it’s clear that Battlefield Premium will have a larger role this time around. Right now those hoping to satisfy their desire for Battlefield 4 will have to do it on the streets of Shanghai until the final product is released on October 29, 2013 on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Xbox One and PS4 copies will be launch titles for both consoles. 

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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