Battle through the bugs
AMIDST the chaotic fighting I took a second just to look around at the landscape, the sky reflected in still pools of water, individual blades of grass moving in the breeze – the beauty of nature, and horror of war stunningly juxtaposed.
With this new release, Battlefield has gone back to its World War Two roots, although I can’t help but think there could have been a more inspired setting, especially with Call of Duty: WWII still so fresh in everyone’s minds.
Still, WWII it is, and it’s difficult to knock the look of this game.
Graphically, it’s almost cinematic, which, married with the impressive sound design, creates a pretty immersive environment.
But then the rest of the buggy, part finished game, destroys all that.
Battlefield V was marred by controversy before it was even released.
The announcement trailer saw some fans complaining about a perceived lack of historical accuracy, and the fact there was a focus on female soldiers.
Then there was the fact the game
got a staggered release – meaning some fans were able to play the game almost two weeks before its official launch – as long as they paid extra for the privilege.
The problem with that is that the game they are playing is unfinished – very much a work in progress. There’s a huge day-one patch that should fix a lot of the issues, but there’s more.
The single player campaign won’t be complete until next month – and the Battle Royale mode will be landing some time next March.
It all takes the shine off a game which, at its core, has some of the best gameplay the series has seen in years.
One of the early boasts coming from developer EA DICE, was that Battlefield V would give a neverbefore-seen portrayal of WWII – which is exactly what it delivers.
Much of the action is staged in arenas seasoned war gamers have not seen in FPS a million times before.
The storytelling is gritty, shying away from glorifying tales of war, but never quite vilifying it.
Gameplay wise it’s much more hardcore than previous entries. There’s a limit on health regeneration, the spotting system has been almost entirely stripped out, and the amount of time you have to kill an enemy is reduced.
All of these tweaks somehow add up to creating a better shooter, as you have to adapt your playing style.
There’s a much stronger emphasis on team play, which has been done in a cleverly, subtle way.
Your health no longer regenerates past a certain point, meaning you have to rely on team mates for medkits.
Unlike previous games everyone can now carry a medkit, although only a single pack, unless you’re a Medic.
A word of warning though, it takes an age to revive a team mate if you’re not a Medic, leaving you vulnerable.
Ammunition is harder to come by, with most weapons only coming equipped with two extra magazines at the start – meaning a Support team mate is worth their weight in gold.
These tweaks often saw me retreating in search of my handy team mates, or taking ridiculous risks to scavenge ammunition from enemy corpses.
Different weapons have a weighty and predictable recoil, as opposed to Battlefield I’s point and spray feel – and shoulder-mounted rocket launchers are back, to pick enemy planes out of the sky.
The battles are fast paced and frenetic, although I found myself having to come out of a match, or exit the game all together because of stuck menus that just refused to close.
All-in-all there’s a solid, enjoyable game to be had here, and one that will no doubt emerge from the launch day wreckage over the next few months.
If you just can’t wait, then be prepared to be frustrated by myriad bugs – but if you can wait, then you should find a much more rounded and stable game that you can actually enjoy.
Buy it: £38.99 from cdkeys.com.