Battlefield Hardline Review
Developer Visceral
Publisher EA
Platform Gen 3, Gen 4 & PC.
Release Date 20th March 2015
Battlefield Hardline aims to put a fresh twist on the Battlefield series by taking it in a new direction. The cops and robbers theme is a departure from the all-out modern military warfare that players might expect from the series, but worry not shooter fans you will be very happy with what they deliver.
After last summer’s E3 beta fans voiced their opinions on the over militarization of the game, they felt things like RPG’s didn’t quite fit the theme and they were right. The difficult decision was made to push back the release, look at the feedback and refresh the game’s direction. In a sense give the players what they want, not what you think they want.
Out go vehicles synonymous with the series like jets and tanks, and in come vehicles more fitting with the theme like SUV’s and Sedan’s. Out go mortars and UCAV’s, and in come tactical Zip-lines and Tasers. This greater enfaces on ground warfare and tactics along with the increased tempo ensures games are much faster, more rewarding, and ultimately more fun.
Single player Campaign:
Battlefield has never had a good campaign, it is a long running joke at this stage but Hardline puts that to bed. It is not mind blowing or life changing it is just popcorn entertainment. The TV cop show motif runs throughout with clever “last time on” or “next time on” intro and exists from sessions. This along with the Netflix style aesthetic makes you feel like you are watching a show not living a life changing experience. Hardline is very aware of what it is and never tries to be anything else.
Nick Mendoza is the main character; a real “by the book” cop who takes on the straight role. He is surrounded by characters with a lot less scruples than himself that add the flair. The story ebbs and flows from early drug busts, to getting set up and imprisoned, to the eventual retribution. The characters are well developed, the voice acting from some top TV stars, and the decision to hold back on the violence keeps this theme in check throughout.
The level design has really developed and a real effort has been made to move away from a liner corridors that have become so detrimental to this genre. Each mission now feels bigger, even though you still end up going from point A to point B you have some freedom within that path. You also have choice when it comes to approaching enemies. Scanning the situation allows you to identify enemies, weak points, hiding places and alarms, then the choice on how to approach it is yours.
As a cop you should be arresting people not firing off AK-47’s, this is where Hardline sets itself apart from a traditional shooter where you kill indiscriminately. Here you have choice, do you approach a group and flash your badge and hope you can control the situation? Do you distract them to split the group and pick them off one by one? Or if you want, the option is always there to go loud and blast everything in sight with an assault rifle.
I found myself mixing it up a lot, starting with some traditional arrests. I later (after escaping a kidnapping) lost the respect for law and order for that particular group and went a bit Jack Bauer taking people out with a silenced pistol to the back of the head. Occasionally I went Rambo with an assault rifle just for a giggle. Having this freedom means the gameplay is kept fresh as you are not trapped by stealth nor dulled by endless blasting.
You are rewarded however for silent takedowns. Each arrest gives bonus expert points that unlock better guns and gadgets. Locating enemies with warrants on their heads yield greater reward. You also have evidence to collect within each mission that adds background to the story. This does offer some replay-ability for those who like to 100% games or just for those who are curious about how much freedom there really is.
Multiplayer:
This is the bread and butter of the series and why everyone plays Battlefield. While on the surface this looks like Battlefield the more time you spend with it the more it reveals its own character. The new maps, new modes, new character designs and overall improvements to shooting and network performance ensure this is a brilliant yet different addition to the Battlefield series. If you want big open spaces and tanks you can play BF4, if you want fast action play BFH. You can now have your cake and eat it!
As there are a number of new modes let’s have a quick look.
Hotwire is one of the more popular modes, it is essentially conquest but the capture points are vehicles. You steal a vehicle and drive it at top speed to capture it. This means the game is always moving and there are no annoying clusters that turn into mini team death matches.
Heist might be the mode that fits the theme the best, it is a bank job. The robbers break in and steal the money and get to the getaway point, and the cops try to stop them. With smaller numbers this is great fun, but once it gets over 32 players it turns into a messy affair.
Blood Money is another cash based mode, a pile of cash needs to be recovered. Both sides battle to grab and escape with bags of cash. A nice risk reward mechanic is at play here. The longer you stay around stuffing your bag with cash the more likely you are to get shot and lose it all. The team with the most cash at the end wins.
Hostage Rescue is one of the more competitive modes aimed at E-sports. This 5 v 5 one life each mode sees the cops trying to rescue two hostages and the robbers stop them. It is tense and requires strong team work and tactics.
Crosshair is the reverse where the cops must protect a high value VIP on his way to court. The criminals have a hit out on him and will stop at nothing to take him out.
There are also Team Death Match and Conquest modes that everyone is familiar with at this stage. Conquest large is the only mode that doesn’t quite work as well as the others.
The new maps are really well designed; they offer a lot of variety from wide open spaces to tight close encounters. These are some of the best maps I have played on and a lot of credit goes to the design team for making them work so well. There is even a lot of variety within the maps themselves. The mansion for example offers a tall building to take over while outside it has large open spaces. The grappling hook and zip lines add to the number of routes around maps ensuring you are never really too safe in any spot.
Overall: Hardline doesn’t take itself too seriously, it is having fun and that shines through. We love Battlefield 4 but sometimes it can be a bit intense and Hardline offers something different. Since launch I have heard over and over from players that they are having fun again and this is the key. Hardline is fun, it is fast and it is rewarding.
A solid campaign matched with an amazing multiplayer ensure a great game, along with the promise of much more to come with Premium, Hardline comes highly recommended.
SCORE 4/5
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