Battlefield 4 (PC) Review Gameplay! (Multiplayer & Campaign)

Hello tech fans! Today we’ve finally have our full review of one of the most anticipated games of 2013, Battlefield 4. Following in the same vein as BF3, Battlefield 4 features updated graphics and environment destructibility thanks to DICE’s new Frostbyte 3 engine.

The game’s textures and details are solid, but what really makes it stand out visually is the number of special effects occuring on screen, with a surprising lack of performance strain. For instance, on the single player campaign’s second level, using our test system which includes a GTX 780 and an i7 4770k processor, we saw average frame rates of  48.8 (ultra), 77 (high), and 119 (medium) while playing on 2560×1440. Taking it down to 1920×1080 improved the average fps to 76.5, 114.6, and 177.1 respectively.

To begin with let’s get the obligatory single player campaign aka tutorial out of the way. Battlefield 4 has taken a stylistic shift compared to BF3, featuring a storyline that’s much more focused on a small group of characters for the entire story who feel a lot more fleshed out personality wise. Despite this, the mode and story itself is still far from memorable, and does little to separate itself from most common modern military FPS game campaigns.

Each mission takes roughly an hour (totaling to around 7 hours of game time), and the story has little in the form of originality. The use of dialogue is also really weird, in that the main character never speaks, ever, and even though you’re technically team leader, you’re constantly being told what to do by teammates that speak for you at all times.  Missions also have a serious Michael Bay obsession, with each mission having at minimum 3 explosions/car crashes/collapsing buildings, during which you lose control and your character passes out for a moment. It’s worth playing through to get multiplayer unlocks, and it’s fun enough to not make it a chore to play through, but in the end it leaves players with no real desire to replay it.

Now of course a direct reason why the single player is this way is because it’s merely a sideshow to the game’s main appeal, online multiplayer. The game’s core is very similar to that of BF3, but there are numerous little tweaks and updates to classes, game modes, and map designs. The class division is still Assault (frontline AR and Medkits), Support (suppressive fire and ammo restock), Engineer (close range/heals and wrecks vehicles), and Recond (long range sniper and tactical info gatherer). Each class has some slight switch ups in load outs and options, including Support getting an airburst rifle and Recon’s being able to equip C4. Guns in general have had some new additions, including multiple scopes, variable firing modes, and sniper rifles having a zeroing option alongside variable zoom. Balance wise the class structure is ok, but BF4 still shares the same issue as the rest of the series, in that large scale maps heavily favor Engineers due to the reliance upon vehicles.

Class balance is really only the smallest change to the game, with DICE placing a heavy emphasis on changes to their map designs and gameplay modes. The big keyword of this game is “Levolution”, the idea that as matches are played, the environment itself changes forcing adjustments to tactics. Some of these features we’re already familiar with, specifically destroyable cover and walls. Maps now however place a much greater emphasis on having interactable objects like closable gates and road blocks. Each map also features one big levolution feature, often times involving some kind of major explosion or structural destruction, leading to something that can affect the map as a whole. Examples of this include collapsing skyscrapers, bridges, to even a smashed in gigantic satellite dish. This has a major impact on gameplay, and is by far the game’s best new feature as it forces teams to adjust tactics once someone decides to trigger an event, and keeps matches from growing stale.

Mode wise there are currently 7 options without DLC, with 5 being returning modes and 2 being brand new. Returning modes include Conquest, Rush, Domination, Team Deathmatch, and Squad Deathmatch. Among the new modes is Defuse, which is basically a Battlefield version of Counter Strike in which opposing teams take turns trying to plant bombs and death is permanent within a given match. The other new mode is a larger scale adaptation of Defuse called Obliteration, where two large teams compete over grabbing a single randomly spawned bomb, simultaneously trying to blow up three key areas for enemies while defending their own. Defuse is a great option for more advanced players looking for a mode that stresses teamwork and communication, whereas obliteration lends itself to a similar crowd as Rush and Conquest.

Additional new features to gameplay and modes include the ability to counter knife in melee, swimming underwater and using your sidearm while swimming, the return of the Commander mode for supporting and directing armies, spectator mode for watching matches, and the all new test range which gives players the chance to try weapons and vehicles in an empty space, so that they can practice their aim and driving skills before taking them online (something vastly needed if you want to be a good helicopter pilot for your team).

Now while many of these changes are welcome, the game is currently suffering some major stability issues in both Single and Multiplayer. Missions and matches are crashing fairly often, though it has been steadily getting better since launch day. While this is of course something that can and hopefully will get fixed soon, it’s very frustrating especially considering how much time and effort can go into some of the more epic large scale matches, and can definitely sour current players if they’re prone to bad luck.

In the end, while BF4 offers a lot of good new upgrades and changes, it does little change the ending lasting experience. Fans will still find it a great game as long as current stability issues don’t frustrate and push them away, and people who’ve tried the series but never found interest will find little to change their minds. A good solid FPS experience made best by playing with an organized group of friends, definitely worth picking up, though it may be worth waiting just a bit to see some fixes in stability issues, or even a good half year to see if it ends up going the same route as BF3 and busts out a Premium edition, saving you $50 bucks in the long run. If you’ve got the game already let us know your thoughts in the comments, and as always thanks for reading Tech of Tomorrow!