My time with Battlefield: Hardline consisted of playing a 16 versus 16 match on the Blood Money mode. Essentially how the mode works is criminals and police scramble to retrieve money set directly in the middle of the map before taking it back to their armored truck. The important thing to note is that you can not only kill enemies carrying cash to prevent the other team from increasing their points, but camp near the turn-in area and make the process of acquiring money and turning it in a nightmare for them.
With 32 players battling for this precious resource placed at only one location, you can bet there was a lot of mayhem. Battlefield has always had a tendency to spread combat around a large map. In Hardline, everything is much more focused, and even the maps are smaller. As such, the level of chaos is much akin to something like Team Fortress 2 or other games where choke points and a limited number of objectives push teams against each other in hot spots. It’s chaotic, and requires delicate maneuvering to make sure you don’t die unnecessarily.
The chaos certainly isn’t a bad thing. Frostbite 3 is a remarkable engine with impressive destructible environments and visuals. There are moments where I felt I was in a movie, pinned behind a wall by suppression fire, unknowing that a rocket was about to destroy the only cover I had. Other times I would see several vehicles roll in to set up a defensive perimeter. Players would exit their vehicles and use them as cover. Given how electrifying the audio in the game is, and how impactful the effects are, it was a real treat to experience something like that. I don’t really think any other first-person shooter series has really nailed the atmosphere of intense combat situations quite like Battlefield, especially Battlefield: Hardline.
Hardline‘s theme is one that I really enjoy. Although Blood Money wasn’t the best mode for demonstrating the game’s criminals vs police system, it was a joy to play. Heist, Rescue, and Hotwire Mode are sure to be immensely popular once the game is out, but unfortunately weren’t playable at E3. If you enjoy the PayDay games, or really any first-person shooter where teamwork is emphasized over the Rambo lone wolf types, this is a game that you can easily fall in love with.
My only gripes with the demo were the framerate, which I imagine will be fixed during the next few months of development, and having to play with a controller. I prefer to play Battlefield games on a keyboard & mouse, and consequently my KDR suffered (9-10… yuck). But hey, I did run over a couple guys on my police motorcycle. That made up for it IMO.
Battlefield: Hardline is shaping up to be this year’s hottest shooter. It’ll be available on October 21st for multiple platforms.
