After a nearly six month delay, Battlefield: Hardline is almost here. It’s one of the biggest releases for the first half of 2015, and we have high expectations.
Visceral Games is trying a lot of new things with Battlefield: Hardline. Sure, it plays and feels a lot like its predecessors, but it’s the first game in the franchise to stray from a military theme. So, you might be wondering what it all entails. If so, you’ve come to the right place.
Related: 5 Reasons Battlefield: Hardline Has an Uphill Battle Ahead
You can learn everything you need to know about Battlefield: Hardline in the gallery below.
Battlefield: Hardline - Everything You Need to Know
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Potentially the best Battlefield campaign ever
This wouldn't necessarily be difficult to achieve given how generic Battlefield's campaigns have been, but Visceral Games has talked up the single-player in Hardline for nearly a year. It might actually be worth your time.
In Hardline's campaign you will play as Detective Nick Mendoza. You will be tasked with investigating and taking down drug dealers and criminals in the streets of Los Angeles, a far cry from the war-focused themes of previous games.
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Four classes, four ways to play
There are four classes to select from each time you spawn in Hardline's multiplayer. They are similar to previous Battlefield games, but have some minor tweaks and toolkit adjustments that adhere to the Criminals vs Law Enforcement nature of the game.
The four classes are:
- Operator - This serves as the Medic for the team. It is responsible for keeping teammates alive.
- Mechanic - Similar to the Engineer, it can repair vehicles and deploy high explosives.
- Enforcer - Supporting the team with ammo boxes and heavy suppression fire is what this class is good at.
- Professional - If you enjoy serving as a Recon role, sniping and acquiring valuable intelligence for teammates, this is the class for you.
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All new gadgets
Along with the new theme are a bunch of new gadgets in Hardline. Some have a lot of potential, and if nothing else are fun to toy around with.
Here's a list of some of the additions that are brand new for the franchise:
- Police Scanner (single-player only)
- Gas Mask
- Grappling Hook
- Zip Line
- T62 Stun Gun
- Tracking Dart
- Nitrous Oxide
- Collapsible Baton
- Breaching Hammer
- Laser Tripmine
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Battlelog is back
No matter which platform you play on, you'll be utilizing the Battlelog system of years past. It's just a lot more obvious if you're on PC since the game launches from a browser.
This also means you'll carry over your progress from previous Battlefield games along with you into Hardline. Battlelog is very good about that.
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Frostbite v3.0
If you played Battlefield 4, you know what to expect from Hardline's engine. Minute-to-minute gameplay is mostly cohesive, although not quite at the level of a Halo or Call of Duty. To make up for this it has massive levels and impressively destructible environments. You may just end up finding yourself blowing up walls just for the sake of it.
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150 total ranks
Hardline has the most amount of ranks in Battlefield history at a whopping 150. Your rank will be displayed beside your name when playing online. You can see the icon for the highest rank to the left.
Ranks are also bolstered by Ribbon and Medal systems which reward you for completing goals.
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7 game modes
Hardline brings with it a couple classic game modes as well as some fresh ones. The main thing to take away here is that Visceral Games has tried to think of ways to deviate from Battlefield's past with the Criminals versus Law Enforcement dynamic.
Below are all seven game modes:
- Conquest - Point capture.
- Team Deathmatch - Frag the enemy team.
- Heist - Criminals are tasked with stealing money and bringing it back to the escape point, while Law Enforcement tries to stop them.
- Blood Money - Both Criminals and Law Enforcement battle for a money pile in the center of the map. They may also choose to steal money from one another's vaults.
- Rescue - Law Enforcement must rescue two hostages, while Criminals fight them off.
- Hotwire - Criminals attempt to steal marked vehicles, while Law Enforcement is tasked with stopping their efforts.
- Crosshair - A no vehicles game mode where one team has a player controlled VIP that must be escorted to an extraction point.
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Hacker replaces Commander
If you're a fan of the Commander mode in Battlefield, you may be glad to hear that it's back. Though, this time it's called Hacker, and it's only available in select game modes.
The Hacker is able to control objects in the game such as cameras, transformers, and gas canisters to assist teammates. They may also deploy missiles, GPS jams, and mark locations to direct a squad on where to go. It's a role that comes with huge responsibility, but can be rewarding.
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Prepare for Levolution 2.0
As with Battlefield 4, Hardline has dynamic maps with triggerable events. These events are important and sometimes catastrophic as they reshape the layout of the map.
Hardline's implementation is more varied in that there are events both large and small.
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9 multiplayer maps are confirmed
As of March 13th there are nine maps confirmed to be available for multiplayer at launch. They are the following:
- Downtown
- Bank Job
- The Block
- Dust Bowl
- Hollywood Heights
- Growhouse
- Derailed
- Riptide
- Everglades
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A new upgrade system titled Reputation
Hardline's Reputation system presents players with the option of two specializations at certain point levels. Think of it as a temporary talent tree, something you'd see in a MOBA like Heroes of the Storm. So, you'll want to perform well if only to be able to unlock these perks. You'll become more powerful as a match goes on, only to be reset once it has ended.
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Military vehicles have been replaced
You will drive vehicles in Hardline, but they aren't what you're used to. Replacing APCs, tanks, and anti-air cannons are police vehicles, armored SWAT vans, motorcycles, and more. These vehicles tend to be a lot quicker than what was presented in previous Battlefield games, and consequently the pacing of the game is faster.
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Battlefield Premium
EA still loves its Battlefield Premium package, so it's back. For $49.99 you will be guaranteed access to all post-release DLC as well as a few extra perks.
