Wednesday 29 November 2017

Battlefield 1 (Xbox One)

Don't be fooled by the name, this isn't the first in the Battlefield series, its name is based on the fact the game is set during World War 1. Released in 2016, Dice continue their hit series once again.

Battlefield's priority has always been the multiplayer, but let's put that on hold for now. The campaign is really mini campaigns. Each one has a different protagonist and they're set at different points during the war. The intro is fantastic, you play as all different people and if you die you don't fail, you just keep getting put as a different soldier. The point of it is that not everyone lives, this is a war and people will die.

I won't talk about each campaign too much, just the highlights. Through Mud and Blood is one of the best campaigns, it's vehicle based, but does have plenty moments on foot. You're in a small team in a tank, and you get to know your crew. Your team struggles to survive and features a bunch of tank battles. Definitely the most explored story.

Friends in High Places is probably my favourite campaign. Again it's vehicle based as you play as a pilot who has lied his way into the air force. The flying mechanics are perfect and it's so fun to play. It's not always in a plane like the previous campaign, there's a gun fight on top of a blimp and some great wars in the skies.

Avanti Savioa is a very short campaign, Luca is dressed in heavy armour and seems unkillable as he runs out in the open and guns down his enemies. As the story goes on, an older Luca is telling his daughter the story as he searches for his brother.

The Runner is another strong campaign, you play as an Aussie Runner, who's job is to deliver messages to other squads filled with vital information to warn or inform of enemy tactics. Bishop works alongside an eager rookie who gets into trouble and Bishop must find him and the other captured soldiers.

Nothing is Written is the worst by far in my opinion, I didn't enjoy it much. We play as Zara, the only female playable character, who works for T.E Lawrence as they drive back the threat of the Ottoman. There's plenty to keep you entertained in single player and it's worth trying, even if you're a die hard multiplayer only when it comes to Battlefield.

Obviously, the multiplayer is great. Old and new game modes, there's plenty. Operations is my favourite mode, the matches can be very long. Similar to Rush, one team has limited respawns and must take two objectives and continue to take two objectives each time they take them. War pigeons is another new mode, each team must capture the pigeon and defend the player as they prepare to send a message to signal an artillery strike to win the game.

The multiplayer is fun and addictive, the maps are brilliant, sandy deserts, muddy trenches, really well made. Another way to earn points is to give out squad orders to your online squad, asking them to attack and defend points, successfully completing orders rewards you XP. You're able to also ride horses online, an extra new vehicle for your matches.

The menus are slow and unresponsive at times, frustrates you before you even play. When you join your friends squad online before joining a match, you're not entirely sure you're teamed up. When they find a game with you in their squad, you're not automatically taken to the same game, you're given a small prompt telling you to join your friend. I often missed it as it never stayed and regularly joined a game well after my friend had started. Just put us in the match at the same time, the loading is ridiculous and the game can come close to ending while you wait! Another dumb thing still in the series is pausing the game to look at the scoreboard. Everyone wants to see how they're doing, so why make it a longer process? It should be a quick motion and it used to be a quick motion of pressing the back button. Change it back, it's functional.

Battlefield 1 is a brilliant game, a good campaign and an excellent multiplayer. I'll be surprised if Call of Duty can keep up in the coming years. For online shooters, keep it Battlefield.

8.3/10

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