Overview
Battlefield 4 is a modern military first person shooter developed by DICE and published byElectronic Arts. It is the first game to utilize DICE's Frostbite 3 game engine technology. Battlefield 4 will be available for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 on October 29th 2013. It will also be available on PlayStation 4 for the console's launch November 15th 2013 (Nov 29th in EU), and the Xbox One at it's launch November 22nd, 2013.
Gameplay
Campaign
Battlefield 4's single player campaign takes place six years after the events of Battlefield 3in the year 2020. Russia and China appear as the opposing factions.
Multiplayer
Battlefield 4 continues the series tradition of class based multiplayer mechanics withobjective driven gameplay. Maps and modes involve both large-scale vehicular warfare, as well as smaller infantry-only scenarios. The revamped Frostbite 3 engine allows for more enhanced destruction and interactive environments. A Spectator Mode has been added if players simply want to watch the action. Players will again have the ability to rent servers to personalize the experience.
Levolution
"Levolution" refers to the dynamic destruction capable in multiplayer, so called because of the players increased ability to alter & interact with the physical characteristics of the map. This includes small things like being able to open & close doors, ride elevators, shoot out lights, as well as referring to much larger "events." Each map has one major Levolution event that significantly alters the terrain of the map, such as a toppling skyscraper in the map Siege of Shanghai, or a destroyer ship beaching onto an island in Paracel Storm.
Commander Mode
Battlefield 4 also sees the return of Commander Mode, last seen in Battlefield 2. In this mode, the player (who does not take up a spot on their team's leaderboard) provides aid to their team through intelligence and offensive support. Additionally, the Commander can select any player on their team and see a picture-in-picture view of that player's screen. This mode can even be played using mobile devices without connecting to the game via console or PC.
Commander Mode is available only in Conquest, Rush, and Obliteration game modes.
Classes
Battlefield 4 retains the same four classes as the previous game, with a few alterations in available capabilities & gadgets:
- Assault: Largely the same as before, the assault class carries assault rifles & medical packs, with the option of carrying defibrillators or grenade/smoke launchers.
- Engineer: The engineer's main weapon class has been changed to PDWs instead of carbines. This class is again the anti-vehicle class, with the ability to carry RPGs and mines.
- Support: On top of ammo packs, C4, and claymores, the support class also has remote controlled mortars available. They also have an increased ability for suppressive fire than the other classes.
- Recon: This class now has C4 and claymores available to them, as well as throwable motion sensors (last seen in Bad Company 2.) They also have the new ability to adjust sniper scopes to compensate for distance, known as "zeroing."
Game Modes
There are 7 game modes available at launch. Five return from Battlefield 3, with two new modes (Obliteration and Defuse) introduced:
Maps
There will be ten maps available at launch. All game modes are playable on all the maps:
- Dawnbreaker
- Flood Zone
- Golmud Railway
- Hainan Resort
- Lancang Dam
- Operation Locker
- Paracel Storm
- Rogue Transmission
- Siege of Shanghai
- Zavod 311
Battlepacks
Battlepacks are an additional way to unlock items in multiplayer. They are awarded at set intervals by leveling up both soldiers and weapons. Much like the weapon packs in Mass Effect 3, items granted in Battlepacks are randomized. The items awarded are non-game-changing, cosmetic variants of accessories such as new knives, dog tags, soldier camouflages, weapon/vehicle paints, experience boosts, weapon accessories, and more.
Items contained in Battlepacks have three levels of color-coded rarity; Standard (grey), Advanced (white), Superior (blue), & Distinguished (orange).
There are three tiers of Battlepacks; Bronze, Silver, & Gold, as well as black Weapon Packs. The Bronze Pack will contain three items: two Standard ones, and one that has a chance of being Advanced. The quantity and rarity of the items increase in the Silver and Gold Packs. The Weapon Pack is aimed specifically at the noted weapon and provides weapon accessories for that weapon.
Soundtrack
Battlefield 3 composers, Johan Skugge & Jukka Rintamäki returned to score the fourth entry in the series.
Downloadable Content
There will be five expansion packs released for Battlefield 4 that will feature new maps, game modes, weapons and more. Each expansion will be available individually for purchase, or can be bought in a bundle with a membership to Battlefield Premium.
- Second Assault
- China Rising
- Naval Strike
- Dragon's Teeth
- Final Stand
Pre-Unveiling
The game was revealed during a promotion for Medal of Honor: Warfighter, allowing beta access to those who pre-order Warfighter, or purchase the Limited Edition.
At a company meeting on February 19, 2013, store managers and CEO of Gamestop were given a sneak peak of Battlefield 4.
Media were sent an invite via email on March 15th, 2013, to an unveiling event hosted at AMC Metreon in San Francisco.
On March 20th, 2013, EA created a teaser site that would slowly show artwork from the game as more members logged into the site. A first look at gameplay was promised and shown at the March 26 unveil event.
Unveil
Campaign gameplay was shown to press and developers on March 27, 2013 at 7pm, during the Game Developers Conference 2013 hosted at AMC Metreon in San Francisco. A 17-minute campaign video was released to the general public.
Multiplayer reveal
Multiplayer gameplay for Battlefield 4 was first presented at E3 2013 and was streamed live throughout the week. The map "Siege of Shanghai" was playable for the traditional Conquest mode. The demo showcased several new features including an automatic cover system, swimming underwater, "sprint swimming," and more.
Beta
An open beta was launched by DICE in the beginning of October for PC, X360, and PS4. It featured the Siege of Shanghai map in the Conquest and Domination game modes. The Obliteration game mode was also added midway through the beta.
The following schedule for access to the Battlefield 4 beta on PS3, X360, and PC was as follows:
October 1-3: "Exclusive" early access for players who had at least one of the following:
- Pre-ordered the PC Digital Deluxe Edition on Origin
- Purchased Medal of Honor Warfighter Limited Edition or Digital Deluxe Edition
- Purchased Battlefield 3 Premium
October 4-15: Open beta access for all players.
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