Battlefield Hardline

[M.Steiner]

Battlefield Hardline open beta will be running next week btw guys, Feb 3rd to 8th.
Any of you going to give it a try?

The last beta for it was admittedly very poor (the one they announced and launched at E3) and based on that alone this would be one of the first Battlefield titles I've purposefully skipped. That being said, given how they made the decision to delay the game based on the feedback from said beta in order to continue working on the MP experience I'm willing to give it another shot. It will have to have improved significantly since last summer in order for me to buy it but I guess we'll see next week. Hopefully it has.

The single player campaign on the other hand does still look rather promising with the approach they're taking with it but how many people buy Battlefield or CoD just for SP? heh.

The beta is now live btw
Just click the "Download and play the Battlefield Hardline beta!" on the store page for it to be added to your account and begin downloading.

Any of you going to be playing it?
Anny? you were on about getting it for PS4 were you not? going to try it first?

I'll be playing some later on this evening (and probably on and off during the week) so will post some impressions when I've had some time with it again. Feel free to come join me

[M.Steiner]

I'll be playing some more but here's a few thoughts after an hour or so's play...

Honestly, I kinda feel the same way towards it as I did after playing the first beta. It still feels too much like a mod, re-skin or a piece of DLC and this is where the main problem lies. The idea of a cops & robbers Battlefield sounds great in theory (who wouldn't want to play "Heat"?) but I don't feel it pulls it off as well as it could do. To try and explain as best I can, the problem is... the things it tries to do differently aren't different enough to set it aside from previous entries in the series (some stuff is just renamed and re-skinned versions of what we're already familiar with too) and it still plays like a Battlefield title for the most part as well, yet it doesn't really stand up against a traditional BF title either.
It's like they've taken the core MP experience of BF4, re-skinned/renamed a few things here and there, added a new game mode or two along with some new maps, changed some of the interface (which is also worse) and tried to charge 40 quid for it. Rather half-arsed imo and a huge shame. At best I'd call it an expansion pack... It could have been so great.
Positives?. Performance seems good and the maps load faster (the smaller map sizes will have helped with that), yet in turn even when running it maxed out on ultra and downsampled it doesn't look as good as BF4 either I don't think.

My advice? Give the beta a try and judge for yourself and maybe you'll feel differently, don't just take my word for it. But as a Battlefield fan of 10 years? I'd recommend saving yourself some money and buying BF4 instead, assuming you don't already own it ofc. It plays better, looks better and you'll get more for your money now that it has been well supported with additional map packs and such since release.
If you're not a Battlefield veteran, try the beta especially. I would hate for this to be someones first Battlefield experience and be put off from buying future installments of it after blind buying it. Try it for free whilst you can.

Whether I will buy it myself or not.... I still play BF4 regularly and at least from my hour+ play of Hardline, I enjoy BF4 a lot more. I'm not going to write Hardline off completely though. Just to be clear, Hardline isn't terrible, it's just too much like what you'd expect from BF and yet not as good as BF at the same time. I'm going to play some more though and see if I start leaning more towards buying it....

Would be interested in hearing others thoughts on it

[Edit: Make that 2½hrs play. Still feel the same]

[Ozone]

Cheers MS, you've helped me make a decision today. As a massive fan of BF3 I was, one can say, EXTREMELY disappointed in the mess they released as BF4 and avoided the game like the plague. Until recently when, after reading some reviews stating the game played well a YEAR after its release, I jumped in during the PS4 sale. Been enjoying it but keep thinking its a semi-reskinned BF3 with a few new maps and no Vietnam mode (man, that was a great mod). I've been very tempted to pick up hardline on the PS4 but your review has put me back on the 'wait for a while and see if it goes on sale' fence. Was hoping it would be as unique as the trailers made it appear. Having a hard time believing the internet tried to deceive me.

[M.Steiner]

The single player campaign could still be very good to be fair but as far as the multiplayer experience goes and what people are going to buy a BF title for? yeah... I'm not impressed.
I've given it over 4hrs now and still feel the same unfortunately. It's like a no name dev has tried to rip off Battlefield but slapped a half-arsed cops & robbers theme on top of it to try and hide the fact, yet hasn't really succeeded at either.

I've just checked and it's available for free on the PSN store atm too so if you fancied downloading it on your PS4 to try and see for yourself Oz, you should be able to for the rest of the week.

bfhl.jpg

The maps (at least the ones available in beta) are rather bland and uninspired. They're also smaller than you would expect for a BF title. As such the gameplay is a little more fast paced and less tactical but if you're more of a CoD fan I suppose some may like that. Bits of it like that do make it feel kind of different from BF, just not different enough. Shotguns are extremely overpowered and bloody annoying so I would hope they get a nerf before release. They're one shot kill pretty much, no skill required. Destruction seems very limited which is a shame as they've been pretty damn good in BF3 & 4. UI (the new bits which haven't been ripped) look like crap. It's all very amateurish... I don't enjoy shitting on a game but I honestly can't think of many positives tbh.

Instead of using the BF4 framework they should have developed this from the ground up, as its own game. Could have been so much better.


Meh. I may play some more through the week if anyone decides to tag along but I really can't see myself buying it and certainly not in March (with its packed release schedule) and not for full retail. Do try the beta whilst it's available as I say as it's always best to judge for yourself but if you wanna take my word for it, save your money, get BF4 instead and wait for Star Wars: Battlefront from DICE

I don't expect EA will be giving Battlefield (multiplayer) to Visceral again. Can't comment on the SP ofc but as far as the multiplayer goes, Hardline is going to tank methinks.

[SL33PY]

looks like bf3 is still the king of the franchise

[M.Steiner]

I like BF 3 & 4 equally myself. BF4 had a very rough launch and for some time after but hasn't been like that for a long time now. It has been given a lot of love since and plays fine now
There's already 5 map packs out for it too (one of which includes revamped favourites from BF3) so there's a ton of content to get stuck into and whilst the last DLC they released was called Final Stand, they've said that there's still more content to come. I wouldn't be surprised if they keep it supported like that for a while yet as I can see a lot of people doing what I'm suggesting, either sticking with BF4 if you already own it or buying it instead if you don't and were looking at Hardline. BF4 is simply the better product by far.

Anyway, do still try the beta whilst it's free as I'd love to hear what some of you think about it as well but yeah, don't blind buy it unless you have more money than sense

[Ozone]

OMFG. Downloaded the demo to give it a run. Was initially impressed with the opening graphics. Controller in hand, sat down to decide which class to be. I thought of my BF3 and 4 choices...

Assault with assault rifle and med kit
Engineer with carbine and fix-it torch
Support with light machine gun and ammo packs, or
Recon with sniper rifle and respawn beacon

I wondered what new police classes might be available. Patrolman with pistol/shotgun and truncheon, Detective with pistol and stealth, SWAT with machine guns and grenedes, Rescue with field kit and pry bar?
I wondered what bad guy classes might be. Driver with auto specialty? Con man with small pistol and knife? Mafia with heavy pistol and support? Drug baron with Tony Montana machine gun?

Then I opened the main menu and found my new BFHL class options...

Operator with assault rifle and med kit
Mechanic with carbine and fix-it torch
Enforcer with light machine gun and ammo packs, or
Professional with sniper rifle and respawn beacon

Then I finished the night by playing a couple of rounds of BF4.

Today I am going to print out a picture of a Lamborghini and tape it onto my Subaru. Apparently thats all you have to do.

[BlackDove]

Today I am going to print out a picture of a Lamborghini and tape it onto my Subaru. Apparently thats all you have to do.

[M.Steiner]

Yeah.. I've still left it installed should anyone else want to pop in on pc but each time I've played it my session has ended with me booting BF4 up as well.

[M.Steiner]

So, the beta has been up all week. Did anyone else try it other than Oz & I? even just a game or two?. The beta has actually been extended so if you didn't and still want to try it for yourself you've got until midnight PST tonight / 8am tomorrow morning for Brits.

I left it installed incase anyone fancied playing a few games together but I haven't gone back to it myself since the last time I posted. BF4 on the other hand I continue to go back and play.
I think it's pretty clear that I won't be buying Hardline now lol. It is a shame when the Battlefield series is something that has almost always been a day one buy for me and has been since I played my first BF title some 10yrs ago. I'm a fan of CoD MP too and I can't say the same for that series as I've frequently skipped titles over the years. Says enough about how poor an attempt Hardline is really. Sad.
All being said I'm still interested in seeing what the single player campaign turns out like. If they manage to deliver what they promise with that I may buy it just for SP further down the road but since SP campaigns are usually pretty short in games like this I'd only entertain that idea when it eventually goes dirt cheap. No way I'd pay anywhere close to 30-40 quid if turns out to be only 4-5hrs.


Anyhow, enough from me. Thoughts from anyone else who played?. Agree with some of the above? or did anyone actually enjoy their time with it enough to buy it?