17.12.2013

[Skip to bottom if you want the short version]OK this is going to invite controversy, I know... but hear me out.I totally understand people's disappointment when a new game is released and it contains lots of bugs and glitches. I've been a fan of the Battlefield franchise since Battlefield 2 and I tell you now - this is nothing we haven't seen before. Battlefield 2 was full of bugs for AGES after it was released. And the first thing the critics say is "This is rubbish, it should never have been released like this, it's Beta" etc etc.Even though I acknowledge that there are issues, I have to tell you - I DISAGREE."Why?" you ask. Because, even with the issues,this is STILL probably the best game that was in the starting lineup for the next-gen consoles. And given that the bugs will be (and are already being) ironed out, I for one am able to accept the issues in the short term, and meanwhile enjoy the rest of what is a brilliant game. As I mentioned, BF2 (and BF3) was much the same, and fixes, patches and improvements were being made all the time. But I would rather have it like this, than not have it for another 6 months. And to be honest, many bugs only become evident once the game environment has gone live anyway, so even if the release got delayed, you'd just be meeting these problems 6 months later...So what about the game?The graphics are, as expected on next-gen, amazing. Fire, smoke, and water not only look brilliant but form even more of a tactical part of the game than in the last generation. On one map, Paracel Storm, the weather turns and darkens during the course of your round, and the wave effects (30ft-plus!) are not only phenomenal to look at, but you have to factor them in when you're aiming a shot across the water! Not to mention swimming or boating across it - prepare to get dunked.Foliage is more dense, and on some maps you can really use it to your advantage as effective cover. Buildings are far more accessible than Battlefield 3, where there were perhaps half a dozen open buildings on a map - now the majority if not all can be entered. Many have multiple floors and all have very diverse layouts, for example a prison in Operation Locker, a dilapidated tank factory in Zavod 311, and a town complete with rooftop terraces in Flood Zone. Every map is completely unique, and no doubt different types of player will have their own favourites.The destructible environment has evolved too, and a man with a tank can put their own artistic stamp on how they want a building to look - if you catch my drift. Having said this, while there is much more that is "destructible", it is still constrained to certain buildings, pillars, or features. "You can put as much C4 as you want on the building next door, but it seems they clearly made it out of better bricks..."The destructible piece-de-resistance Dice put into BF4 is their "Levolution" - what this means is one particular part of each map that can be destroyed in such a way that it more significantly affects the environment and your gameplay. Perhaps the most notable is Flood Zone, which starts off being a relatively ordinary but intense firefight in a cramped multi-level residential area. But if you decide to (or inadvertently) blow up the levee that contains the river north of the gameplay area, water gushes out and you render the whole town flooded right up to the first floor of the buildings. You may have also seen on game trailers the part from Siege of Shanghai where the massive skyscraper comes down in a shower of rubble. Yes, this is all in-game, very impressive to watch, and gives an interesting change to the map in each case.One of the best things about BF4 on next gen? The return of 64 player gaming. Hooray!! Big maps, lots of people running about - it's just bliss and it's one major thing that consoles really suffered for missing out on - until now. There are other game modes to offer some variational objectives for smaller teams; not to mention single player mode, of course... which I can't mention much anyway, because other than the first day when PSN wasn't working, I haven't played it! For me Battlefield is all about the multiplayer anyway...BF4 sees a return of the Commander Mode which was missed out of the franchise since BF2. Now the commander is better equipped; especially if his/her team currently occupy certain control points on the map (assuming Conquest). Certain control points give mapwide scanning ability, while others may give the commander control of a cruise missile asset, or the ability to spawn a Spectre gunship overpass that can be used by up to 3 of their team to pound the enemy below. The commander no longer occupies the game area though - so there's no sneaking into the enemy base and stabbing the enemy commander while they're busy giving out orders. Shame that. Another plus is that the commander mode can be done from a tablet using a companion app (I've used the iPad version). This is much easier what with the multi-gesture/touch screen than the native PS4 (though the latter is not impossible). The only downside to the commander mode so far is that generally your team tend to ignore your orders - maybe dice/EA need to give more points reward for following orders as an incentive (even if you'd think having the gunship or cruise missile in your hands over the enemy's would be ample!).Player Progress and persistence has been enhanced, with more weaponry available and specialised add ons. Camouflage and weapon/vehicle colours can also be unlocked as before. Specialisation and squad specialisation have now been replaced by "Field Upgrades", which basically means you can earn bonuses by team-specific actions like following orders, squad resupplies and heals, etc. The more teamwork you put in, the more bonuses you get (up to 4). Furthermore, you can choose your preset Field Upgrade (from what you've unlocked) so you are tailored to your way of playing. I think this is a great new feature.In game chat is not ideal; hopefully this is something that will get fixed soon. But as long as you're playing with your PSN mates, for now it's actually much more effective to set up a party via the PS4 functionality outside of the game, and chat through that.I think that's all the detail, so...CONCLUSIONBF4 marks a huge improvement to what was already one of the most popular game franchises going. I'm not even getting into the COD vs BF debate - you either like BF or you don't, and whether you like COD or you don't is irrelevant. If you have liked any of the earlier versions of Battlefield, then you should get this, because quite frankly it is brilliant. Sure - there are bugs, and the latency handling (what some are calling "netcode") can be annoying. But even if worst case the game crashes, you can be back in game in like what - 2 minutes? Nobody likes it when it happens, but at least when it's working, it's brilliant. If you really have such anger management issues that you can't cope with it, for the sake of taking part in an otherwise great game, then sure - by all means wait a few months! But by that time, most of us will be Colonels and then your anger will be a result of getting owned so much on the battlefield. Ha! ;)Enjoy.

22.11.2013

Having Owned and played the Xbox 360 edition of this game I will be coming at this review from a slightly different direction having experienced the 360 version of the game for the past three weeks. If you were someone that waited for the next gen version of Battlefield 4 then you made the correct choice as the Xbox 360 edition had many problems and bugs. Essentially it was a mediocre game at best and didn't feel right in the way it played (see my xbox 360 version review to find out more).To set out my standpoint I picked up my copy of BF4 Xbox One edition at the midnight launch last night and it was the first game I've been trying out, I've played through the campaign just like I did on the 360 version (takes 4-5 hours)and have played around 2 hours of online multiplayer.This Xbox One version is a definite improvement although problems do exist that were in the Xbox 360 version of the game. Before I talk about any problems in this version (mostly linked to the Multiplayer side of the game) I want to talk about the campaign.I said in my xbox 360 review of this game how the story in the campaign is nothing special and quite boring; in fact many friends have said to me they struggled to understand what it was all about. Well the campaign is identical on the Xbox One edition of the game to that I played on 360, the only real difference between the two is the graphics which I can confirm look dramatically better and sharper. The Xbox One version may only be running at 720p upscaled to 1080p output but I have to say you wouldn't notice the difference even if it was 1080p native.I'm a computer technician but not a graphics expert but I was speaking with a friend who works for a big graphics card company, and he told me that upscaling software these days can actually do such a good job that it's unnecessary and sometimes too expensive and time consuming to create every game in 1080p native. Based on what I've seed in Battlefield 4 I have to agree because on Xbox One it looks pretty impressive!Moving to the Multiplayer, everything works in the same way as it did on the Xbox 360 version but with dramatically improved graphics and far smoother gameplay. Maps are now bigger than their 360 counterpart and feature full 64 player matches, one of the biggest problems with the big scale maps and game types on the 360 version was there wasn't enough players and to be honest you sometimes got bored, meaning smaller game modes such as domination on smaller maps were played more. Rush mode is better in this version too, although I would still argue that the maps are far too open for rush mode, but that's a personal opinion and not fact.The frostbite 3 destruction engine really does shine in this game and when you bring the skyscraper down for instance, everything renders perfectly on screen, one of the problems with the 360 version of the game is it suffered from bad screen tearing and lag every time something "busy" was going on in the map. Well in this those problems have gone and everything renders perfectly with no graphical defects. Now while graphically this game is a huge stride forward despite not being 1080p native it still suffers for many problems which I find unforgivable to be honest.Hit detection, where by the game detects when you have hit an opponent just doesn't work! It was bad in the 360 version and it seems the same in this. The hit markers half the time don't appear even though you are plastering an enemy soldier at point blank range and it can take a whole magazine to kill someone while an enemy soldier can kill you with 1 bullet from a pistol. Medical packs disappear and half the time don't work. Quick scoping now exists as it did in the 360 version of the game (seriously, the amount of snipers that try and kill you at point blank is bordering on Call of Duty levels). The queue system still doesn't work so it's pot luck whether you get into a game or not. On the plus side I haven't had any server problems as yet (fingers crossed) and certainly on the bigger game types such as Rush and Conquest I am seeing more people play as support and therefore drop ammo (something nobody did on the 360 version, as everyone played assault classes).Pros: Fantastic graphics and definitely a step up from the 360 version of the game * Proper 64 player maps (these maps were designed for 64 players) * 5 man squads * Rush mode works better on next gen with more players * seems to be stable online * The Campaign looks far better and the improved graphics really help itCons: Boring & Short Campaign Storyline * Hit Detection system is appalling just like the 360 version (which they still haven't patched) * Quick Scoping now exists * while you get use to the new controller layout it's not as good as BF3 * Safe spawning is a luxury and not a right in this game *Loadout menu could have been made easier to use * I've lost XP that was suppose to be savedVERDICT: It's certainly a big visual improvement over the xbox 360 version of the game and some of the problems such as crashing at loading screens seem on the face of it to have been resolved. The game is automatically better with 64 players as opposed to 24 that was the limit on xbox 360, with game modes such as RUSH and CONQUEST being the biggest beneficiary. Sadly despite the improvement in graphics and indeed the smoothness at which the game goes about its business thanks to the extra processing power available, there are still many problems, bugs and glitches online that need patching.It's been 3 weeks virtually since Battlefield 4 launched and time is running out for EA and DICE to patch current and new generation versions as there is only so long people will wait before they get peeved off and leave!As for the Xbox One version of the game I'm going to RECOMMENDED it. It seems the next generation was worth the wait after all and as such this is getting an extra star compared to the 360 version but it still needs work!!!UPDATE 12/12/2013: There has been a large patch designed for correcting stability issues, by and large things seem to be the same in that regards but i can confirm that hit detection has been improved. There still are issues and sometimes it is now too easy to kill someone but it's far better that the situation we had before where a whole magazine didn't count!!UPDATE 02/01/2014: Hit detection has improve significantly but many issues remain, i can only hope they get resolved quickly before people give up.UPDATE 06/02/2014: I have now stopped playing this game and it is only fair that you should know this. The reason being as the numbers of players online have reduced and the overall fun factor has gone. In essence, there are still many issues and EA and DICE evidently can't be bothered to deal with them! I stand by what i say regarding the Xbox One version being better than the 360 version but it's only fair for you to know that i think Battlefield has finally had its day and i say that with a sad heart!

26.12.2013

Firstly let me say that playing through the campaign is uninspiring and the story is vague and confusing. With the exception of the first mission, the set pieces are nowhere to be seen, the setting and scope rather limited and shallow, with cheesy scripting and dialogue. Also the challenge even on Hard mode is non existent to anyone with moderate FPS experience.For me though, this game is all about the multiplayer Battlefield experience and it doesn't disappoint...... eventually. There were quite a number of bugs upon the game's release and there are a lot less now but still a few remain. With Dice releasing patches every week or so since release, it's becoming more and more stable.I haven't experienced many bugs myself, a few mid round crashes and sound glitches aside considering the 30+ hours of play. It's a bit frustrating but doesn't take too long to get back into the action, crossing your fingers that you get back in the same game with your friends and more so that you get put back on the same team. On the one hand a game shouldn't be released with that many bugs, then on the other hand we have the profit driving publisher, shareholders and the impatient public wanting to get their hands on it. There are a lot of unknowns when releasing a game and it can sometimes feel like they're using the paying public to play through their Beta version of the game. Just look at the seriously flawed GTA online mode where I lost my level 20 character only to have to start all over again. As unpleasant as it sounds, games will always have bugs, some being minor, others rendering them practically unplayable. Thankfully this game resides in the former of the 2. I'm more than happy to play a slightly bugged version of the vast, expansive, multiplayer mode in Battlefield and I haven't found much to complain about, truth be told.There is so much depth, strategy and space on each map that if you're new to Battlefield, it may take a good few rounds to work out the best game plan. This game promotes team play, tactics and strategy above all else and you generally feel like you're an important part of a bigger whole. Vehicles are a vital part of the battle and there are many types of APCs, tanks, fighter planes, helicopters, jet skis, gun boats, quad bikes, dirt bikes and even an A130 if your commander deploys one for your team to use. There's nothing quite like you and your friends all jumping into a helicopter, flying into enemy territory with 2 of the squad manning the door guns laying down suppressive fire with the rest of the squad making a run for cover. To be honest it usually ends in a firey explosion of virtual death from a couple of Engineer enemy's rockets but the for a while you may feel like you're part of something grander and cinematic!Graphically this next gen version is a significant step up with excellent particle effects, textures, elemental effects and environment details like undergrowth and foilage. Smoke, fire and explosions look convincing with the extra next gen processing power too. It all adds to a more immersive atmosphere plus now the player limit has been increased with 32-64 depending on game mode and this makes it ever more relentless with less time spent 'away' from the action.The level design on Battlefield is usually of a high standard and variety and the first batch included with the game are a good example, covering lots of differing environments and landscapes. Conquest mode is the best way to experience them at their best as the playable area is at it's largest and the pace gives you a chance to have a good look around. I've just tried out some of the China Rising DLC and these levels have real variety and I can't wait to explore them more.Much has been said already about the destructible, evolving environments and suffice to say this can add another layer of depth and changing of strategies. Depending on the level you're playing, it can either transform the battlefield or be an an altogether less relevant addition. Never the less, the first time you experience the start of the weather front on Parcel Storm is really great, with the dark brooding sky, intense wind and bow submerging sea swell. While this degree of change isn't significant on all of the games levels, I really look forward to see how it's implemented in the coming DLC levels over the next year.Weapons and kit balance have always been good in Battlefield and this has tweaked this even more. Battlepacks are now awarded at certain levels containing various weapon add on unlocks, boosters and gear. This adds a certain random element to upgrading your kit with some great stuff unlocking early plus some frustratingly irrelevant gear for weapons you don't ever use. Maybe it's done to force players out of their comfort zone and try other loadouts, classes and guns but with a bit of grind and effort you'll still unlock scopes and kit if you keep on playing with your chosen favoured weapons.All this for me, adds up to make intense, frantic and sometimes frustrating multiplayer FPS action. Slightly flawed at times, but overall brilliant. With more DLC levels releasing soon, including some great reimagined classics from the series, the future is looking very bright indeed. You may be an enemy, you may on my team, my commander or even in my squad, either way I'll see you on the Battlefield

15.12.2013

Being a massive fan of the battlefield series I Purchased the Xbox 360 version of this game in great anticipation only to be terribly dissapointed. Alot of buggy gameplay and somehow worse graphics than battlefield 3.I gave up on the game after only a few hours of playing it was that bad, the xbox360 had put a serious doubt in my head about upgrading to the Xbox one version.I Plucked up the courage (and extra money) to invest in the Xbox version and to sum it up in one word..... AWESOME. Obviously it has the same story mode and same maps etc as the 360 version but they are completely different games.clearly the game was designed for the Xbox one and then hugely stripped back to make it possible on the old Xbox.I actually still own copies of both versions of the game.

7.3.2015

Having just downloaded this from EA Access I couldn't wait to try it on my new Xbox One.I started with the campaign which overall was a disappointment. While the graphics are great and it feels natural, the AI really lets it down. You have to tell your squad to attack the enemy which is completely flawed. It means at times a member of my squad would be standing right by an enemy, looking right at him but not attacking, while the enemy was ignoring him as well, shooting at me instead. This didn't go well alongside a couple of glitches. There are a couple of nice missions but I was glad I prefer multiplayer games anyway. I'd give the campaign around 1.5/5.The multiplayer is absolutely fantastic.

6.1.2014

To put it simply, this is THE game you must own for next-gen consoles. Initially, yes, the game was plagued with problems, constant crashing servers, poor hit detection etc. Some of the problems and poor elements of the game still remain so lets gets them out of the way first:- The hit detection in some instances is still poor. I can clearly see that I am hitting someone and nothing registers, DICE say that the problem is being investigated.- No squad up system pre-joining games. Considering this game is based on teamwork and forming squads with your mates, having no system to squad up and then join games is ridiculous. It's ok when you're playing large player servers (Rush/Conquest)

20.2.2014

Being a general fan of FPS with no preference to companies/developers etc, having played both BF4 and COD: Ghosts - the two games should not be classed as direct competition. They're two completely DIFFERENT shooters! The only similarities are you are on a team, you kill the enemy, and you hold a gun in a 1st person view.BF4 is great if you have the time. Games can last up to an hour, sometimes more depending on servers. It's massively team based, with each team split into squads. A gung-ho approach will not get you far in this game.A lot of players are obsessed with vehicles and refuse to play if they cannot get in one. With the size of the maps, it would be long and tiresome without a vehicle,

5.1.2014

It's January 2014 and STILL there are problems with the game. I know you've heard them all before, but here they are again for your delectation.1 Game hangs on the startup screen and returns me to the dashboard.2 Trying to get into multiplayer games from the quick start option usually results in a return to the game selection screen followed by a popup saying I've lost connection to the EA server.3 If I actually manage to get into a game, it's pot luck whether I get into the game type I selected (e.g. selecting squad deathmatch puts me into a team deathmatch game)...4 ...and once that game ends it often hangs instead of putting me into the next game5 The torture doesn't stop when I try to play the offline campaign game,

27.12.2013

I've put off writing this review until the game was fixed. It's well known about all the crashing bugs that plagued the release as well as other ones that in truth I never really noticed.Now though WOW.A round of BF 4 can be anything you want it to be. An epic action movie or a stealthy sniper killing zone. Except it's not really like a movie at all as nothing is scripted. I am of course talking multiplayer here as single player meh!What I particularly like about it are the little touches. For example when I started playing on day one I thought hmm the vehicles and aircraft are a bit boringly coloured, all boring flat greens.

6.4.2014

Battlefield 4 should have been the flagship release for Sony's excellent new Playstation 4 games console. However, due to some online multiplayer issues, variously referred to as rubber-banding, lag, netcode and other phrases, this game has become a case study in how not to launch a video game. Or at least that's what an incredibly vocal "community" would have you believe (and no, I'm not either a fanboy or some paid stooge of Battlefield 4 publisher, Electronic Arts).Sure, the game isn't perfect but for my friends & I, it actually plays incredibly well - and the new test servers DICE have added are really making this a smooth experience.Battlefield 4 delivers best-in-class next generation first person shooting,

5.2.2014

Well here it is battlefield 4 is finally getting a review and I am doing this to hopefully try and warn people NOT to WASTE there money buying it. First is the battlefield games look as though they hit that point of its good as it can get all that seems to have changed is the name case campaign and it being a 64 players on online multiplayer but apart from that not much has really changed. Now I am going to get to the real reason of why NOT to WASTE your money.I'm going to try and keep this short and simple online play is really glitchy/laggy and the campaign is no better I got to a point on the campaign (the mission were you escape from the prison)

7.3.2015

I don't usually review stuff on Amazon, but I thought this deserved it.First of all, I did not actually buy the game from Amazon; I bought the game on sale from the PlayStation Store, which included premium. Premium (or buying at least 1 or 2 DLCs) is highly recommended, as I could imagine the game could get slightly repetitive with 7 or 8 base maps. However, it is still great fun, particularly if you join a squad (which are sub-teams for non-battlefielders) with friends.I have much preferred this game to the new Call of Duty (Advanced Warfare). I have only owned a PS4 since Christmas, and bought CoD as my first game, but unfortunately assault rifles are the only viable weapon due to their ridiculously low recoil outclassing snipers at the maximum range for the maps.

12.4.2014

I recently purchased a PS4 having played BF BC2 and then BF3 on the PS3 and 360 consoles, and I still play BF BC2 on the PC.I wanted to like BF4, but it feels like it doesn't really offer anything new from BF3. Especially playing the Second Assault expansion pack. There are more gadgets to add to weapons, a few customizations. But apart from that, nothing feels new unfortunately. Even "levolution", it may as well not be there. It adds a new element on some maps, where a storm or rainfall takes over mid way through, but apart from that you rarely notice it.There are STILL a few annoying glitches months down the line - when starting a new game, the first spawn, textures,

25.2.2014

Firstly this is an excellent game. There are the odd minor bug issues such as sound and the occasional crash, but these are a long, long way from ruining the game that some reviewers claim. Coming to this game fresh, new players should be delighted with the graphics, sound, fluidity and the scale and design of the maps.However..... I turned to BF for BF2BC, leaving behind CoD which up to that point had always loved. BF2BC had something CoD didn't and still doesn't have. It felt more cerebral, you planned attacks and worked with team mates of other classes to achieve your result, the maps lent themselves to this and there was a genuine sense of maturity to it that CoD didn't have with its chaos

7.1.2014

Long story short to spare you reading the below: this game is a must buy IMHOI was rather surprised to the an overall rather mediocre rating for this game. I have played Battlefield back when it was first launched on PS2, then Bad Company I & II; BF3 and now BF4 rather intensely - bit of a veteran and fan. In parallel, I had also played Rainbow Six Vegas I&II, Call of Duty and other FPS.Battlefield 4 in particular manages to pack the highest level of reality, realism, accuracy and last but not least fun into any game. Yes, as all other games I listed earlier, each of them has their flaws and the perfect shooter would probably be a cross-breed of all the games, but that's not gonna happen.So,

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