Update
We have been able to confirm that Battlefield: Play4Free will not be supported in SA. Only regions with dedicated servers for Battlefield: Heroes will get the game.
Original
Yes, you read the headline right. Ignoring any urges to take a more creative approach, EA has simply named its upcoming free-to-play version of Battlefield – *drumroll* – Battlefield: Play4Free. In the process EA has shown just how in touch it is with the youth-gamer market – who needs letters when you can use numbers instead? OMG AMIRITE LOL!!1!shift+1!
But seriously, Battlefield: Play4Free actually looks really interesting. Don’t expect the cartoony visuals used in EA’s other free to play Battlefield title, Battlefield: Heroes. Instead, Battlefield: Free2Play looks more like EA’s AAA modern combat releases: Bad Company 2 and Medal of Honor.
Borrowing from BC2, Battlefield: Play4Free will offer players 4 unique classes; the Engineer, Medic, Assault and Recon. There will also be a levelling system, which will supposedly attempt to replicate the progression of a real soldier’s career. Various maps have been pulled from Battlefield 2, and there will be 16 unique vehicles, including the F-35 jet fighter.
What is unique about Battlefield: Play4Free is that it has been touted as looking like a AAA game, with senior producer James Salt telling Eurogamer that “We think people will be quite surprised at the quality, actually.” He went on to say, “colour grading, film grain, and depth of field effects: we’ve got all that stuff.”
Most impressively, despite the high production values, DICE is aiming to keep the game download size as close to 500MB as possible.
Like Battlefield: Heroes, Play4Free will make money from micro-transactions, although Salt is well aware that the majority of gamers “won’t want to spend a cent.”
“As with Battlefield Heroes, the stuff we’re selling are weapons and clothing customisation items for the most part,” said Salt. “With clothes, it’s only if you want to look really, really badass. With weapons, it’s much more about balancing: this gun is really fast, but it’s got no grip; this one just looks really cool. It’s always a personal choice and it’s never going to unbalance the match.”
Players will have access to a skill tree which they will level up as they play. They will be able to upgrade weapons as well as physical abilities.
Battlefield: Play4Free will be released exclusively for PC. No mention of dedicated servers has been made, although it would be a first for DICE if they used any other system. MyGaming and iGame have contacted EA and DICE respectively to find out if we will be getting servers in SA. We will report back as soon as more information is available.
In the mean time, check out the reveal trailer below:
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