Will Battlefield Hardline work?

After the disaster that was Battlefield 4, Visceral and EA Games have taken the liberty of creating a new “working” version of Battlefield – Hardline.

The questions is: will the cops vs robbers, NCIS-inspired first person shooter be a success? And will the multiplayer work smoothly from day one?

Battlefield NCIS

The series has moved on since its civil war and tactical espionage setting. Battlefield Hardline features a storyline where characters will be memorable and gameplay is set around drug busts, police raids, and criminal activity.

The campaign will play out like an episode of NCIS, where each level will focus on a new crime syndicate. This will offer variety as you are welcomed to a new setting and situation every mission.

There will be police car chases where you will have to manoeuvre through traffic, ramp over hills, and take down the fleeing criminal.

The game will feature a cheesy intro with credits and a CSI-inspired soundtrack after every mission, giving the player the feeling they are watching an episode of their favourite crime TV show.

The Battlefield Hardline single-player campaign will be an action-packed, intense series, with missions revolving around drug lords and their syndicates.

Battlefield Hardline Multiplayer

To make sure the same mistakes that beset Battlefield 4 were not repeated, Visceral games and EA created a new type of Battlefield online experience.

There will be a few games modes that will be easily distinguishable, and a promise Battlefield 4’s launch won’t be repeated. All of these game modes will be played as either the cops or the robbers with set objectives and goals.

Hotwire

As the criminals, it will be your job to steal a set amount of marked cars while the police are trying to repossess them.

Basically, try and drive the car until the timer runs out as the robbers, and try and destroy the car that the robbers are trying to steal, as the cops.

This fast-paced game mode creates opportunities for both the cops and the robbers to use skill to drive over enemies who decide to walk, or shoot out the tyres of the cop cars which are trying to take them down.

Use the environment as a weapon by shooting petrol barrels and helicopters out of the air, blocking the path of the robbers as they flee, or throwing a block of C4 on someone who just needs to die.

Heist

Heist brings the traditional cops vs robbers gameplay into the spotlight.

Robbers need to pull off a big job by breaking into a high-security bank. They will then need to make it to drop zones and defend them while helicopters arrive in order to collect the cash.

While this is all going down, the cops need to stop them by disarming the drill that is breaking into the safe and taking out the robbers who are securing the drop zones. If the cops succeed in this, the game is won.

There will be a range of weapons and gadgets during Heist, including ziplines for an easy escape and laser trip mines for covering your back.

Crosshair

Players need to escort a VIP to one of two extraction points. The robbers need to take him out to win. This mode is a 5 versus 5 with 3 minutes on the clock per round and one life each.

If you die you stay down for the round, and the first team to win 5 rounds wins the match.

Rescue

As the cops you have two options: take the hostages and get them to the extraction point, or eliminate all the robbers in the area. This is a last-man-standing game mode where if you die you are gone for good.

The robbers cannot kill the hostages, only recapture them – so communication is key to success in this mode.

What else do you need to know?

There will be 54 weapons in Battlefield Hardline multiplayer.
There will be 20 gadgets in Battlefield Hardline multiplayer.
You will unlock new weapons by completing assignments.
Each faction has its own set of weapons that cannot be used by the other faction.
Once have you have unlocked a weapon, you will still be required to purchase it.
The cash prices of weapons vary per faction.
Each loadout has a primary weapon as well as three attachments, two gadgets, one grenade, and one melee weapon.
There will be four characters classes in multiplayer:
- Operator: The medic in the team, always ready revive teammates.
- Mechanic: The engineer of the team, specializing in fixing vehicles and destroying enemy vehicles.
- Enforcer: The support member, specializing in cover fire and supplying ammunition.
- Professional: The sniper of the team, they scout areas from afar and relay details to the rest of the team.
Battlefield Hardline will run at 720p/60fps on Xbox One, and 900p/60fps on PS4.
The game will require 60GB of hard drive space on PS4, and PC. 43 GB on Xbox One