I still can't decide if I'm intrested in BF Hardline... the trailers always look good, but knowing the BF community, few ever really play with tactics and teamwork, so IMO the trailers are false advertisement... it's what COULD be Hardline, but we all know better... unless it's with friends on a hardcore server... I just can't decide.
I got BF4 late (holiday sale) and I'm loving it now that all the bugs are fixed.
Was not interested in Hardline at first but I will definitely be giving it a try in the upcoming open beta and will make up my mind based on that, seems like the devs took in the bad feedback on the first beta and are doing a second one to show off the changes and test the balance, that's a refreshing reaction from a game dev:
If they are smaller and more arcade than BF4 I'm out...but the cops and robber gameplay stuff seems pretty cool. My guess is I'll hold out, probably Gamefly it, and then buy Starwars Battlefront in the fall and still play BF4.
I know it's popular to rag on Hardline and EA in general but I'll buck that trend and say that I actually enjoyed the previous beta. I don't agree with some of the claims it's just Battlefield 4 re-skinned and therefore should be released for free or as a paid DLC. Yes it has some similarities with Battlefield 4 because it's the same engine in the same genre but I think that's a good thing as I like Battlefield 4 and Battlelog. The new game modes like Heist were good fun. The maps were bigger than I expected and looked great as I found myself racing through streets on motorcycles and in cars that felt as big as say Dawnbreaker in BF4 though perhaps not quite as big as say Caspian Border or Paracel Storm (which is mostly water anyway) but that was just the first beta and the maps will have to be large to support the planned 64 player limits for PC, PS4 and XBOX One versions and the beta had 64 players and didn't feel cramped not once. It may not be everyone's cup of tea but from what I saw of the last beta I'll be buying on PC and PS4.
Next Tuesday you'll be able to get a better idea of if the game is for you as the next beta opens on the 3rd. There will be three maps and three modes including conquest, heist and Hotwire modes. Download for PC, PS4 and XBOX One will be around 10gb and there is no level cap.
I think it sucks, controls are clunky especially in vehicles. The interface is in your Browser, seems to take an inordinate time to load even on low ping servers, and when you do join you might not see the game because it opens either behind the browser or minimized. This is not a Battlefield game, a misuse of the franchise ID. Doesn't look as good as previous BF titles, I find it washed out looking but that may be my monitor. When you leave the playing area which is too easy the screen fades all the colors to the point you can't see well enough to find your way back and this can happen just leaving the road a few feet off the edge in Dustbowl not sure about the downtown map. By all means download the free beta, that is if you don't mind installing Origin and then a plugin for your Browser for Battlelog. EA has been off my shelf for a while and this one ain't going to change my mind. There is a free to play cops and robbers MMO game on Steam and it beats this one just on looks and playability alone.
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Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 3,922Paradaz
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Paradaz
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Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 3,922
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I think the beta is pretty good in terms of performance and polish, however I've got to the point where I've pretty much lost interest in the series now.
BF1942 and BF2 were probably my most played games, but as soon as they started with Bad Company on console I feel (maybe incorrectly) that to have that mass appeal it started getting diluted. BC2 had some great maps but the teamwork started falling away, the soldier classes lost their unique qualities and my interest waned.
The SF class in BF2 created a defensive tier to the game which counter-balanced the all-out offensive, losing that, the commander role and his toys (artillery/UAV etc) directed the series into a generic shooter that console land loves imo.
BF3 had the flash graphics, BF4 improved on that and the maps have immersion and atmosphere but sadly the game isn't won by teamwork and tactics anymore. A lone ranger can survive on the battlefield now, something which was nigh on impossible previously. All that combined, means that Hardline for me is a non-event.
Bring back R6 Rogue Spear 2015 and Raven Shield 2015 and I'll forgive Ubisoft forever and die a happy FPS gamer. Alternatively, lets have BF5 back to it's roots, in Vietnam, with day/night cycles.
On the Eighth day God created Paratroopers and the Devil stood to attention.
I disagree with you on BF3 and BF4.Yes lone wolfing is possible but your won't survive very long. Every time I have faced well organized teams playing in tandem we have lost badly and vice versa. I have had the chance to play with well organized teams and it's a delight and the opposing side , unless they have a good, cohesive team of their own, does not stand a chance. Unfortunately the quality of the players is uneven so get a fair number of off games with poor teamwork....
Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 3,922Paradaz
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Paradaz
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Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 3,922
UK
I think some of the issues I describe are implemented through the amount of vehicles that are now available......I won't say the helos/jets/tanks are overpowered in the game (that would be wrong) but there are probably too many of them.
Whereas strangers used to have to team up to defeat the enemy it's now a case that almost everyone on the map can be in a vehicle, whether that be helos/jets or tanks.....this means that stragglers are left to run around like headless chickens and the same impetus on creating an effective team on foot simply isn't there any more yet on the flip side, people playing lone wolf style can last much longer on the battlefield and do have the ability to run around without any real strategy and survive for extended periods of time on their reflexes. In previous games, the vehicles were harder to come by and took longer to respawn when lost....this meant that armour still had to be used tactically within a team and people on foot were used to keep them alive as long as possible because losing one had its repurcussions. It's probably rare these days you have a 'team' scenario for armour where mechanics/medics and resupply are used together. Losing a tank is just a very small blip where you spawn back at base, wait 20 seconds if you're really unlucky and redeploy again.
It's all very well having a cohesive team which yes, can be successful on as a squad, but I find in BF3/BF4 unless everyone else is organised like that one or two 'good' squads often aren't enough to tip the balance, especially if everyone else on the team doesn't play that way or if the other team have some really good pilots that are just constantly re-spawing into new helos/jets as soon as they lose one. This is where it was different in 1942/BF2.....people were forced to play as squads because you would last about 2 minutes in a lone wolf role.
I've given 'Hardline' another quick run out this morning......let's be honest it's 100mph an hour, there are 'perks', I can see little point in even trying to be tactical (apart from personal pride) when everyone else on the entire map seems to look at their 'HUD', see where the objective is and run in a straight line to it bunny-hopping as soon as they see the enemy. That says 'Call of Duty' to me and I long for those slow-paced tactical strategy battles of the R6 series from long ago. Partly my age, partly my disenchantment at games aimed for console gamers who prefer this style of play rather than having to actually think about their actions and how to tackle a given situation most effectively.
There are obviously games that suit my preferred style such as Arma/Insurgency etc. but I still miss the less serious nature of games like Battlefield where the same tactics can be employed to great effect. Maybe things will come back full circle and people will get fed up of the constant CoD clones.
On the Eighth day God created Paratroopers and the Devil stood to attention.
I agree with frinik22. I've been really busy at work recently and so when I get home I don't often have the time or energy to dive into anything too time consuming on my PC and so Battlefield 4 on my PS4 has been where I have spent quite some time over the last couple of weeks because its easy to pick up and jump into a game. You can run and gun, lone wolf your way across the map and you will get some kills but ultimately you won't be as successful as if you play in a team. When you are up against a good squad you really have to battle hard and with a couple of squad guys on one team all working together using comms those games often end with them steam rolling across the map if your team just tries to lone wolf it. You will see squads splitting themselves over different classes to maximise their chances depending on the terrain - whether its open ground or tight city streets and they do that because the game mechanic rewards them for helping each other with med kits, ammo boxes, spotting etc.
I've played the Hardline beta on PC and PS4 - though mainly on the PS4 and don't see much bunny hopping at all, could it be *shock horror* console gamers take the game more seriously than PC gamers? Out of all the game modes I've played Heist the most and you regularly see some squads concentrate on taking or protecting the loot while other squads take to the high ground, the roof tops to cover the criminals escape or to supress the police - is that not tactical? I've seen squads where a guy will have a grappling hook equipped and so create a quick route from one roof to the next to avoid taking the loot across the busy street, I've seen squads do dummy runs to draw the police in one direction while a group with the loot heads the other way, I'd say that was pretty tactical.
I could set up ARMA to be pretty gamey, a group I play with run a ARMA 2 Wasteland server from time to time using the Utes map and its crammed full of ammo boxes and vehicles - that's pretty gamey, I've lost count of the players I've seen zig-zagging quickly as they run to abuse ARMA's poor hit detection - every bit as annoying as seeing someone bunny hopping. I'm not trying to say Hardline of BF4 is as realistic or tactical as ARMA but they are what you make of them. I'm happy enough with what I've seen in Hardline to want to pre-order it, primarily for my PS4 but also on Pc.
I didn't think I would like it... and probably not worth getting IMO if you either don't like the series, or already have too little time for BF4.... but after playing MP this AM for about 3 hours, pretty cool, pretty fun... can't wait for hardcore servers thou, big problem with a baton killing you with one hit but a rifle takes a whole mag of ammo to kill you also. Not worth it, unless you really want it... but I look at it as more BF4 with new tools, objectives, and maps.
played ALL day, work tonight absolutely love the Hostage Rescue 5 on 5 missions... a team using comms and basic bounding over watch assaults on the left or right side is incredible. The most tactical mode in the MP game.
This game is a hot mess. Single-player campaign is the same old predictable, boring, hand-holding stuff. That was to be expected of course.
However the multiplayer, my god. They upped the TTK which the frostbite engine's client side hit detection can't handle at all. Weapons kill faster than the server updates. The maps are tiny (or at least, the action is extremely condensed), the weapon balance is a complete joke. The entire game is just a big ole' clusterfu ... with the weirdest pacing I've ever seen in an FPS. They want it to be fast paced but it's so brutal, people need to camp just to get a single kill.
I enjoy Rescue and Crosshair, both round-based modes. However, they even managed to make them very annoying, plus there's barely any people playing 'em.
With more time in it... SP is a joke, for a police game... it's not...tanks, helicopters etc etc... but never been into the BF series for the SP, just play through them once, usually for the unlocks.
MP can grow on you, Hardline is more geared towards the CoD crowd IMO, it's faster... too fast IMO, and all the maps are smaller, but the gameplay can be FUN, just like all the BF series MP games. Their still needs to be some fixes and gameplay and weapon balance issues addressed, but Hardline sure had a nicer launch then BF4... like they should, they also seemed to go back to old features we liked back in the day with older BF games.
MP is mostly infantry battles, the only vehicles are a few helicopters, which can be taken down with regular gun fire, boats, and many cars, vans, trucks...etc etc... but mostly a infantry/ground battle game, which I like... don't want to see tanks and attack helicopters or C130's above in this.
The game is not only offense to law enforcement... but criminals also... the game has racial elements along with typical movie/TV/video games cop stereotypes... but I know it's a game, so I can deal with it, just like BGTAV.
Funny how a police baton can kill with 1 hit, or a tazer which is non-leathal still kills with one shock, but it takes almost a full mag to kill some one with bullets.
The best and most fun parts of the game are actually the smaller more direct mission type mods, IE: my favorite being the 5 on 5 hostage rescue... kinda reminds me of what we will probably see with R6 Siege later this year. Then theirs the fun stuff like heist and hotwire modes... the games weakness is conquest... I mean it's still conquest... and the games can be fun, but unrealistic for a police games... this game has given me high hopes for a more police related R6 Siege thou.
SO, after time... IMO, good if you like smaller mission type police mode gameplay, bad if you don't like fast shooters or smaller maps. and at the current price of 60 for the game and 50 for the premium... not worth the price... save your money for the Star Wars version.
but that said, I still enjoy it for what it is and have a lot of fun especially with friends.