Battlefield Multiplayer: Why I love it
It’s been awhile since a game was able to lure me into a multiplayer experience. Not since Counterstrike has a game teased me so much that I find myself saying, “Okay I’m done,” but after looking at my stats … I do a few more games. It then repeats until it’s midnight and time to sleep.
So exactly what does Battlefield do that none of the other online games have seemed to do? To be perfectly honest, I think it’s the elimination of deathmatch. Now, there are squad rush and deathmatch modes where you’re placed on a team of four against three other squads as opposed to just two sides. So if deathmatch is your game, it is still an option.
I may be getting the two mixed up … but Conquest mode is where one team is a defender and one is an attacker. The attackers are charged with blowing up two key points in a section of a map. Once succeeded, the map progresses to another area and you do the same. There are four sections per map. Rush mode is essentially Capture the Flag.
There are four distinct classes: Assault, typical soldier; Engineer, soldiers who work with the repair and destruction of tanks, helicoptors, etc; Medic, healers with Machine Guns; and Recon, the subtlety class that helps from afar.
Always being a sucker for a subtlety class (I was a rogue in WoW, afterall) I chose the Recon class and found out that Recon is much more than a guy with a sniper rifle. It’s your job (ideally) to protect your team-mates from afar. Drop mortars on tanks, call out enemies rushing up on your team, destroy tank mines all while picking off other snipers who are doing the same thing you are. And in Rush mode, your also the ideal candidate to keep an eye on the object to be destroyed as the bomb is ticking away – just incase a few soldiers try to disarm it. And what if your view is obscured by a building? Well, just use mortar strikes and tanks to destroy the building and bring the target into the open.
Engineers are much less about going in and killing as it is about tagging enemy vehicles and then destroying them through rocket launchers, tank mines, etc. And with your ability to repair vehicles, you’re essential to driving or accompanying tank drivers (many vehicles can support up to four people in a vehicle). When the vehicle gets damaged, you repair it. And because you’re focused on vehicles, you’ll also level up your tank skills as well.
Medics are pretty self explanatory. Drop health kits down, revive fallen enemies and stay alive. This is more of a in-the-action class along with the Assualt class. Unlike recon and engineers, they have no real fighting power against tanks. They use Machine Guns which means they are able to shoot for a long time and often don’t have to reload often – but when you do … it seems to take forever.
And finally, the assault class is your generic soldier with the ability to shoot grenades from your guns (upgrades allow for a smoke grenade or a close range shotgun) and you also have the highest number of guns to choose from. Infact, I’ve found that they have the best guns out of all the classes. You can also resupply your teams ammo.
Another key factor is the vehicles. You have a lot to choose from, and just like all the other classes, they have upgrades as well. Tanks overall are durable, but they are still subject to one-hit destroys via tank mines, and stationery ATs. That’s why it’s your job to keep an eye out … and if recon is doing their job, they keep an eye out on the path for any mines. And if they find them, they shoot them and eliminate the problem.
And while killing enemies gets you points … so does doing what your class is supposed to do. Revivies, Spottings, Defense and Offense Kills, etc. all grant you points. It’s not just about the Kill/Death Ratio. There’s also a quote I read regularly when looking up stuff on Battlefield Forums, “If you care about your K/D Ratio, go back to Modern Warfare 2.” I personally don’t go by that motto, but many commenters have said stuff like that.
So overall, this game rewards you for acting like a team. If you’re in a squad, you get additional points for healing, reviving or helping your squad. Sure, you can be a rogue and work solo, but you get more points if you assist your team instead of just killing people. The game doesn’t score based on K/D, it scores based on how many points you have. A recon that works alone and just picks people off won’t have as good of a score as a recon soldier who looks out for his team, or keeps an eye on the bomb while the countdown goes on.
A good example of teamwork was a game that I did a few days ago – two of us in a helicopter. The other squad member was the driver and I was the gunner. He was able to successfully navigate the helicopter around (those things are tricky) but after taking a few blows, he’d retreat to our base, I’d hop out and repair it and then we’d be off again. The majority of the match was spent doing that. The nice thing was that we both got credit for each others’ kills. And to top it off, because we were squad members, we got bonus points.
Upgrades are done per class. Sure, there are some all-around perks that you get as you level up, but ideally … if there’s a specific toy you want, you have to play that class. Classes don’t immediately start out with mortar strikes, defibrillators and tank mines. You have to play the class, get a bit customized to it and then you’re given the upgrades. Most of the specialty upgrades are received pretty quickly … but if there’s a gun you really want – chances are it’s high up on the list, and you’ll have to work awhile to get it. All vehicles share the same upgrades, too.
Overall, though, I suppose the main reason I like Battlefield Multiplayer is because it is team-based at the core. You don’t have to play as a team, but you do better if you do. I would guess if you get into a clan of some sorts that use voice chat – the game can be really fun if you’re into the teamwork situation. And honestly, with games like these – it IS more realistic to work as a team rather than be the rogue. There is a nice feel of accomplishment when you work with a group of players that actually work as a team and you successfully achieve your objective.
If you’re into the “I’m on my own” approach … you’d probably like the squad matches, but those have to be selected manually – which gives me the idea that Dice encourages the teamwork aspect.
Battlefield won’t be for everyone. It has a relatively steep learning curve and can be very difficult and frustrating to get used to … which can probably be said for most multiplayer games. But I think if you’re the type of person who enjoys more teamwork-based multiplayer, then you may enjoy Battlefield.
Review: Heavy Rain
- Graphics were a big issue with this game – with someone saying that the graphics would blow Uncharted 2 out of the water. I was skeptical of that, and my thoughts were correct. In no way does this game blow UC2′s graphics out of the water, but most of the times the graphics were pretty realistic.
- The game’s camera angles and presentations were done nicely and helped give the game a movie-style feel to it. Infact, this game did a very good job at making me think that this was more of a movie than a game. Even looking back now, I recall the dialog instead of my controller input or frustrations.
- The interesting concept about this game is that you never technically lose. If a character dies, then that’s how it’s played out in the story. No resets or anything like that … which is why this is one of the few games where your actions will really have a consequence on the rest of the game.
- This game is one giant QTE – minus moving the character – and the game does it pretty well. The indicators go along with the action, so you don’t have an indicator in the center of the screen each and every time. If you’re fighting, the indicator will follow the fists as you prepare to punch someone, etc.
- The game has multiple endings. So why is this a negative? As much as I did enjoy this game, I do not want to have to play it five times to see all the endings. When the game plays out more like a movie … that means you have to be willing to sit and watch, rather than play.
- For a game that boasted great graphics, I did notice that some graphics seemed rather bleh – some facial expressions didn’t meet the voice acting and whatnot. It seems more attention is on the characters than the objects. Normally this is fine – and understood – but some of the graphics looked especially bland.
- The QTE indicators can be confusing. You have three main types that has it’s own graphical style, but I had a hard time distinguishing between them. They sometimes show up way too fast and end in time for you to react, so you are penalized in some way.
Postive Points: 4 | Negative Points: 3 | Total Score: +1
