First person shooter games are not new. War games are not new. Battlefield is not an unfamiliar game either. With all this in mind, how can Battlefield 1 be a game worth running out to buy? Well, let me explain.
The game opens to real war scenarios, the opening dialogue is clear – “you are not expected to survive”. You don’t. You wake up in various old war moments under fire, trying to survive, taking lives before they take yours, firing weapons, using your bayonet, lobbing grenades, flying planes, driving tanks, fighting wars on horseback and more. You die, over and over again. You life is ended, just like the millions who died in prior wars. The visuals are so life like that you can’t tell when it is a pre-game movie scene or in the game itself. You see the faces of the men you kill, you see them right when they’re about to kill you too. When you’re dead on the floor and light is fading you’ll see them grind their teeth as they remove the knife from your chest. This is war, they are believable scenes and this is as close as you can get to the battles of wars in history without getting hurt.
Battlefield 1 in our view is a two part game. Single player, follow battles of a region in a period in time, operate missions and complete objectives. You’ll be lead through some stunning scenes and wars, you’ll see comrades die in brutal ways, you’ll also die, but the story and the challenges are extremely attractive keeping you glued to the game well into the night.
Multiplayer however is likely the most inviting and the place where most of you will spend your time. It actually feels less realistic and less heart pumping in a multiplayer game. Sure the battles are life like and the way people kill are the same, but the fact that the people around you are just in an all out battle, you re-spawn a few seconds later and you’re aiming to hit a target or complete a larger challenge you start to feel desensitised to what is really going on and where you really fit. In single player mode you feel solely responsible for victory, you feel a death like you’ve let the country down, but in multiplayer you’ll just be running back into the battle seeking redemption.
Joining a large scale multiplayer game though is just remarkable. You’ll commandeer an army tank, suddenly someone playing Battlefield 1 from somewhere else in the world will jump on the rear gun for you and while you have no idea who they are, gamertag AusBeno, is now your best friend, you’re both looking after each other, both trusting one another to stick it out and take lives. It’s a brilliant team game experience and the same feeling comes around in a plane, on a battleship, a motorbike with sidecar and more. There are so many different ways to engage in war and their both a great deal of entertainment. The favourite part of it all is the realism. This game is very believable, the weapons, scenes and vehicles. No laser weapons, no space ships, no robots, this is war, it is as it once was, it’s a glimpse at history. If it scares you, or it leaves your heart racing then just imagine how battles were for the real soldiers of war.
For us, this is the best first person shooter in history. The visuals are spectacular, the gameplay is phenomenal and the longevity will see us into 2017 with ease. We can’t think of a better way to wrap it up than with a 10/10 score. Battlefield 1 should be added to your gaming collection yesterday.
