A MOST GLORIOUS TUTORIAL
Also for: Windows, Xbox One
I should begin by pointing out that this is my first Battlefield-game. I'm nevertheless aware that the developer's (DICE) old formula has
become such a familiar concept that reviewers settle with simply pointing out
what's changed between releases. What is new? What remains?
What's removed? What works and what doesn't? As for the formula itself,
Battlefield is ingrained in gamer DNA, simple as that, and needs no further
introduction.
Since I'm new to the franchise, I don't exactly know the roots, and cannot
simply point out what has changed. In other words: I'm screwed. All I can do is surmise that
this is an FPS among FPS:es, a genre well out of my comfort zone. As is
customary on this blog, I'll hone in on the campaign mode, simply because I'm
not an online dude. With a backlog of roughly 1100 games left to play (800 if
you exclude subscription services), I don't have time for the endless
multiplayer loop.
The Battlefield 1-campaign is a solid offering, an intense few hours of polished gameplay and high-stakes World War I-drama. The outcomes feel unclear due to its fresh take on FPS narrative structure.
Instead of following one soldier throughout, the campaign is divided into six
shorter war stories, based on the real conflicts of World War I. Each one is
winnable within a couple of hours at the most. I had a fun time learning each
protagonist's niche skills - enough so that I could disregard that the game
really was grooming me for the multiplayer experience. Yes, the campaign is a
glorified tutorial, but very nicely masquerading as its own beast.
That being said, the writing isn't groundbreaking by any means. All the arcs
hit all the familiar notes. The writers don't exactly bring the horrors of war
into new light, but rather offer textbook war narration. Every story is framed
in pretentious, dramatic voice-overs about loss and suffering. But the action
doesn't quite follow suit, being more like an ode to the thrill of partaking
in it and the martyrdom of the fallen.
Consequently, the stories hit a solid middle ground. They neither encourage
war, nor totally discourage it. Maybe that's the most appropriate depiction,
considering how this franchise continually exploits the thrill of battle.
Trying to blurt out pacifist propaganda in the middle of a fun combat scenario
would've felt disingenuous. Ultimately, Battlefield 1 doesn't stir up any sort
of emotions apart from its gameplay thrills - of which it holds a fair
share.
You play as different protagonists in a few different settings around the
globe. Each one is a specialist of a certain kind, be it different vehicles,
weapons or game modes. You might go from manning a flak gun to driving a tank to
crawling around the mud, looking for enemies or mines. One episode starts you
off totally unarmed as a scout in the Sahara, as you sneak from enemy to
enemy, knocking them out cold from behind. As you clear one story in the trenches of the Alps, you might
start the next one up in the air, shooting down Germans as a British dogfighting
ace of dubious morals.
There are six stories, including a confusing tutorial segment with
"expendable" black soldiers dying one by one in the trenches. I'd say the
airborne (love boarding that zeppelin) and the Gallipoli ones are the
strongest and most enthralling. The second one is my least favorite, where you
man a tank that's constantly in need of repairs and outside assistance. Too
often I find myself forced to go outside, sneaking ahead to look for mines and
ambushes, only to get surprised by an slew of soldiers and tanks lurking in
the fog. It also happens to be the most linear.
The Battlefield series focuses more on openness, total war and systemic fun than its more linear and directed Call of Duty-brethren. The maps are larger and often
present you with a slew of different roads and tactics to pursue. The graphics
and sound totally envelop you in the situation, never allowing you to relax.
Bullets fly all around, as new orders come in from the officer screaming
in your ears. As you're trying to get your bearings straight the enemy is
already upon you.
The game sometimes urges you to consider different approaches, like stealth or
experimenting with heavier weapon loadouts, or laying out traps, but it
doesn't always quite fly. Part of the problem comes with the era itself. The
limited selection of WWI-firearms restricts your options, and makes me
question the point of experimenting. And in the more action-fuelled scenarios,
where you're just a couple of stray bullets away from certain death, it's hard to
stay cool enough to think like a tactician anyway.
But even if the "different approaches"-part sometimes fails, the experience
feels well-staged. The combat itself feels fair and balanced. A lot of
scenarios end up as thrillers, as you're completely outnumbered and outgunned.
You never run out of cover, and can always scout an area as long as you're
undetected and mark your enemies. If you're spotted, you can slip back into
obscurity if you manage to stay out of enemy sights long enough.
Certain sections are a tad harsh, with insta-killing enemy bombardments you
can do little to predict or avoid. One section wanted me to scout out enemy
soldiers from a tower using my binoculars, but they didn't work properly and
kept glitching out, so I had to run in completely blind. And the checkpoint
system is very uneven, sometimes forcing you to repeat long sections if you
die.
And that is basically all I has to say. As already stated, Battlefield 1 is one shooter among
shooters, entertaining but quickly forgotten. This game, like the entire
series, is so focused on the multiplayer that we're lucky to get a
single-player component this polished. However, I gotta admit that I was bored as hell writing this review. The Battlefield 1 campaign lacks
personality. It has no hook to pull you in, nothing to keep you invested, and the
story outcomes are set in stone.
It ultimately becomes a typical EA-spectacle - a solid, shining, curated offering for fans that
know what they want. As for me, it goes down with a blaze in my memory, like
that zeppelin in the third war story. It was beautiful to experience but leaves me with very little worth
remembering. This game might have held a lot of war stories, but the gameplay
didn't provide me with any of my own. I guess that part comes with the
non-curated multiplayer that I refused to indulge in.
However, this doesn't mean I dislike the campaign, as is indicated by my
review score. It just means it is not meant for words and analytical thought -
it is meant to be played and enjoyed. I had a good old time with what little I
got, but that sentiment alone makes little room for opinions. I finished it
about a month ago, and have been dreading this review ever since. The fact that I managed to string this many words together is a miracle.
Here comes the abridged version: It's a typical EA DICE WW1 MMO FPS with stable FPS, a helpful HUD and featuring great GFX and a solid VA cast. And zeppelin rules.
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