World War I, the Great War, the War that would end all Wars, not a proud moment of mankind. It’s been over hundred years since the world was at war, forcing young men to fight an enemy that was as scared as they were. A lot of good men died during the war and they will be remembered forever. There aren’t many games capable of translating the horror of this war but Battlefield 1 doesn’t fail to leave an impression. You’re no super soldier; you’re a young man fighting for his country on fields where death lurks behind every corner.
Forget the future, remember the past
Picking World War I as a theme for a game is a brave move. When EA and Dice first revealed Battlefield 1, fans all over the Internet lost their minds. The difference between this Battlefield and the Futuristic Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare couldn’t be any bigger. But how do you handle a theme like this? You can’t create a game where you feel too powerful; you can’t create a game where one soldier survives the entire war. You have to create an experience that leaves behind a remaining memory of the lost ones. A lot of countries lost a lot of young men during this war so what better way to remember them than by putting the gamer into the shoes of those soldiers? The campaign is unlike anything you’ve seen before in Battlefield and perhaps is the most emotional first-person shooter we’ve played in a while, let’s explain why.
You start the game with a single message telling you your goal isn’t to survive, you need to die. It’s something we’re not used to in a game. We fought off the enemies as long as possible but at one point, our bullets just ran out and we got shot to dead. What we saw next was the name of the fallen soldier and his day of birth and death. This happens a couple of time before you jump to the main characters of the story. Losing a lot of young men during the first minutes of the game is an intense experience, especially when you release none of those soldiers were over 25 years old. You’re not feeling powerful at all, instead you feel and understand the panic the young men must have felt on the battlefields years ago.
Remember their story
The best thing about the campaign is how Dice handled it. For the first time ever, there are actual scenes connecting the missions. This results in a stronger and more emotional bond with your playable character. You’re no longer a faceless soldier; you’re a man of flesh and blood, fighting for survival. The campaign is filled with great scenes, accompanied with perfect music. Something the game does incredibly well are the transitions between the normal life of the characters and that same life during the war. It really shows the contradiction of war in ways a game rarely is capable of.
Battlefield 1 leaves a powerful impression
To make things more interesting, you’re not following in the footsteps of a super soldier able to command each type of vehicle and operate each type of weapon without a sweat. Instead, you’ll follow five different characters, all with their strengths and weaknesses. The first one is a tank operator but after that you’ll meet interesting characters such as a pilot, sniper, veteran, ground trooper and a special kind of volunteers. Each story has its own strengths but the ones with the tank and plane are the most memorable if you ask us.
The campaign is very impressive thanks to the cutscenes but it’s a shame the experience only lasts around five hours to complete and the missions feel a little too straightforward. A more open approach could have done wonders for the overall experience but instead we’re forced on a linear path to defeat or enemies. It’s nothing to worry about too much since the campaign will definitely remain one of the most intense campaigns you’ve ever played. Impressive without a doubt but the true star of Battlefield 1 still is its multiplayer.
The online battlefields
Online multiplayer is the main reason and selling point of Battlefield 1 and it must be said, it’s truly an impressive experience. Overall, it feels like the multiplayer is way better than Battlefield 4. The maps are great and offer something for every type of player, the vehicles feel balanced and the graphics are just amazing. Fighting in the Sinai Desert or narrow corridors of the Ballroom Blitz couldn’t offer more variation. Everything about the online multiplayer is thought through and I guess everybody will be able to enjoy it without a doubt.
The biggest problem in other Battlefield games was the balance, fighting certain types of vehicles felt a little too unfair, a problem that got solved in Battlefield 1. First of all, the planes are more sensitive for damage than ever before, which makes sense based on the actual planes of World War 1. The tanks prove a bigger challenge but those can be taken out easily if you work as a team and use some of the strategically placed Rocket Guns on the map. The Behemoth vehicles are the true powerhouses of the game but even those can be taken out with the right amount of teamwork. Destroying vehicles is fun thanks to the destructible environment. Everything you see can be shot to oblivion, leaving behind a battlefield filled with concrete and corpses. Prepare for some intense online matches!
Interesting new modes
The popular Battlefield multiplayer modes return but Battlefield 1 also introduces two new modes: Operations and War Pigeons. Let’s see what they are all about.
Operations: This mode feels a lot like Rush, where you need to control strategically placed spots on the map. In Operations, you’ll fight in teams of 20, making a total of 40 players at the same time. If you play on the attackers side, you’ll need to run towards certain points you need to control. You do so by standing on that spot without dying, similar to the Conquest mode. You win the round as attacker if you manage to control the two points on the map, forcing the defenders to fall back. Operations is a very tactical mode where both groups really need to work together as a team. It seems like the defenders have the advantage since they always know from which side the attack will come but don’t be mistaken. If you don’t work together as a team and create holes in your defense, you’ll be forced to defeat in no time.
War Pigeons: Feels very un-Battlefield at first sight but results in a very fun and fast paced multiplayer mode. The goal of this mode is to grab the War Pigeon first, take it to a certain location and rain down the artillery on your enemies. If you manage to do this three times, you’ll win the fight. The fun part about this mode is that it’s fought on smaller maps than you’re used to in a Battlefield game, resulting in gunfire and grenades flying everywhere. It really captivates the chaotic War and delivers a very intense multiplayer mode.
Besides these two new modes there’s plenty of content to keep you satisfied and we’re sure the veteran Battlefield players will be more than pleased with the amount of maps, modes and guns. This is Battlefield with a twist but it’s definitely one of the better experiences so far.
Conclusion:
Battlefield 1 lives up to the hype and delivers a very intense and memorable experience. It manages to captivate the chaos and violence of the Great War thanks to its short but impressive campaign. Once you finished that, you’ll be able to spend a lot of hours on the online battlefields, enjoying the new modes, maps and vehicles. Battlefield 1 is a unique game that dares to show a different side of war. Prepare for the unexpected and enjoy every bit of this masterpiece!
9/10
