The first thing that hits you about the Battlefield: Hardline beta is the barely controlled chaos that permeates every single level and mode offered in this free first look at the game. When I played the very first mode offered in the game I went with the quick match and was immediately placed into a Heist game that had 23 other players all running around. On the one hand, having this many people in a game means there is plenty of action, no matter where I went. On the other hand, it was almost impossible to take more than a few steps before I found myself under heavy fire.
To some degree, this kind of environment puts you into a situation where plenty of cops have found themselves, especially when talking about a big time heist. I genuinely had to sneak around and make sure I could find a vantage point that would allow me to take shots at my enemy without getting shot myself. When I was able to play as the robbers, it was the same kind of situation. The Heist mode is not one where you sneak into a bank and try and get out without getting noticed. You have been noticed and it’s now your job to basically blast your way out, or find a passage that will get you around the heaviest of law enforcement personnel gatherings.
"While there is controlled chaos, it truly is barely controlled. Most of the time, it’s really hard to tell exactly if the person who is across the lobby is your teammate or your enemy and this is made even harder considering that your teammates actually have a couple of different colors when their names are displayed."
While there is controlled chaos, it truly is barely controlled. Most of the time, it’s really hard to tell exactly if the person who is across the lobby is your teammate or your enemy and this is made even harder considering that your teammates actually have a couple of different colors when their names are displayed. Some members of your group have blue lettering and some have green.
The first couple of times I played the Battlefield: Hardline beta I thought I was perhaps supposed to go after anyone who didn’t have the same color lettering as mine and it took me a bit to realize that the people in green were not the enemy. In fact, there really doesn’t appear to be a clear demarkation at all of who the enemy is and this makes the multiplayer plenty difficult.
In Heist, I got to play both as the cops and the robbers and got a good look at both sides of the coin. When playing as the robbers, the point is to crack a safe and get yourself a bag that is holding either money or jewels or some other kind of loot. You are then supposed to get that bag to a particular spot on the map in order to win the round. As the police, the main goal is to stop the bad guys from reaching their destination and take out the bag carrier.
If the carrier is indeed taken out, both sides are rushing to grab the bag while also opening fire at one another. The game mode has bullet flying at whizzing about at a mind boggling pace, especially when you’ve got so many people all playing at the same time.
"In Battlefield: Hardline, the police can open fire with impunity because they are completely confident they won’t hit anyone but a bad guy. That alone makes me feel that I am out on a battlefield more than in the middle of the city."
I should say right now that while there is a very real feeling of being in a fire fight, because you usually can’t tell exactly where the gun fire is coming from. On the other hand, the game is supposed to be about a police story. This feels more like Battlefield 4 has moved into the city and the soldiers for the game are now taking on terrorists who are robbing banks in their spare time. While this is a beta, if there is one thing that is very noticeably missing, it’s that the firefight is going on in the middle of a downtown area in a major city and yet there are no bystanders of any kind to be seen.
In Battlefield: Hardline, the police can open fire with impunity because they are completely confident they won’t hit anyone but a bad guy. That alone makes me feel that I am out on a battlefield more than in the middle of the city. That feeling extends into the other modes, especially Conquest. Conquest is supposed to be a way for Battlefield: Hardline to harken back to some of the older Battlefield games where my team was supposed to take over a number of different outpost and then hold them.
The mode is covered in the flag of being a number of police who are storming a meth compound. The problem is that the compound doesn’t look any different than some sort of desert battleground. The police and the criminals have even called in helicopters that can use chain guns to take out their enemies. There ins’t any attempt to arrest or subdue. Machine gun fire from a helicopter isn’t going to take out an enemy nicely or gently. You are blowing people away.
"Still, this multiplayer doesn’t seem to be showing off what Hardline has to offer. Rather this seems to be showing that the online multiplayer has the game looking exactly like any other shoot em up game currently on the market."
In fact, that might be the biggest thing missing from all the modes in the open beta. Despite supposedly playing as police, there is no attempt to do anything other than shoot the criminals. When you are playing as the criminals this makes some sense, but hopefully the full game does allow you to actually stop and cuff the criminals. It’s still early and the open beta obviously isn’t offering up all the different modes the final Battlefield: Hardline will have.
Still, this multiplayer doesn’t seem to be showing off what Hardline has to offer. Rather this seems to be showing that the online multiplayer has the game looking exactly like any other shoot em up game currently on the market. Perhaps the online multiplayer is where the game’s developers need the most feedback. This open beta didn’t wet my appetite for the impending release but convinced me the game was hurried and isn’t going to be offering anything we haven’t seen before.
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