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Battlefield Heroes: Hands-On Impressions
Posted by Brian Crecente at 9:00 AM on May 14, 2008
Before the whole shebang took off last night and Electronic Arts kicked off their Spring Break Games Day, I managed to sneak my way onto a computer loaded up with Battlefield Heroes to check out a bit of gameplay and mess around with the game's interesting customisation settings.
DICE's free-to-play upcoming shooter features Team Fortress 2-like graphics and a definite Battlefield Lite feel, but what really captured my interest was the game's use of customisation.
To create your character you have to first choose between a soldier, gunner and commando. Once you've selected the basic type of character you are playing you can go in and customise his look by adding objects to the ten provided slots. Like in many role-playing games, each slot changes a specific part of a character's look.
For instance with my character, a long mustachioed gunner, I gave him skull make up on his face, a dragon tattoo on his back, a bandolero of ammo slung from a shoulder, black pants and a peg leg. Yes, a peg leg. Really, I could have stopped playing at this point because any World War II -themed shooter that features a cartoon like art-style and the ability to slap peg legs on anyone is going to have a hard time convincing me not to play it.
But there is more. Besides customising the look of your characters, you can also customise the way they play. By playing the game you unlock abilities which you can then bind to hotkeys, like you would in a massively multiplayer or role-playing game. The first few are typically reserved for weapons, but then you can use the rest for rechargeable powers like the ability to heal yourself, run, toughen your skin for a short time.
I didn't have tons of time to actually play the game, what with the time I spent marveling over the peg legs, but from what I saw it looks like it's going to be quite a bit of fun: A shooter that in many ways looks and feels like an RPG.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
Maniclysane
Posted 9:38 AM 14/5/08
Please please please be on Mac. I'm not getting a new computer until I move out, and I'm stuck with this garbage. :X
Maniclysane
evirustheslaye
Posted 9:35 AM 14/5/08
I hope they didn't totally dumb down flight physics lower than BF1942.
evirustheslaye
SlowDeath420
Posted 9:34 AM 14/5/08
Oh man i'm so excited,i wish they would give us a REAL pc only BF not nubbed by having to be on a console aswell but alas this will have to do.Good thing it looks AWESOME!
@gaijira: What,you just start playing games yesterday?Cause that sounds an awful lot like sarcasm about "those people".Because if "those people"do show up and say something like that,it will be the only true unbiased comments made on the site this week:)
SlowDeath420
Shocky
Posted 9:29 AM 14/5/08
The only reason I won't be playing this is because it's free. Games like this normally bear no conscious change on people who hack their asses off on 10 accounts and continually come back.
Think GunZ: The Duel, or Warrock.
This is going to become a hacker's nest, and to be quite blatant a ripoff of Team Fortress 2.
Wouldn't expect any less of EA.
Shocky
Heliophage
Posted 9:27 AM 14/5/08
@EnigmaNemesis:
It was a Portal comment, at least...
Heliophage
Asbestos_Underwear
Posted 9:26 AM 14/5/08
"Hands on" with the new shooter and all we get are character creation impressions that somehow sound familiar from the last trailer. How does this game play?
Asbestos_Underwear
drunkentyger
Posted 9:24 AM 14/5/08
This game looks fun. I feel like an idiot who paid for a copy of Valve's, Team Fortress 2 yesterday...
drunkentyger
jarjarwang
Posted 9:22 AM 14/5/08
I can't wait! What if a free multiplayer pc shooter really takes off... that would be so great!
jarjarwang
gaijira
Posted 9:19 AM 14/5/08
Cue "this looks cool but EA will screw it up cos there teh lamerz" comments...
gaijira
Palladium
Posted 9:18 AM 14/5/08
@andaman: Yeah, free to download.
They make their money charging you for character customization and selling bullets, as far as we can tell at this point.
Either way, looks cool.
Palladium
fumar
Posted 9:14 AM 14/5/08
@Krondonian: Its not exactly browser based if I'm reading this right, its more, you login to the game via a website and then it launches the application.
I'll give this game a try since there's no reason not to, but I really want Battlefield 3!
fumar
maniacmayhem
Posted 9:13 AM 14/5/08
Ok, sure why not. I'll give it a go.
maniacmayhem
Pezdispenser
Posted 9:11 AM 14/5/08
Though I have my doubts that it can pry me away from TF2, I'll gladly give it a shot.
Pezdispenser
Arttemis
Posted 9:10 AM 14/5/08
Can't have a free WW2 game with Iron Crosses and Swastikas, now can we?!?
Arttemis
okrangerbob
Posted 9:09 AM 14/5/08
This game seems really interesting. And its free! Im sure I will definitely play this.
okrangerbob
Krondonian
Posted 9:08 AM 14/5/08
I was watching the hilarious trailer of sorts at the DICE website, and to be honest, I think this will be a big hit.
The fact that it looks so accessible, and cutesy equals more players.
Deeper RPG style elements equals players staying longer.
Battlefield name equals more players.
Low specs and and browser based? Loads of players.
I really can't wait for this...
Krondonian
Pikadrew
Posted 9:07 AM 14/5/08
The fact that there is no shot of said peg-legged gunner hurts me more than you can believe. I think that's him in the last pic..but no peg leg action makes it 3000% less cool.
Pikadrew
andaman
Posted 9:06 AM 14/5/08
what free to play? does that also mean free to download?
andaman
ShirtGuyDom
Posted 9:06 AM 14/5/08
@EnigmaNemesis: We missed it by one comment! Bah.
ShirtGuyDom
ShirtGuyDom
Posted 9:05 AM 14/5/08
*In before baseless TF2 rip-off claims.*
Oh, wait, never mind.
ShirtGuyDom
dude49
Posted 9:05 AM 14/5/08
I sure will look forward to this!
dude49
EnigmaNemesis
Posted 9:05 AM 14/5/08
In before the TF2 comments.
EnigmaNemesis
Sundermania
Posted 9:04 AM 14/5/08
Wow. This looks familiar. What's next, EA?
"Teleporter"?
You know, where you run around in a lab shooting "teleport points" at the walls while escaping an evil computer. Sounds like a great idea to me.
Sundermania
Mustakrakish
Posted 9:03 AM 14/5/08
Sounds a lot like some kind of Shadowrun-Lego-Battlefield hybrid.
Mustakrakish
z357x
Posted 10:06 AM 14/5/08
man, I was wondering about this when you guys first announced it, but I think I'm sold....
which was fairly easy to do since it's free!
Even it it was not fun I'd download it just to play with the customization.
z357x
Solarion
Posted 10:03 AM 14/5/08
Let's hurry up and have this game fail so EA can talk about how the USA is not ready for micro-transactions.
Solarion
Xeneizes
Posted 9:57 AM 14/5/08
I wish that it'd be Mac friendly as well. If not, well, I CAN play it on Windows... but why would I want to?
Xeneizes
Quilt
Posted 9:56 AM 14/5/08
This really looks like fun. I'm looking forward to it. And if they happened to steal some design ideas from Team Fortress 2, that's fine by me. They're damn good designs to steal.
Quilt
gaijira
Posted 9:49 AM 14/5/08
@SlowDeath420: Sigh...ok first of all, BF Heroes *is* PC-only. You may be confusing it with BF: Bad Company. 2nd, yes I was being sarcastic, good job. 3rd, no I didn't start playing games yesterday, more like the late 70s. I played every Battlefield title so far, which I loved, were PC only, and were published by EA. I'm having trouble getting whether you're being sarcastic yourself...
gaijira
homernoy
Posted 9:44 AM 14/5/08
@Shocky:True, but do you remember Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory? That was free and complete blast. I don't remember cheating, or problems of any kind on a wide scale, but it's been awhile.
homernoy
man_in_gauze
Posted 10:33 AM 14/5/08
Just like Guitar Hero IV, sounds great, and kinda different, but if they stop ripping their main premise off of better games, then I'll possibly try it.
man_in_gauze
Solarion
Posted 10:31 AM 14/5/08
EA & FREE? Lets play a game of "which one doesn't belong". This game is their test to see how much money they can make by providing a free game with items purchased thru micro-transactions. It will have ads as well. I implore everyone not to spend a cent on this pos.
Solarion
SlowDeath420
Posted 10:26 AM 14/5/08
@gaijira: Relax dude,i know its a pc only game,for now.But that doesn't change the fact i want a REAL bf game,with the scale,performance and most importantly the dedicated servers.I'm not hating on this game,its gonna be fantastic,but dam if i wouldn't pay 100 beans for BF3:)
And secondly,i was just ribbin you dude.No need to explain yourself to me.
SlowDeath420
Hyperfludd
Posted 10:26 AM 14/5/08
I think I remember in Games for Windows magazine that the devs were actually working on this before TF2 got released to the public.
So..
Bleh. :x
Hyperfludd
Dr.Chocobo
Posted 10:14 AM 14/5/08
A shooter that in many ways looks and feels like an RPG.
Hello? Planetside?
Are you there?
Dr.Chocobo
ph15h HATES ph15h
Posted 10:13 AM 14/5/08
@fumar: It's kind of like how Ijji does Gunboudn and Gunz. So yeah, like you were saying.
Ads support the game alone. Ads are on the site and supposedly when you start the game but none in game... I can't wait for the release. Can't turn down free legal gaming. Wait... Runescape. Eww
ph15h HATES ph15h
shouryuuken
Posted 10:51 AM 14/5/08
i wish this was on a console. i dont like battlefield, but this looks sweet. how this would be marred by being ported to a console is beyond me.
shouryuuken
Luziphir
Posted 10:38 AM 14/5/08
Uhg, they completely missed the mark on the graphics. TF2 managed to do it perfectly and got a goofy, cartoony interface. This just looks really creepy.
Luziphir
Ra is on Arrested Development!
Posted 11:20 AM 14/5/08
@Mustakrakish: You said it. Anyone crying about the game is really foolish since the game cost you nothing.
And yes it does look like TF2! OMG! But wait! this game actually looks fun! and free...
Ra is on Arrested Development!
LittleBigPlaneteer
Posted 11:15 AM 14/5/08
@Luziphir:
I prefer this to TF2's graphics to be honest.
LittleBigPlaneteer
Mustakrakish
Posted 11:04 AM 14/5/08
At the end of the day it's a free game, so nobody has a right to complain about it's originality or content.
Mustakrakish
Dr.Chocobo
Posted 12:11 PM 14/5/08
@WiNG: By the logic of what you wrote, you are saying is basically any games that are free are automatically good?
Developer seeing what you wrote:
"I'll make sure my next terrible game is free to play!"
Dr.Chocobo
belo
Posted 12:08 PM 14/5/08
Sound's like it'll be worth a few plays no doubt.
belo
WiNG
Posted 12:07 PM 14/5/08
1. This game is free.
2. This game is free.
3. This game is free.
Points 1-3 invalidate any bad things you have to say about this game.
WiNG
karasu is my homeboy
Posted 11:49 AM 14/5/08
@Luziphir: That's what I was thinking. While I don't find them creepy, they definitely have that "knock off" feel. They don't have as much personality or style. They're not as alive.
karasu is my homeboy
trelantana
Posted 12:35 PM 14/5/08
"You got RPG in my Shooter!"
"You got Shooter in my RPG!"
"I'll f***in kill you."
RIP, co-creator of this game.
trelantana
Frank
Posted 12:25 PM 14/5/08
The only thing TF2-related I have to say about this is that it's for people who don't already have TF2.
Frank
Jelster
Posted 12:48 PM 14/5/08
I look forward to the PC Free FPS games taking off. Low system requirements and zero cost are going to be great motivators and hopefully garner large casual audiences without the inbreed elitism many FPS games get once the crowd thins.
What concerns me is this hands on focuses on the Sims like appeal of the game rather than the actual game you'll be playing. I mean is this Barbie or Battlefield? Last I heard the game had a piss poor number of maps and zero details on how EA was going to rape us with the micropayments. info more plz.
Still we can at least all give it a try without getting burned which will be a first for an EA game.
BTW if this is anything like the system Quake Live is said to be using then, yes, you will login and launch from a webpage but run a traditional exe (Quake live may also run that exe in your browser window if you want it to, not totally sure on that).
As far as hackers, having each account to a credit card, a system similar to paypal's deposit/widthdrawl authentication would be good enough to stop the multiple accounts. Perhaps even fine the fucktards if they are caught cheating. :) Would also be nice if you could at least determine who has verified their ID and filter out the spammy bitches.
Jelster
Spoony Bard
Posted 2:07 PM 14/5/08
@WiNG: Completely illogical. Just because something is free does not invalidate my right to criticize a game.
Spoony Bard
GunSavior
Posted 4:18 PM 14/5/08
I don't understand why any gamer would cry foul about this game. Team Fortress 2 did not pioneer the use of cartoon like characters in computer games; much less shooters. Everyone seems so quick to forget games like the Time Splitters series, Armed & Dangerous, Killer 7, XIII, Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath, etc. (I won't waste my effort arguing whether or not those titles are good; that's your own business).
Just because Valve did something really really well does not mean they invented the concept. Let's not forget platformers like the Jak & Daxter or Ratchet and Clank. Valve is just another in a long list of Developer's who saw potential in a tried and true idea. They just happened to execute it very well.
So for Christ's sake stop criticizing the developer for believing that a cartoon-like style will make the game appear more accessible to casual gamers, which I remind you, is still part of the BF:H target audience.
Realistic military shooters only appeal to a (fairly) hardcore audience. And EA is notorious for their ability to reach the casual audience with games like The Sims and Rock Band.
GunSavior
nevergod
Posted 4:55 PM 14/5/08
why the fcking hell arn't they making a mac version. what a perfect game to suck in us macbook users who don't play games on them due to shitty graphics... im waiting to buy a pc for starcraft 2 to come out...:D
nevergod
Vodun
Posted 5:12 PM 14/5/08
I demand dual peglegs! Unless this is supplied I will refuse to play this sham of a pegleg simulator!
Vodun
Huatnee
Posted 7:16 PM 14/5/08
@nevergod: Oh, guess not...
Huatnee
Huatnee
Posted 7:15 PM 14/5/08
At the risk of opening myself up for many a jibe about the state of my preferred platforms gaming habits, any word on whether it'll be Mac compatible?
Huatnee
little_dragon
Posted 7:03 PM 14/5/08
@Sundermania: I guess you're talking about Team Fortress 2, which is known for wide open maps, vehicles, 3rd person viewpoint, the ability to customize the characters and it's rpg like levelling system..
little_dragon
dunnace
Posted 1:11 AM 15/5/08
This game has a really 'Worms' feel to it.
dunnace
crashlanding
Posted 3:06 AM 15/5/08
Just by the "look" of the game, I would use the phrase Battlefield meets Team Fortress 2.
crashlanding