Well, the existence of a new cops-vs-robbers Battlefield game was leaked yesterday. Today, an in-depth trailer showing gameplay, plot and multiplayer details for Battlefield: Hardline has surfaced.
EA later confirmed the existence of Hardline by unveiling an official website late yesterday but this trailer — first spotted on NeoGAF — looks like it runs down many of the game’s core features way ahead of the June 9 reveal. Update: the first YouTube video has been pulled. We’ve replaced it with another upload below.
The name of at least one multiplayer mode that showed up in yesterday’s reports also shows up in this teaser, along with the revelation that Hardline‘s single-player will be structured episodically like a TV show. The characters and action are a bit reminiscent of The Shield television series.
Also confirmed is a lead development role by EA’s Visceral studio and not the DICE division that’s traditionally handled Battlefield games. Revamped AI and a multipath structure for singleplayer episodes get touted in the trailer, perhaps as a sign that EA’s trying to address player criticism of previous BF games in Hardline.
Previous reports had pegged Ghost Games — the DICE spin-off studio that made last year’s Need for Speed Rivals — as helping with Hardline‘s development. The driving sequences shown here look like they might be the studio’s handiwork.
The game will take place in American cities and showcase multiple Leveloution events in the various backdrops, a decision that iterates on the popular environmental destruction feature from Battlefield 4.
Along with a suite of real-world and made-up weapons, Hardline will also have players using gadgets like a police scanner. Similar to, say, the Detective Vision mode in recent Batman games, the police scanner reveals clues and plot points in the game’s single-player.
Ziplines and grappling hooks will be able to be used throughout the multiplayer maps at any time, which should open up strategic possibilities in the game’s vertical spaces.
The Hardline video also teases a wide variety of vehicles, including combat trucks, boats and muscle cars. Overall, Hardline looks like a big departure from Battlefield‘s soldier-centric formula. Judging by the 7-minute video that’s slid out onto the internet, the next game in EA’s main FPS franchise is looking to ramp up its storytelling ambitions, expand player mobility and deepen the combat experience.
Comments
5 responses to “Leaked Battlefield: Hardline Trailer Shows Multiplayer, Single-Player”
This looks less cops and robbers and more US government vs right wing militiamen. Which makes more sense with the “Hardline” tag (to me anyway).
Even more interesting as I wonder what the game will have to say politically?
The shot of that water tower looks like it could be straight out of Just Cause 2. Just replace the American flag with the Panauan star.
Also, I said the other day I thought this must surely be a hoax as they wouldn’t be stupid enough to move the Battlefield franchise from one oversaturated genre to another oversaturated genre. I was wrong, I guess. They are that stupid.
Yep, this is what happens when you try to turn an IP in to cash cow with a 12 month shelf life.
It still looks a LOT like Battlefield…. Which I suppose makes sense.
I was really hoping they’d steal on inspiration from the Action Quake style of gameplay and have limb damage affecting players, bleeding out ect….
When I think of the best Cops vs Robbers kinds of shows and games that’s always a cool element.
I am a fan of the battlefield series. I have given up on BF4 due to the bad and continued bad state of the netcode. If they fix it, I will return. I purely believe the CTE is just testing for this title and something EA is demanding for future games on the Frostbite 3 engine. It’s not right to release a broken, unfinished game and then not fix it promptly. Six months later using those players to beta test a working version of the game for future games you want them to buy.
So I honestly don’t think this game would particularly stand out if it wasn’t for the BF name. The only way i’ll be getting it or consider getting it at this stage is if the MP actually is meant to be good and competitive. Enough so that my CS:GO friends want to get it and give it a shot.
However, there’s so little information about MP at this stage, who knows. If it’s challenging, responsive, limited teams, lots of options for pulling off missions. Great! If it’s just a twist on the standard crap with infinite respawn, no thanks..
This video is private.