E3 is done and the dust is settling. One of the most interesting practices from this year’s convention was the inclusion of same day access to some of the products being introduced. Sony had a couple of indie games and Microsoft offered up an XBLA game, all available about an hour after they were announced. The most impressive of the bunch was the Battlefield: Hardline Beta going live during EA’s Press Conference.

Most likely pushed up after the major leak, the beta signup was quick and I got a response in a day. I downloaded the game and fired it up over the weekend. If you’re not in the know, Battlefield: Hardline takes the series out of the….Battlefield, and puts it in the streets. Instead of Jarheads and Terrorists duking it out we have Cops and Robbers. The one map we have access to is VERY much Downtown LA, and the beta is showcasing two new game modes.

Heist Mode is my particular favorite of the two new ones. The criminal team is tasked with blowing open the doors on two armored trucks and then taking the cases inside to an extraction point. This gametype gets really hectic really fast as both teams rush to get to the trucks. If you have a good squad of criminals, this one can be over a lot sooner than you think. Only downside is the armored trucks are in the same spot everytime. Having them change each round would be a major upgrade.

Blood Money is an interesting take on capture the flag, were as instead of a flag on the map, there is a cart of money. The cart is stationary in the middle of the map and contains $5 Million. Players can snag the money in increments of $100k and hold a max of $500k at a time. The goal is to get that money back to your vault, and whichever side has the most WINS!

Firing up the game for the first time, I joined a server and was tossed on the Police side. The first thing that I notice is the leveling system. You still have to level your character up by winnin’ and killin’, but now equipment is bought from awarded currency. Gone are the days of grinding out with a rifle so you can get a new set of optics for it, just so you can kill faster so you can get the next gun. I picked the Assault class and hopped in, got my bearings from the mini map and jumped into a police cruiser. The first thing I noticed in game was the sound quality/detail. The roar of the engine sounded very substantial, and the shots off in the distance echoed around buildings. I finally got to the first truck and that is when I noticed the next upgrade to the game, the destruction.

I think this time around, DICE and Visceral turned down the realism. In Battlefield 4, explosions and destruction felt fairly realistic, that is not the case in Hardline. When I arrived at the first truck, it felt like a scene out of The Expendables. Explosions, gunfire, environmental destruction. All felt turned up to 10, and then pushed through the ridiculousometer. Rockets blasting into cars. Helicopters having dog fights while weaving around buildings. Countless rounds of machine gun ammo flying through the air. It all felt, bigger and better than previous titles. Running down the street during this first skirmish, I felt like I was in the movie Heat.

The round quickly ended, as I joined late and we held the criminal scum at bay. Sides were changed. Now embracing my sudden life of crime, I grabbed a street bike and a squad mate hopped on the back. We were first to the truck and quickly planted the C4. After the arbitrary countdown, we had to plant another. Eventually blowing open the truck. All the while it felt like we were in a Michael Bay film. My partner grabbed the case and we found ourselves another motorcycle. This time the drop off point was atop a building. We drove close, hopped in the elevator and rode to the top. “Way too fucking easy” I messaged to him, just as the doors opened I realized I spoke to soon. We had climbed into the WRONG building, and were in fact across the street from our drop off point. Running around in desperation while we figured out what we needed to do, a squad mate spawned on us. Our newly materialized ally was soon to be the savior of the criminal underworld. Returning to the Battlefield series was the zip line crossbow. Like some sort of magician, our new friend shot his bow and birthed our escape. A zip line now hung tightly between the two buildings. We grabbed on and quickly flew down, dodging sniper fire from the roof. We landed, dispatched the near sighted snipers, and won the game.

Final Thoughts

Battlefield: Hardline is currently the topic of contention with the gaming community. Some feel that it is severely overpriced, and is essentially just a reskin of Battlefield 4. The fear is that the Battlefield series is going the way of Call of Duty where they churn out a new title every year. Interesting enough, if you look at the Battlefield release dates there has never been more than 2 years between titles. 

Hardline is fun. The new mechanic of buying weapons and loadouts is very refreshing. The new weapons don’t feel as “Tacticool” as the ones from BF4, and I find that to be more fitting for this game. The new vehicles are a nice change of pace from the same stuff we’ve had to dink around in since Battlefield 2. The new game modes are a blast. The map we have access to is a joy to fight in. The sound design is a step in the right direction.

So I obviously enjoyed myself, and that means I think everyone should go out and pre-order it right now, right? Wrong. For right now anyway. Yeah, everything I’ve had to experience (sans glitches) was all and all an enjoyable experience, I really enjoyed not being an army dude fighting other army dudes in the desert. Hardline, as it stands right now, isn’t bringing enough new content to the table. The two new game modes aren’t enough. The maps aren’t enough, as BF4 has another expansion on the way.

DICE and Visceral need to bring some new, unique gametypes come release day. Because at the end of the day, two new gametypes, a handful of maps, new player and vehicle skins, and some amplified explosions does not equal $70. I had a lot of fun with what I played, but I will not be preordering this title unless we get some more stuff to get excited about.

Are you playing the beta? What are your thoughts?