Breaking from a sprint to a vengeful charge, grunting as I drive the point of my bayonet into an enemy, before wheeling around to defend myself from another soldier, bearing down on horse back. Battlefield 1 is chock-full of thrilling and exhilarating moments like this.
The demo places us in Egypt’s Sinai Desert, a gorgeous landscape complete with sandstorms and palm trees, a sprawling play area like that which we’ve come to love from the series. After years of World War 2 shooters and rehashes, Battlefield 1 throws us into The Great War, a refreshing setting that I think will bode well for the success of the title. Much of the fresh feeling comes from the rudimentary weapons. The top loading machine guns and punchy rifles feel excellent, though Dice have thankfully spared us the pain of monotonously long reload times that some of the weapons had. The vehicles that turned the tide of World War 1 also feature, with planes and tanks present as expected. However, as you likely know, we now have the addition of horses too, adding spice with their ability to weave through the battlefield and spring a surprise attack.
Playing on Australian servers, I did not run into any connection issues (although there have been reports of server issues in the US today). General performance is also decent, however playing on Ps4 I did notice pretty consistent frame drops and stuttering that slightly worsens the experience. This is particularly noticeable in scenes with lots of explosions and effects on screen, though this is to be expected as the game is visually stunning.
Though not usually my forte, the Battlefield 1 beta seems to deliver on the promises of Dice’s impressive E3 showing, and I think I will be diving into the full game come October.
B.
Battlefield 1 releases on October 21, come back then for full impressions!
That New Tech Smell 