Battlefield 2042 Review
The Battlefield franchise offers a unique flavor of gameplay, putting players into larger conflicts than what most FPS games are capable of. Those massive conflicts are filled with unique Battlefield moments, as players face off on land, in the sky, and at sea. Hopes that Battlefield 2042 will honor that tradition in unique ways are high, but unfortunately, it fundamentally misses what makes Battlefield great. Battlefield isn’t just about the size of the map and the number of players who benefit from it, something Battlefield 2042 is too eager to forget. Rather, it’s about the thin veil of believability that separates it. in Call of Duty and Halo. It’s unrealistic to dive out of a jet, fire a rocket at a pursuer, and then re-enter a jet, but it’s the set dressing that makes it possible to suspend disbelief in the Battlefield games. The series is set apart by movement, weapons, the arsenal of attachments, even the character design itself, especially in a semi-modern entry like Battlefield 2042. Battlefield 2042 leaves all that behind to create a experience that feels more like playing with toy soldiers than what Battlefield fans really crave. The choice of weapons is very limited compared to previous entries; soldiers sprint with janky movements, and – with a few exceptions – most specialists look like they were taken off the set of a cheesy action movie. Battlefield 2042 tries and fails to give itself a unique identity, but it perfected its identity in Battlefield 1. All the franchise needs to do is stay the course with different settings, which makes it feel worse. this.
It would be one thing if identity issues were the only problem, but Battlefield 2042’s content is another big blow. Launching with a total of seven maps in the base game, this is a smaller offering than previous entries. It’s not just that the selection is small, but the maps are less memorable. Most of them consist of relatively flat and open spaces that make distance interactions more frequent than other entries. While it’s nothing new for a Battlefield game to have large open spaces, Battlefield 2042’s maps have fewer interesting landmarks and buildings for close combat. And there’s no substitute for chaotic options like Operation Metro or Operation Locker, which offer a nice change of pace amidst the mayhem. It’s these large, open maps that make Battlefield 2042’s worst features shine. Players can waste more time than usual running across a massive open space just to be shot down by seconds. after reaching their destination, a problem partially alleviated by squads and launch vehicles. This is another area where Battlefield 2042 fails to improve on the shortcomings of the series as the game mechanics are definitely worse than usual. The issue is so severe that even though Battlefield 2042 supports 128-player matches, the maps are less full of life than when the series only supported 64 players.
Outside of lackluster maps, even Battlefield 2042’s biggest new gimmick is outdated. While previous entries brought “Levolution” and several other innovations that could transform a map, Battlefield 2042 occasionally descended into a massive tornado that would disrupt UI elements and drag players, vehicle, and other pieces towards it. There’s something to be said for watching the first few matches it appears, but not much else. It’s distracting, not particularly interesting, and reads like a half-hearted commentary on climate change. It’s not so much an interesting gameplay mechanic as it is a marketing tool. Plus, Battlefield 2042 is full of bugs, more than fans usually expect in the launch window. An all-too-common bug left us in the revive state with no respawn timer and no ability to force return to the spawn menu. The only way to fix the bug is to back out of a match entirely, which is very frustrating even in casual matches. Another problem prevented players from exchanging specialists and their weapon kits, which sometimes persisted between battles. One of the worst issues removed the friendly marker from an ally’s head, which was particularly annoying since both teams used the same Specialists, making friends indistinguishable from enemies in some situations. These are issues that may be resolved in future updates, but it was a ridiculous presentation at launch. It’s not all bad, of course. Battlefield 2042’s Specialist system is completely the wrong direction for the franchise – a point that can’t be emphasized enough if one were to write an entire book on the subject – but some of the tools they bring to the table are revolutionary. to experience the interesting. ways. The best example of this is the grappling hook gun used by Webster Mackay, which allows players to take interesting angles against enemies. But while extra verticality is nice, it’s an element that all players should have access to regardless of their specialization, as Battlefield 2042 is severely lacking in verticality out of the box.
The other addition, and arguably the saving grace of Battlefield 2042, is the Battlefield Portal. Portal takes elements of previous Battlefield games and mixes them together, letting players create their own custom battles or relive some of the greatest maps in Battlefield history. For example, players can put together a Conquest battle on the Caspian Border, complete with some of Battlefield 3’s weapons, units, and gear. However, all of that has a Battlefield 2042 coat of paint on it, which the players move with the same jank they do in the main game. The most damning thing about Battlefield 2042 is that its best feature is content that is a decade old. Battlefield 2042 isn’t just a lackluster Battlefield game, it’s a bad FPS overall. This was an overcorrection after Battlefield 5’s marketing was criticized for its “out-there” CGI trailers. It’s not clear what Battlefield 2042 is, or even what it wants to be, beyond a cheap step backwards. One can hope for significant content updates down the line, but the ship is sinking before it even leaves port. Battlefield 2042 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Today Technology was provided with a PS5 code for this review. MORE: 9 Mistakes Everyone Makes While Playing Battlefield 2042