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Battlefield V – War in the Pacific

Battlefield V – War in the Pacific

I last talked about Battlefield V back in August, and ended my piece pondering whether it would keep me involved, or whether the Destiny 2 relaunch would grab my attention. Well, Destiny did grab my attention for a while eventually, but I didn’t really stick on that for too long either. However, I have continued to dip in and out of BFV now and again, most recently to check out Chapter 5 “War in the Pacific”.

While I have been having great fun with the new maps, and certainly have relished the inclusion of American and Japanese guns, tanks and planes…I don’t think I’ll ever commit to a Battlefield game again in the same way as Battlefield 2. That came about when I had spare time galore, and found a home with the -=256=- clan. Hundreds of hours were spent in that game, and the only games I spend that kind of time with these days are Football Manager and The Witcher 3. Games like Battlefield V don’t keep me returning for lengthy periods anymore. The rewards are so regular that there is now long-term drive to unlock a new gun for the medic class, or to achieve an elusive badge or ribbon, as can be attested by my pre-clan Battlefield 2 soldier not achieving much. Aside from the reward structure not being my cup of tea, playing by yourself in a game designed for teamplay is….well a bit shit. That’s where Destiny 2 will always have the edge, in that I can play in an online shared world, but still get stuck into singleplayer events.

I digress a bit, as War in the Pacific is an update to Battlefield V that stirs memories long tucked away, and might be an update that brings some old faithful players back to the series. Why? The return of the classic Battlefield map – Wake Island. There is a great developer diary with DICE’s Lars Gustavsson talking about the re-imagining of this icon for the latest game. It’s a map which I just about managed to hack some bots onto back in the days of Battlefield 1942 and one which we shared many fond memories of in Battlefield 2.

The new version is as good as ever, and the joys of War in the Pacific is that aircraft carriers and landing craft make a big return. Naval warfare isn’t the same as it was in Battlefield 1942, there aren’t as subs or destroyers for you to get your hands on unfortunately. But it’s still a thrill to take to the skies from a carrier on Wake Island, or drive a tank off an LST to assault Iwo Jima.

Being taken away from the dirt and horrors of the Western Front that formed the backbone of the original compliment of Battlefield V maps and to the tropical horrors of the Pacific certainly adds a fresh aspect to the game. I’m still going to dip in and out of it as times goes by, and it truly is a brilliant shooter. Just squad up to make the most of it.

Battlefield V – Back to the Front

Battlefield V – Back to the Front

Disposable Heroes is one of those thumping anthems from Metallica’s Master of Puppets album, a song like many from the Heavy Metal giants that deals with death, war and destruction. There are two lines from the chorus of Disposable Heroes that ring in my ears when I dipped back into Battlefield V recently:

Back to the front
You will do what I say, when I say

For all of the improvements to the action since I pondered the open beta last year, this is still a game which tries valiantly to focus its attentions on squad play and teamwork, but which falls flat when playing on a public server with randomers.

Playing as a squad was the key to success in Battlefield 2, (the naming conventions of this series are worthy of an article all by itself). A commander oversaw the big picture of the battle, sent orders down to squad leaders and, as long as you weren’t playing on Strike at Karkand, people tended to follow orders and work together.

It was a game that didn’t need a dedicated 5v5 quasi-competitive mode (which has now been canned) as in private clan matches (-=256=-, represent!) things were simple enough to get into a 16v16 game with vehicles and squads galore, or lock things down into an infantry only mode with smaller numbers.

Modern online gaming is all about instant gratification. Whether that’s through rewards and new gizmos dropping like flies (and Battlefield V is more composed that Battlfield 3 and 4), or more pertinently the matchmaking that gets you into a battle straight away.

It’s great that from a click of a button on the main menu that you can get into a battle which will be somewhat tailored towards the current Tides of War chapter that is providing a through link for the regular live updates that are being deployed to Battlefield V. But by dropping you into a random fight, with everyone chasing their own personal daily, weekly and Tides of War objectives, you just don’t the same teamplay that I made me fall in love with this series in the first place.

Case in point, I joined the start of a conquest (still the classic game mode) battle on the new Greek map, Mercury. Based on the British led invasion of Crete in 1941, this is a stunning, sun-kissed map that arrived as part of Chapter 3 – Trial by Fire. I would love to explore this in a singleplayer mission, and that’s how it ended up feeling when I played it as a squad leader.

Without knowing the map layout, I made an immediate move towards the Marina capture point. With the sea sealing off one potential flanking move, and hill to launch the attack from, I made a sharp move to the flag to start capturing it. Before advancing, I’d ordered my squad to attack the flag and was foolishly expecting them to join my move.

They didn’t. Two of my squad mates sat on the hill overlooking the flag, sniping away, while the third was in another corner of the map entirely. Left to try and capture the flag by myself, I was soon overwhelmed by an enemy squad who were moving together as a cohesive unit.

A frustrating moment for sure, and I experienced similar problems over the rest of my time with the game. I think people need to listen to some Metallica to learn what war is about, and how to follow squad leader orders.

My gripes aren’t anything new. This is how the series, and most online gaming, has been for years when you don’t play with a dedicated group of friends. Buddying up with randomers just doesn’t happen as much anymore.

Despite this, the game seems to have come a long way since I played that open beta last year. Combat feels more balanced, the new maps add a new dynamic to proceedings and the Tides of War seems well set to provide people will regular targets to work towards.

Future updates will see more maps, and probably additional gamemodes that will just add to confusion, along with the welcome inclusion of the Pacific Theatre. Fighting on some of the tropical islands will be quite something in what is a stunning game.

Back to the front? For now, but we’ll see whether Destiny 2‘s rebirth takes me away.

The Wonders of AI in Half-Life

The Wonders of AI in Half-Life

I’ve played many shooters over the years, some where the AI is great, others where it isn’t that smart, but does a great job for the game you are playing. Of course, there are others where the AI is dull, and brings the game down. The twenty year-old Half-Life though, still stands out as one of the best implementations of AI in a shooter.

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Battlefield V – V Open Beta Thoughts

Battlefield V – V Open Beta Thoughts

EA are back at it gain, subverting expectations with their naming conventions when it comes to their premier franchises. After Battlefield 1, what is the obvious next step? Why, Battlefield V of course! It’s a strange way of doing business, so the important thing to know: Battlefield V brings the series back to its roots, setting events during World War Two, first visited in the first game, that, confusingly, was called Battlefield 1942. Oh for some continuity. This is my opportunity to share some thoughts from the recent Open Beta, so please, hit the break.

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