Battlefield 4

The start of NextGen.

China enters into a civil war, Russia gets involved, so of course the US must step in.  Except it doesn't.  Now a small four man squad must prevent something bad from happening, which will result in a shattered China destroying the US Navy.

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Recommended Age Minimum Age Available On... 14 12 PS3, Xbox 360, PC, PS4, Xbox One Overall Fun Length Frustration   Violence Sexuality Substances Gambling 8 8 4   7 0 0 0 Mods Religion Anti-Law Community Sports Magic Miscellaneous 0 0 0 7 4 0 2

1.     Gameplay

• Overall Fun - 8

Battlefield 4 features combined infantry and vehicle combat on an unparalleled scale.  Matches can easily go on for over 30 minutes each as two teams duke it out for territory and objectives.  PC matches feature up to 64 players total, which makes for nonstop action across huge maps.  It really is awesome to see unfold.

Especially when dudes start flooding out of your transport chopper like it's a clown car.

The multiplayer is what this game should be played for.  There is a single player campaign, but it seemed like it was almost completely forgotten next to the time and resources clearly spent in developing the multiplayer.  Each multiplayer level has its own unique feel and includes specific “levolution” events.  These events will cause the map to change dynamically, sometimes significantly affecting a team’s strategy to victory.

The single player campaign is a disaster.  There are seven chapters total with three “different” endings.  By different I mean they’re all the same with cosmetic differences.  I don’t understand any of the decisions that went into any aspect of the campaign, since it is completely incomprehensible.  Basically, everyone in the campaign can and/or will die at some point before you ever come around to caring about them.  Within the seven chapters, four feature a “main” character dying.  That doesn’t include the two chapters where the game acts like someone died in order to forward the plot.

Spoiler Alert: This guy dies. And no, you won't care.

Basically, don’t buy this game for the campaign.  Buy it for the massive, vehicle-based combat featuring huge numbers of players duking it out for control.  You can play with friends, but you definitely won’t need to.  While it is extremely helpful to play with people you understand and can rely on, you’ll never feel like you’re playing completely alone.  This may not be a “game of the year” contender to me, but it is definitely worth its price.

• Length - 8

The campaign is short.  It took me around 7 hours to complete it entirely with all three optional endings.  I could go back to try and find the different dogtags, which can be used in the multiplayer section, but the campaign isn’t interesting enough to warrant a second playthrough without that.

However, the multiplayer is really what this game is designed for.  With a good number of maps and game modes, the player could easily spend dozens if not hundreds of hours playing online.  The progression system is designed so that the player will have a ridiculous amount of weapons, equipment, and attachments to unlock.  There will always be something new to accomplish, provided the player has the desire to do so.

• Frustration Factor - 4

Certain sections of this game can be frustrating.  The prison section of the campaign was poorly designed, in my opinion.  I didn’t know I had access to a few weapons hidden around, so I resorted to a shotgun with six shells and a make shift shank for the first section.  It was not a pleasant experience.

The multiplayer presents its own challenges as well.  While the starting equipment is significantly easier to use than the equipment in Battlefield 3, new players will definitely find themselves overwhelmed by the veterans.  The matchmaking system and team balancing system of the multiplayer are practically nonexistent, which means that an entire team of new players can go against an entire team of veterans and the game will do little to try and shuffle the deck.

2.     Parental Notices

• Violence - 7

As this is a first person shooter, violence is a constant factor.  While it may vary slightly between the single player and the multiplayer, the overall elements are very similar.  Hits from all weapons will result in a small amount of blood that quickly disappears.  No matter what the player hits an enemy with, there is never any gore.

You should get nothing but headshots in the campaign.

The player has the ability to knife enemies and steal their dog tags.  This ability is present in both the single player and the multiplayer, but both the action and the effect are exactly the same.  The player will plunge his knife into the enemy without any corresponding blood and take the enemy’s dog tag.

I don't get the obsession of dogtags.

While infantry combat is present constantly in the game, especially in the single player, the main focus of the multiplayer is vehicle-based combat.  When the player is engaged in vehicle combat, blood and gore is never a factor.

There were two exceptions to the violence in the single player.  In the prologue chapter, one of the main character’s leg is pinned beneath a huge slab of concrete.  One of the other characters describes how the leg has been pulverized by the concrete.  The main character has to use a knife to cut off the crushed portion of the leg.  While there is definitely blood in this section, there is surprisingly no noticeable gore.

At least he can be a pirate for Halloween?

The only other section was the torture scene.  In this, the player watches as Irish and the main character are both beaten and electrocuted with cattle prods.  It’s a short section that is surprisingly devoid of any significant blood and gore.  Blood is all around the floor of the room, but you don’t actually see either character bleed.

I had something like this happen to me in Mexico.

• Sexuality - 0

Sexuality is not a factor in this game.

• Substances - 0

Substances are not a factor in this game.

• Gambling - 0

Gambling is not a factor in this game.

3.     Other Factors

• Mods - 0

There are no modding tools available for this game.

• Religion - 0

Religion is not a factor in this game.

• Anti-Law - 0

Anti-law is not a factor in this game.

• Online Community - 7

As I mentioned slightly in the “Frustration Factor” section, the multiplayer elements of this game can get a bit frustrating.  New players will be frequently outclassed and outgunned by their veteran counterparts.  There are some weapons the player can use to even the playing field, but new players are really going to have to go through the grinder for the first few hours at least before they have a fighting chance.

Friends are good, teammates are better.

The differences between the PC community and the console communities is somewhat stark.  Console players are good, but the PC players are amazing.  If a player isn’t a multiplayer first person shooter veteran, I would highly recommend staying away from the PC multiplayer.

Other than this, the online communities are surprisingly amiable.  There was some trash talking at times, but nothing anywhere near the level that I have seen on other similar games.

• Extreme Sports - 4

The player has the ability to parachute in the multiplayer at any time.  Good players will make frequent use of this to a ridiculous level since it almost always negates any fall damage.  Even if the player jumps down from a single story height, the player can deploy his parachute to prevent damage.

The player can also drive buggies, ATVs, motorcycles, and other fast-moving vehicles can be driven frequently in the multiplayer.  The most dangerous consequence of driving these vehicles headlong into solid objects at high speed is the chance that the vehicle might explode and kill the driver.

In the first level of the campaign, the player will eventually get into an SUV and engage in a high speed pursuit with an enemy attack helicopter.  The chopper will shoot missiles at the player as he drives almost out of control down a narrow highway.  Eventually, the player will lean out the driver’s door and fire a grenade launcher to blow up the helicopter.  It’s not exactly the safest maneuver, and it ends with the car in the water.

How am I stepping on the gas?

There is a section towards the end of the game where the main characters need to quickly get from some random location in Russia to the Suez Canal within a few hours.  So instead of getting in a plane, they are picked up by a plane as it flies overhead.  The main characters equip a backpack with a balloon strapped to them and the plane picks up the balloon dragging the characters along as it goes past.  This means that the main characters go from zero mph to well over 140 mph in one swift tug.  I seriously doubt this is possible in real life.

In the section immediately after this, the player must parachute down to the deck of an aircraft carrier.  If the player missed, he would be stuck in the middle of the Suez Canal in a raging warzone with no chance of retrieval.  It was not a smart decision.  Fortunately, the player lands perfectly on the deck.

Well that's convenient.

• Magic - 0

Magic is not a factor in this game.

• Miscellaneous - 2

Interrogation / Torture

In one section the player watches as he and Irish are tortured for information by the Chinese.  This is a relatively quick section, but it does involve electrocution and some implied beatings with potentially sharp instruments.

He's surprisingly blood free for all that torture.

Language

One of the main characters, Irish, tends to swear when he talks.  It wouldn’t be so bad except it happens every time he opens his mouth.  It’s never really necessary either.  I suppose it makes him seem like a grittier character, but his “grittiness” is never hashed out in the story.