Battlefield Goes to The Great War
Brutal, mind blowing, and full of surprises is what the Battlefield 1 Reveal Trailer is all about and for those who haven’t watched it yet, you can check it here. Now, there are a lot of things to talk about the latest in EA’s AAA title, and we will start with the dissection of the trailer, frame by frame. We are also going to add some useful details from the official images. Now, without further ado, let’s start the digging.
THE FIRST WORLD WAR IS BRUTAL:
Love it or hate it, the First World War is Battlefield 1’s theater and brutality is the first thing that will come out of your mind while watching the trailer. Melee combat, as said by DICE will be one of the focus of the game, and we can see it clearly from the image below taken from the trailer. DICE will overhaul the Battlefield melee combat system from the ground up just for this game, and expect to see trench clubs, shovels, and other types of melee weapons. All of them will feature their own damage models and mobility.
PLAYABLE FEMALE CHARACTER?
On the next frame, we could see an Arabic soldier riding a horse with her own Saber. It is “her” because an insider from the event confirmed that it is indeed a female riding a horse onto battle, and will most likely be one of the 7 playable characters from the campaign. The Arabian Peninsula will also play a major part in this game as expected, and a desert multiplayer map is likely going to be featured. And oh, see that bundle of stick grenades? If Battlefield 4 has jeep stuff, Battlefield 1 got its own horse stuff. The Battlefield 1 Early Enlister Deluxe Edition will come with the Lawrence of Arabia Pack so this is pretty much confirmed. Female playable character for multiplayer mode is still unconfirmed though.
ANALOG COMBAT:
The First World War is also known for its dogfights, which means fierce aerial battles. The aerial gameplay will be truly an analog experience according to DICE, and there will be a diverse selection of attack planes, and bombers. The frame below for example features a dual seater model bi-plane (probably a Bristol F-2B), with a water-cooled drum-fed Lewis Gun attached to the back to fend off any enemy aircraft and ground targets within its range. The map also features a great contrast between a war littered soil and a normal one with a lush and green scenery. Planes can also strafe, barrel roll, and do bombing runs according to DICE via an all analog combat system.
Next up would be another take on the melee combat system, and if we are to analyze what happened, a soldier is reloading his issued WWI shotgun while at the same time, an opposing force took the chance to attack him with a shovel. Based on the trailer, he could also be disoriented earlier from an initial melee attack if he is not reloading so it is possible to see a melee weapon to disable an enemy’s ability to wield a firearm once an enemy is within reach. It is confirmed that bayonets could be used to charge against an enemy, by the way.
THE RED BARON, AND DESTRUCTION:
The first thing that came to my mind is the Red Baron and his squadron when this part is shown. The MG08 front mounted machine gun, and the red frame of the tri-plane gave it away so this is possibly the Jasta 11 Fokker chasing an enemy bi-plane. I hope we get to play as the Red Baron himself or any on his squadron at the campaign. It is confirmed though that we will receive a Red Baron Pack at the Early Enlister Deluxe Edition of the game.
Destruction is also one of the things that DICE wants us to focus at, and it appears that they’ve gotten back to the drawing board and took notes from the gamer’s complaints about Levolution. I’d be honest that Levolution kinda looked cool at first, but over the course of time it kinda sucks to see over and over again. With Battlefield 1, DICE is making sure that the destruction will totally depend on the gamer, not just a simple set piece. There could be dynamic weather effects too. Frostbite 3 is indeed wonderful.
TANKS AND VEHICULAR COMBAT REDEFINED:
Tanks are relatively new armored vehicles specifically designed to spearhead a charge in the First World War, and DICE noted that these vehicles will feature their own unique set of handling and capabilities. That means vehicle controls are not universal. So far, only the British Mark IV/V tank is confirmed but we will most likely see light tanks too. It is also worth noting that a whole squad can man up these heavy beasts able to utilize all their armaments.
The infantry could use anti-tank rifles, bundle of grenades, and possibly flame throwers to thwart the tanks in-game so there’s no need to cry when you see one on the battlefield. Bombs from planes will also damage them.
Horses are pretty much confirmed, and it is noted that they are most effective during scouting, and a flanking maneuver according to our source. Controls are yet to be discussed so we are intrigued on how effective they are for their suitable engagement types.
CHEMICAL WARFARE:
Tear gases, mustard gas, and other chemical weapons are prevalent at WWI. These terrifying weapons can be countered by wearing a gas mask as seen from the other images. It is however, unknown if the gases could be self triggered or if it is a part of an area of the map.
The gas mask appears to obstruct the player’s point of view, which is kinda claustrophobic. It might be the case here, and it might be not. Still, it is intriguing to see if it is indeed the POV you’ll get. The Lewis Gun on its drum-fed configuration is also featured.
OLD INDEED MEETS THE NEW:
While Kevlar is yet to be discovered, heavy full metal armor is actually the thing back in the days and we get to see it in action here with a soldier touting a hip-fired machine gun shooting at poor people. Metal armors are actually heavy AF, and WWI soldiers actually equips themselves with only a chest and cranial armor at most. If you fancy being a knight with a shining armor carrying a gun, then this might be your game.
TRULY MASSIVE IN SCALE:
According to GameSpot, at least one of the maps looks totally huge, and if the screenshot from the trailer below is already huge on most battlefielder’s standards, then we might be expecting something along the range of the Altai Range from Battlefield 4. The mode from below appears to be Air Superiority with at least a dozen of air craft seen on the image. If it’s not air superiority, then it would be a total chaos up in the skies should this screenshot came from a normal conquest server. We hope the get more details soon.
CLASSES OVERHAULED:
Along with the armor touting machine gun wielding soldier, there will also be flame throwers as expected. Using these terrifying yet most probably, satisfying weapons are still unknown but according to DICE, most of the heavy weapons can only be used by the support class so they might be the only one who could use it and will probably have to sacrifice other primary weapons for the slots to wield flame throwers and such equivalent weapons.
Assault, Medic, Support, and Scout are detailed to be the primary classes – and that means the Assault Class will not become self sufficient when it comes to health and will require the aid of Medics to be healed. Medics will also utilize some kind of syringe to revive team mates. As for the Scouts, they will be tasked to spot enemies and their position, plus they could use Sniper Rifles in combat and probably demolition jobs. The distribution of armament are still unknown through the classes. Now there will be no Engineers – but there will be vehicle dependent classes or sub classes according to those who have seen the gameplay footages.
LAND AIR AND SEA:
On the trailer, we could see that there is a self propelled armored wagon on a desert setting, plus a WWI Dreadnought Class battleship. It is unconfirmed that the train is controllable, but the warship will be – even able to deform a shoreline with a bombardment of its naval artillery based on the guys who saw the gameplay footage.
A new damage model is also on the works, enabling the damages taken to take a toll on any vehicle’s performance. This is detrimental, especially on dogfights where a wing damage is not only cosmetic, but could also affect the aircraft’s performance. So, expect a fierce battle on the skies.
7 DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES:
The screenshots taken below features the speculated main characters, including female horse back rider earlier. They are speculated, but there will be definitely 7 playable characters with a story mode that is similar to the sandbox-like Battlefield: Bad Company. These 7 characters will have their own story of course, and we might even play as someone from the German Empire, the French, a British Tank Commander, or even someone from the Ottoman Empire (Female rider might actually be from the said empire). If there’s anything to be truly expected, then that would be a campaign from the Harlem Hellfighters as seen on the main Battlefield 1 banner. 7 playable characters can also mean 7 playable factions. So, I am truly excited.
HOW ABOUT CUSTOMIZATION?
Customization is a part of the game, so we might be in surprise here since most guns issued in this era of warfare – even at WWII doesn’t feature much of customization if compared to today. But then again, DICE could be creative with extended magazine or clip sizes, side mounted rifle scopes, custom wood tarnishings, stamps on rifles, bayonets, wood grips, sawed off weapon stocks, and so on. Vehicles can be most likely customized as well – especially the planes with your own squadron’s paint job.
OTHER DETAILS:
Battlefield 1 is set to be released this coming October 21st 2016, with an earlier release by October 18th for those who pre-ordered the Battlefield 1 Early Enlister Deluxe Edition which is priced at 80 USD. The Standard Edition is priced at 60 USD, and the main differences along with the early access from the Deluxe Edition are the inclusion of the Hellfighter Pack, Red Baron Pack, Lawrence of Arabia Pack, and 5x Battlepacks.
An extravagant, Collector’s Edition has been also unveiled with a 220 USD price point. That includes a Steelbook, Playing Cards, a Pigeon Tube with DLC content exclusive for the said edition, a 14″ African American Statue of a soldier depicting the Hellfighters, and many more. As for the open beta, the game will feature one. We might be able to see gameplay footages from EA Play 2016 too this coming June. Stay tuned for more details, and we hope that this helped you to gather intel from the upcoming Battlefield game. See you on the Battlefield.
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