Battlefield One has set the new standard for what I look for in a first person shooter. Immense multiplayer maps containing destructible environments and buildings are a staple of Dice's Battlefield francise, but Battlefield One arguably takes things to the next level.
The Beta was exciting to say the least, but the full game is overwhelmingly awesome. Countless times I've found myself stunned by the gravity of just how much is going on throughout each and every match. 32 players against 32 players is a scale which few other modern games can even begin to match, yet Battlefield delivers not just on the side of immensity but also attention to detail. From the marvelously polished planes to the sheer awesomeness of many of the ground-vehicles Battlefield One sets the stage for both action packed moments and immersion building transitions.
While it's easy to discount the utility of mounting a horse and charging into battle while taking artillery fire on top of small arms fire, I've personally become a cavalry aficionado. Not only do horses offer some of the best mobility in the game but also the ability to drop health packs and ammo to one's teammates. The icing on the cake are the weapons granted to cavalrymen, a powerful bolt action rifle and an excrutiangly powerful sabre. Although it may take some getting used to this hit and run style of combat can easily become the very difference between victory and defeat.
My one complaint with Battlefield One is the lack of different game types, Operations are awesome but can become stale after several play-throughs. Conquest is epic but domination is just conquest on a much smaller scale with little to no vehicles. Rush is a classic Battlefield game mode but attackers vs. defenders game modes can very easily lead to overwhelmingly unbalanced matches and trust me when I say you will notice when this happens. Frustration is part of any game involving player vs player combat, but given the nature of Battlefield One and WW1 itself, things can go from bad to worse right off the bat in a match leading to a full 20-30 minutes of being slaughtered before even getting a chance to have the teams rebalanced.
All in all Battlefield One brings WW1 to life in a way that's both informative and immensely fascinating. From the baffling graphics to multiplayer matches that bring a level of immersion no other game has accomplished, right down to the extreme attention to detail in both languages spoken and the uniforms of the various Nations represented.
Make sure this masterpiece is on your Christmas Wishlist.
