The battlefield series was hit and miss on last gen, BF2 was a decent effort, BF3 was a disaster rife with bugs, rip off story and painful scripted events plus minimal destructive environment. BF4 was a bit of a return to form albeit with iffy servers (BFH I haven't played but seems to have mixed feedback). Now we have a breath of fresh air with a return to WW1, the last good war game set in the past was probably COD world at war, but WW1 games on older gen with old technology weren't really fun to play nor realistic (voice acting, characters etc) and had since been forgotten, but while COD trails further haphazardly into the future with its games, Battlefield does a u-turn and here's the result:
Visuals: 9.5/10
Very nice visuals, sumptuous environment (puddles, mud, overgrowth and flora in Argonne forest etc) even mud and rain on the weapons or dirt on the screen after an explosion, the dynamic weather more likely seen on large conquest maps is also enjoyable. Really not much to complain about here, the game would've been more realistic with more blood or visuals cues on players where they were shot etc to really capture the horror and realism of war, but other than that really nice visuals. And when things explode, do they explode! (Dreadnaught battleships, Zepplin air ship which comes down with a big crash creating a dust cloud) attention to detail has been paid in these aspects. The destructible environment is very present in this game and works wonderfully as a building can be torn to shreds. The models of the weapons are all done nicely and the tanks/vehicles look like they were pulled right from that era. Not sure some automatic weapons existed then (other than the Lewis machine gun with a black round drum on top you see on the bi-planes) but the game wouldn't be as fun with only bolt actions.
Sound FX: 9.5/10
Can't fault anything with the dialog other than the out of place commentator in multiplayer, a woman who sounds a mixture between British and eastern European..just a bad choice, like Doom's commentator. A different commentator for each army like a commander egging you on to win the fight would've been much better, and so sound FX loses half a point. But everything else? The epic music, the explosions, the gunfire which sounds very tangible and life like, the whistle of mortar fire or bombs, the shouting of characters and dialog reacting to different scenarios like shouting "sh** gas! Gas!" When mustard gas is thrown, or thanking you for healing them as a medic. In the campaign most the characters and their dialog is also done well.
Gameplay: 10/10
Single player is divided into several episodes set in different countries with different story's and characters, it's about as long as your standard FPS campaign (more COD length than Doom) and the storyline and characters are done mostly well, the missions are fun to play through and give you a good feel for all the elements of the game (tank, infantry, stealth, plane etc) with some notable highlights, like the battle atop a Zepplin over London as the American pilot with a typical devil may care pilot attitude. Or as the young tank driver and crew trying to survive though France in Black Bess the tank. Voice acting/dialog is better than past WW1 games in that it's like a movie rather than a p*** take with exaggerated accents. Think Robert Carlyle might actually be the tank commander, not sure.
Multiplayer, the reason many will be buying this: firstly the game modes, you have a few you'd expect, team death match, pigeon find, domination (small scale CTF) conquest (large scale CTF) and operations, like conquest but 2 huge maps divided into several sectors where attackers push forward by capturing checkpoints from the defenders and try capturing all several sectors, attackers have a set amount of soldiers and 3 chances in the form of 3 battalions). This is a slightly story driven game mode (think max Payne 3) and is done quite well, altering victory or defeat speeches based on the overall outcome. These matches can last for over half an hour and with the dynamic weather feel quite realistic. The losing side in these bigger game modes get a helping hand near the end in the form of a mighty vehicle (dreadnaught battleship in the desert, zepplin airship over Europe, or armored train in the city, not sure if argonne forest has anything. There also horses you can ride, a motorbike with side car, truck, armored truck, military car, tank, light tank, attack boat, awkward planes and bombers. Sentry guns and artillery emplacements can also be manned. The lobby during the loading screen isn't great, a lot more could've been done with it, showing the players, letting you see their stats, editing your classes, anything, but you just get a window with a battle pack you can open if you gained any, and a window to select a medal to aim for via challenges. There are additional game modes, fog of war (apparently low visibility, no hud and just pistols/melee) also hardcore which I look forward to playing as there's currently only core modes and bullet sponges.
There are several classes to choose from, each with specified weapon sets to unlock and equipment, the medic for instance has a surprisingly good selection of medium range rifles (which probably should've been put in the attacker class who has only close range) but also a revive syringe, bandages, healing crate, making them a very important class for your team. There's the attacker class with short range sub machine guns and shotguns, plus heavy explosives like anti tank and dynamite, great for causing chaos and wrecking buildings. There's the scout class, favoured by campers with a selection of long range sniper rifles, and trip wire/defensive gadgets like a prone shield with a small firing hole. There's support class with heavy machine guns, vehicle repair spanner and mortar etc. Overall though the classes do stand out well and mean you will be selecting different ones for different situations (running though the trenches with a sniper rife won't end well for you, with a machine gun however?).
Classes can also select a variety of grenades, all the ones you'd expect (incendiary, smoke, high explosive, and the evil mustard gas) classes are all equipped with a gas mask that they physically put on and will save you from gas attacks. Most weapons can also be equipped with a bayonet where you can do an iconic bayonet charge, maybe a last ditch effort in the trenches or when you run out of bullets, but also useful if you're having trouble getting through a bunker room's doorway if the rooms occupied.
There are also special classes that spawn in the map in a box for whoever grabs it first (sentry which gives you a legal high rate of fire double clip machine gun, and armour, and flamer which gives you a gas mask and medium range flame thrower)
Finally you acquire new weapons via war bonds (game currency) gained by leveling up, but leveling up and war bonds especially don't come often, so use them wisely.
Multiplayer maps? Mostly all done well, some might need warming too, to understand the layout and such, the Italian mountainside on operations is a bit awkward as its a mountain side, having long range fights constantly at different elevations, but otherwise the maps all present different opportunities in terms of tactics and gameplay. A free tip to make the game easier as I didn't actually notice until owning it for a few days, down on D-pad changes weapons fire mode from single to automatic if it has it (down by a single white bullet or row of white bullets)
Verdict: 9.5/10
Definitely a worthy purchase with a lot of fun to be had. Some highlights to share from multiplayer, jumping off a zepplin and parachuting down onto a large rectangular balcony/walkway surrounding a courtyard and shooting a sniper who was puzzled, then turned the other way and laid down as I landed, and got them. Fighting for a final checkpoint in a trench sector in operations, crawling through a trench filled with gas with a gas mask on reviving team mates and shooting anyone who appeared through the mist, and hoping the bombardment around me wouldn't blow me up. Fighting for a last checking in Amiens the city map, in an up stairs room with my team whilst the building was being blown to hell. Or the battle for a last checkpoint in the game in some old ruins, in the fog as dynamic weather kicked in, with bullets and people coming from all directions.
Multiplayer creates lots of intense moments not many games this gen will be able to replicate.