Just when you think Dice releases couldn’t possible get any better, Battlefield: Hardline storms on to our shelves with a flash and a bang. From the words “GO GO GO”, the game promises you one hell of a ride and it delivers, with added octane.
Dice really go the extra mile with Hardline, and this shows more and more with every second played. Whether you buy first-person shooters for the multiplayer element, or just love a good campaign, you’re in for a real treat
Multiplayer
Straight away the Battlefield: Hardline multiplayer mode offers you an angle never before seen in the Battlefield franchise. The game takes a ‘Cops and Robbers’ approach and pulls it off beautifully. No matter which team you end up on, the results are still the same and will blow your socks off.
The sounds of the battlefield are brought to life with the loud reports of sniper-fire, the distant ‘thrumping’ of helicopter rotas and small-arms fire ricocheting from every angle around you. The immersion is unreal as you charge in to battle with hope in your heart and -the inevitable- blisters on your thumbs. Everything about the game makes you want more. Ten minutes in to my first 30 minute match I was racing around in a stolen police car, sirens loudly ‘NEE-NAWing’ and KRS blaring out with “Whoop whoop, this is the sound of the police” and couldn’t help feel a real part of my in-game surroundings.
Whilst its predecessor, Battlefield 4, heavily favoured long-range sniping, Hardline prefers to keep the action at a close-to-medium range. This paves the way for faster action and a lot more firefights. Of course, if you do favour sniper rifles, all is not lost. There’s still so much scope (pun intended) for classic sniper play only at smaller ranges and without the help of your trusty rangefinder. However, this is quickly proven to be a small sacrifice for the action-packed gameplay Hardline offers.
Weapon customization is an integral part of Battlefield: Hardline. With countless weapons and gadgets offering in-depth customization, you can be sure your gear is blinged to your tastes. Dice often gifts players further weapon skins and attachments by the way of supply drops. These are often rewarded on levelling up and completing various challenges.
Single Player Campaign
The campaign for Battlefield: Hardline is compelling to the end. Set beautifully as an episodic TV show, Hardline offers a unique approach at an otherwise stale genre. The game opens with protagonist, Nicholas Mendoza, and his partner doing a drugs bust and you are quickly drawn straight in to the sleazy underworld of America and the dangerous life of a vice detective. You find yourself sat right on the edge of your seat as your partner, Detective Sergeant Carl Stoddard, counts you down to the big moment. On three (or is that after three), you burst in to a room full of criminals sat around a table shouting “Hands up, Miami Vice” in true Hollywood fashion. The atmospheric value is superb as you begin arresting the ‘scum’ you have just caught in the act. You even start to feel a little more relaxed, the bad guys have your weapons trained on them and you have successfully accomplished your first mission. This lull in the action, and the feeling you can let your guard down is short-lived as a raving lunatic comes screaming out of the bathroom with a shotgun. Firing wildly around the room forcing you to panic and fire back, diving for cover as you do so. In the commotion one of your prisoners escapes through the window and gets in to a car. You quickly follow suit and so begins the beginning of an amazing game that manages to captivate you from beginning to the end.
“Whoop Whoop, this is the sound of the Police”
Summary
One of the best games of the decade and an absolute must have for fans of the franchise (or even its mortal enemy, Call of Duty). With new angles and a fresh approach to both the multiplayer and single player campaign, Hardline is exactly what the modern-day first-person shooter needed. Hardline is available on G2A, and further money can be saved by using a g2a cashback coupon.
Happy Gaming!