Hot on the heels of the Battlefield Hardline beta weekend I was compelled to bring you all my thoughts on the direction the franchise is taking. I’ve always been a stalwart supporter of the Battlefield franchise, and I’ve defended the various Battlefield releases against tirades of mocking abuse from die-hard Call of Duty fans. As you can imagine I was keen to properly check out Battlefield Hardline during the free beta weekend to see if it was worth parting with my hard-earned pennies for. The ‘cops and robbers’ direction intrigued me and I was excited about the potential new gameplay alternatives it would offer compared to the standard military fare we’ve come to expect in the series. So how was it? Read on.

Depending on your expectations your first time experiencing Battlefield Hardline will either be a pleasure or a disappointment. If you enjoyed Battlefield 4 and simply wanted to see more of the same but with a different thematic approach then this will feel like slipping into a comfortable pair of slippers that you haven’t worn for a while. If, on the other hand, you were expecting something new then you will be left wanting. After firing up Battlefield Hardline and dropping into my first game I was very disappointed by the graphics. They seem rather bleak and bare, and it clearly isn’t due to a stylistic choice on behalf of the developers but rather it appears to just be generally sub-par graphics, especially compared to the existing Battlefield 4. I’m not saying I expected to be wowed by something amazing and new, but I at least expected it to look as good as Battlefield 4 with perhaps a few new bells and whistles.

The class selection is the standard fare you’ve come to expect from Battlefield 4, albeit somewhat limited in scope as we don’t have the benefit of a multitude of expansion packs that have lathered more content over the game. I quite like the monetary approach to upgrades, it’s nice to be able to progress through in a way that feels much more leisurely in pace allowing you to pick and choose as you like in some circumstances rather than having random bits and pieces dumped on you as you level. However it’s going to get rather old very quickly unless new bits and pieces are added at regular intervals by the development team. That said the beta was obviously a very limited sneak preview in many ways that isn’t indicative of the final product, so time will tell how long Battlefield Hardline will be around.

There are a few moments when playing the beta that immediately make you realise how great Battlefield Hardline could be. Some of the game modes are very fun, however they do suffer from limited map size compared to what we’ve come to expect from previous games in the Battlefield series. And on some of the maps many of the vehicles appear to simply be an afterthought; there is essentially no reason to actually use them to do anything as you can get everywhere you need to on foot nearly as quickly as you would in a vehicle, and in a far less conspicuous manner. Speaking of vehicles, it quickly becomes obvious that some of the kit available to our cops and robbers is far in excess of what you would expect from criminals and a police force, from time to time things do begin to border on the ridiculous however this is entirely forgivable given the context of the game.

This does raise an interesting point though which is where many of my complaints about the game begin to surface. This isn’t a new Battlefield game. In fact this isn’t even an expansion pack for Battlefield 4, especially as that particular title has become polished and refined into something very cohesive, enjoyable and addictive over the course of the various expansions and patches that have been released for it. In fact had it been released as a standalone expansion for Battlefield 4 it would still feel like a massive step backwards, a feeling that is only exacerbated by this being released as a full blown standalone product. The longer I played the beta the more I felt a sense of crushing disappointment; this wasn’t a brand new Battlefield game, nor is it going to be a springboard that can launch a series of cops and robbers related titles to run alongside the main Battlefield franchise.

In the very best case scenario I could come up with Battlefield Hardline felt like a re-skinned version of Battlefield 4 that doesn’t have the benefit of having had umpteen expansion packs crammed full of new maps and content to play with. The worst case scenario it felt like another companies rather dodgy rip-off version of Battlefield 4 where they have tried to replicate the class selection, combat and dynamics, and furnished it with just enough gameplay bits and pieces to keep people happy before slapping a price on it and putting it on the shelves. It’s a difficult thing to put your finger on but the entire game just feels very cheap compared to Battlefield 4. The weapons lack punch, the animations seem a little bit ropey at times, the graphics seem pallid and washed out, vehicle handling seems ever so slightly clunkier and less responsive.

I can’t help but feel that Battlefield Hardline has been hampered by ambition. If a cops and robbers instalment was what was wanted in the Battlefield franchise then it should have been developed that way from the ground up. They should have left behind as many of the traditional elements we know and love from Battlefield and engaged their brains to come up with something new and different. This would have been a bold move and I’m sure it would have alienated various fans but the final product would have benefited greatly as a result. As it stands Hardline is very similar to its predecessor but remains far less polished and with much less to do. I will caveat everything I have said by reminding everyone that the game was in beta when I played and wrote this review, things can and will probably change, however I feel that many of the problems are integral with the entire notion of re-skinning Battlefield into a cops and robbers game rather than starting from scratch with something new and are impossible to fix at this juncture. You may enjoy it however Battlefield Hardline certainly isn’t one for me, I’ll stick with Battlefield 4!

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