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Battlefield 1!

The plot and setting of the latest Battlefield (Battlefield 1), is significantly different from previous versions, will gamers be turned off by the World War I concept, or will Battlefield steal the show once again?

First Impressions:

Whenever possible, we try to give our loyal website viewers the most video footage and most in depth unbiased reviews imaginable. Part of that development is our "initial impressions" where we offer up our first impressions of the title that we are playing.

This gives our website visitors more of clear understanding of what to first expect out of the game when they initially pop it into their consoles.

If you scroll to the bottom of the page in the Rent vs. Buy section of the review and do not see the "final impressions" assessment then it's safe to say that you are reading our initial impression of the game. Once the final impression is up, there will be no further video or review done to that particular title.

Final Impressions:

The final impression is just that, our completed breakdown and overall thoughts on the game based off of our entire game playing time.

You can locate the final impressions assessment in the "Rent vs. Buy" section of the review (always located at the very end of all of our reviews). Here you will be able to read our final thoughts on the title and also see any potential grade changes that were made to the game as well (higher or lower). Should a grading change occur, it will be clearly noted with the previous grade, the new grade, and why the change occurred.

Although this approach is more time consuming and requires many more man hours, our entire goal has always been to provide the best and completely unbiased reviews possible and we feel that the inclusion of the Initial Impressions and Final Impressions sections will give you a better view of what to expect from a new game.

All that we ask in return is for you to continue to support Krakrabbit.com by visiting the site and letting others know about our cause. Together we can supply our fellow gamers with the most impartial information so they can make an informed decision on whether to buy or rent this particular title.

Frontline Infantry:

Right off the bat, you are greeted with an abrupt entrance to combat; you will be forced to give everything you have, in order to try to survive the hail of bullets. Unfortunately death is inevitable for this part of the story, for though the first part is essentially a playable introduction to Battlefield's story, eventually leading to future events.

The time period for this particular global war begins in 1914, also known as World War I. You will spend an approximate 4 years in this Great War, combatting opposing countries that get in your way.

Your first official storyline character that you will be playing, is a young man named Danny Edwards, for which Danny used to be chauffeur, before entering the blood ridden warzones. Danny has taken the duty of being a Mark V tank driver, nicknamed by their crew 'Big Bess'. Along with the stress of learning how to operate a Mark V tank; and going to war, Edwards is confused on whether to trust his crew mates or not.

Multi Character War Stories:

A rather unique method Battlefield uses, is a multiple character story line. Every war fighter you play will have an objective, and once you complete said objective; you will proceed to the next storyline. For example: you have a mission to take down a flock of tanks by airstrike, and rescue an ally, once you complete all that is asked, you will be forcibly moved on to the next part of the chapter or character.

Although this is only a vague example, I assure you these missions that you attempt, will not be a walk in the park by any means.

The concept of having a variety of characters to play, truly does keep your interest and attention focused on the game, rather than going through the motions and eventually getting bored. It's almost like playing multiple games within the same game, the reason for that is because every time the character changes, so does the story, weapons, and objective. I assure you that you will want to keep playing this campaign; or even binge play it to the end, it's highly unlikely that you will get tired of this.

A.I:

Friendly A.I. could be better, but it's certainly not the worst I've seen. The blue dot above friendly soldiers is a bit too small, thus; accidental friendly fire comes into play. Fortunately you cannot cause damage to your allies. Speaking of friendly fire, allies occasionally seem to wander in front of your line of fire, sometimes even shoving you; when it does happen, it can be annoying and cause bodily harm or even death to both you and your allies.

The computer programmed to make these enemies operate is very good at times, and just OK at other times. The enemy combat was tough and these guys don't hold back at all, they will chuck grenades at you like their life depends on it (pun intended), but other times (such as hiding) when the enemies SHOULD see me when I'm basically in plain sight, but fail to notice me at all. They fight till they die in combat, but at quieter times they seem a bit clueless to what is actually going on.

Sneaking is a pretty easy task as long you crouch and avoid running too much, they can and will hear your footsteps and proceed to investigate the noise, when the enemies investigate a situation, their previously white marker above their head, then turns flashing yellow.

Enemy movements can at times be unpredictable; they effectively patrol an area but at the same time, are quite unaware when they should be able to see me. The guys who can really blow your position are people on rooftops, and high ground vantage points.

Another thing to note is that when an enemy is patrolling an area, and said enemy ends up finding a body of one of their soldiers (that I killed), they kind of just stand there and start investigating around the area, rather than going code red and deploying a search party.

The combat portion of Battlefield is intense and these people mean war, but in times of patrol; I definitely think it could be turned up a notch. Sure you could turn up the difficulty, but that could potentially make combat EXTREMELY hard and even unpleasant.

Take Cover:

I can't stress this enough, the realism of Battlefield is astounding, but this is a good thing because it forces strategy upon the player, rather than running and gunning like a maniac. Hiding behind cover is essentially a requirement, whether if it's for propping your rifle tripod on, or hiding from a hell storm of bullets and grenades.

Even if you do have sufficient cover from enemies, said cover can quickly deteriorate from gunfire and grenades within 3 seconds; forcing you to return fire and seek ANOTHER sufficient cover area. Remember, almost every structure in Battlefield can be abolished and crumbled to ashes.

Weapons & Equipment:

Of course Battlefield has weapons and other cool gadgets, but how does one obtain such? We all remember those huge weapon crates in Battlefield 4, where we could choose the weapons we wanted for our loadout that we desired. Battlefield 1 has the same concept of the weapon crates, but not exactly the same due to the time of year.

Near the beginning of every deployment of a mission, you will see a weapons tent icon on your mini map, and odds are this is probably where you will get all of your weapons. These weapons and equipment are in wooden crates, usually housing one piece of item per crate, the long crates will house random weapons, and the small box shaped crates will hold random equipment like sticky grenades, dynamite, repair tools, etc. Though you cannot choose specific weapons, or equipment of choice.

Combative Maneuvers:

Adding to the realism of Battlefield is the combat portion of the game. Starting off with firearms, you will notice that the aim assist is very low when targeting enemies; thus, you must rely solely on your skill to quickly aim and fire, effectively. So this becomes a problem when clearing buildings, enemies catching you off guard, and shooting in general.

Due to this problem, you will find better success by playing as tactically as possible, running only when necessary, scouting areas before entering, tag enemies by using binoculars, clearing corners by leaning or crouching, always having a backup firearm for a quick swap, etc. I've personally been caught off guard many times before, because I was being risky and sloppy with my tactics, and this will cost you your life.

Stealth Mode Activated:

Although there isn't an actual "stealth mode" in Battlefield 1, you can get pretty close by being as stealthy as possible.

I was happily surprised to see that Battlefield allowed players, to be silent with their kills if they chose too. Fortunately Battlefield grants you access to use suppressed weapons, although these silent weapons are usually only provided to you on stealth related missions. I do wish Battlefield allowed you to use suppressed weapons at any moment of a character or mission, but in missions where you don't have suppressed firearms, you could always slice and dice your way to victory!

Vehicular Assault:

The vehicle assaults in campaign mode were exciting and satisfactory when played, but I do wish Battlefield had more moments spent within the vehicles, rather than on foot. With the reduced time spent in tanks, comes reduced time blowing up buildings

But in multiplayer, it's a whole different story. The vehicles in multiplayer can make or break, these heavy pieces of machinery can get you out of some sticky situations, for and your team. It's a game changer.

We have a wide variety of vehicles to choose from in multiplayer, we have Bomber Planes, Fighter Planes, Landships, Heavy Tanks, Light Tanks, or your average Sand Truck for quick transportation. And there are many more others, just too many to cover.

Some of the vehicles listed above allow co-pilots or passengers to aid you in your battles, take the Landship for example, passengers may shoot cannons from their chosen seats to destroy the enemy, or co-pilots may rain down bullets from their provided machine gun, it's all about variety.

Another means of quick transportation AND the ability to fight, is a horseback rider wielding a sword, and a lever action rifle. You may swing the sword off the side of your horse, or you may choose to rapidly fire projectiles at your targets from your rifle, you choose.

World Destruction:

Most of the previous Battlefields were praised for allowing the ability to cause destruction to structures like concrete walls, but this is on a different level this time. It's almost too much fun one can have while behind the wheel of a tank, cover is not only obliterated by cannons, but houses are too! You may choose to knock down the studs of the walls with your cannon, or bulldoze it with the armor of your tank.

And some houses even contain flammable objects that burst into flames and even explode, shooting debris into the sky! The ability to cause mass destruction with one tank is a game changer in multiplayer. Someone is hiding behind cover? Blow it up. Someone is sniping from a building? Blow up the building. The fun is endless.

Although not every house is completely destructible due to spawn points, and the playability of the map, but you can knock down the majority of structures with a grin on your face.

Vehicle Pit Stops:

Whether if you are playing multiplayer or campaign, repairing your vehicle when available is your best friend. Especially in campaign mode, repairing your vehicles is vital in order to survive some missions, that's why I highly recommend NEVER, replacing your repair tool with some other equipment item in campaign mode. Sure you can still repair from the inside of your tank, but repairing the tank from the outside is significantly quicker, and potentially life saving.

Graphics:

The graphics for almost all the cut-scenes are fantastic, displaying realistic facial expressions and details, smooth body movements and animations, only at times the cinematic scene characters would get a bit choppy, but nothing serious, but I'm more impressed by the live gameplay of Battlefield. Live gameplay graphics are very well detailed from seeing the caked mud on your weapon, or the grains of wood on weapon crates, even the faces of the characters were quite detail for being a non-cut-scene.

Comparing Battlefield to Call of Duty would be unfair to Battlefield, seeing that this particular Battlefield is set in the 1900s, whereas the previous Call of Duty's were set in either modern times or futuristic times.

Audio:

To be honest, I've always found that the best part of any of the Battlefield's; was the sound. Audio is just as important as visual in my opinion, and once again Battlefield always manages to steal the show, with its amazingly realistic sound effects.

It's almost like you can hear the trigger being clicked right before firing, the primer of the bullet being punched by the hammer, the internal sounds of the firearm, and the soundwaves reverberating against the walls as you fire.

The gun fire and sound effects are so realistic; it makes you feel like you are in the warzone in a way. The voiceover is crisp and clear, very easy to understand under chaos, you can actually hear the bullet casing fall to the ground, when you discharge a round. In campaign mode, you will also notice that when you headshot an enemy wearing a helmet, the helmet will make a loud, crisp ting when you fire; alerting nearby enemies. Nothing to this day has come close to being as good as Battlefield in the audio category.

All Good Things Must Come To An End:

Some players, who primarily enjoy the story mode and campaign of games, will be sorely disappointed with Battlefield 1 in a way. I say this because the campaign only has an approximate 6 hour gameplay time, which can be a deal breaker for some, but likely not for too many such as the multiplayer is quite in depth as well; and gives the player something else to look forward to. Nevertheless, you still have a whole multiplayer career to look forward to, and I will say with confidence, that for only being a 6 hour campaign, I'd say it was very well done!

Classes:

Right from the get go, you are granted with 4 basic classes for which the default weapons provided shall be changed later, the basic classes you can fully customize to fit your desires are going to be:

Assault: Based on running and gunning, quick transportation, anti-vehicle, sabotage, etc.

Medic: Based on following your team, reviving allies, tossing med packs, support, etc.

Support: Resupply ammo to allies, light machine gun, crowd control, repair, etc.

Scout: Recon unit, sniper, watch over allies, camp, watch objectives, range, repair etc.

I Want Different Weapons:

You may be wondering how you change or obtain NEW weapons for your classes (there are many), that is where 'Warbonds' come into play. Warbonds is an in-game currency used to purchase higher level, better weapons and equipment. To earn Warbonds, you must simply play the multiplayer mode, and rank up your level, for each new level you reach; you will be granted with at least 90 Warbonds.

But just because you have Warbonds doesn't necessarily mean you can purchase ANY weapon and or equipment for ANY class. If you wish to unlock 'Scout' weapons, you must play and level with the 'Scout' class, experience gained through one class, is not transferred to another. So choose a class that you like, and stick to it, in order to unlock new gear on your chosen class.

Weapon Customization:

If you played the Battlefield 1 beta, then you will already know we can use the Bayonet located at the bottom of our rifle. But now we have the freedom to either remove or replace attachments on our weapons! I was again happily surprised to see that we could customize our weapons if we chose to, I'm not talking about aesthetic features either, I'm talking about attachments that will actually aid us, when we're in the field.

If the player is unsatisfied with their weapon attachments, they may use what is available to them , you can change the optic, the shape of the optic, change the barrels, change the bolt of sniper rifles, extend the barrel, add grips to a gun, change the gun's ammo, etc. Some weapons are limited to certain attachments than others; so you have to find the right one for you.

Battlepacks & Puzzle Pieces:

Battlepacks are loot crates that contain weapon camos and skins, earned by playing full Battlefield online matches and sticking around till the very end. Although the Battlepacks granted at the end of each match is randomly donated to a player, so you may receive 2 Battlepacks every 2 matches, or play 5 matches without earning 1, it is completely random.

When you do receive a Battlepack, it then will be stored in your inventory for you to open at the home screen, if you are unsatisfied with the skin or camo you received, you may 'scrap' the camo for another in-game currency known as 'scraps'. With these scraps you earn, you can buy different level Battlepacks straight from the Battlepack store. You can choose to buy cheaper ones or more expensive ones, the expensive Battlepacks are supposed to have a higher chance, of dropping a rare camo or skin.

Puzzle pieces are also granted to random players at the end of a match, puzzle pieces may be used to obtain legendary weapons. Once you find the amount of puzzle pieces required in order to complete the puzzle, you will then be granted with said, legendary weapon.

New Game Modes:

Rush: Each map contains 2 Telegraph stations, the attacker's goal for this objective will consist of arming and destroying, the opposing team's 'Telegraphs'. Subsequently, the defender's goal is to prevent this. Those defending their Telegraphs may request an artillery strike as well, to aid them in combat.

War Pigeons: An interesting addition has been made into Battlefield's criteria of modes, and this new addition will turn the Battlefield into even MORE of a warzone. Each team's objective is to capture the carrier pigeon (which is stationed at a randomly chosen area of the map) a total of 3 times in order to win.

The player, whom possesses the pigeon, must rely on their team's ability to push back the opposing team, while you're occupied with writing a message to request an airstrike. There is no psychical interaction with the carrier pigeon at all, you will have full access to all abilities as usual; granting you with the power to fight back as well! But it's probably best that you hold your ground and remain static, because the less you move, the faster you write.

Operations: Once again, we are greeted with the latest and greatest game mode provided by Battlefield. If you've played Domination in Battlefield before, then you likely already have a grasp of what I'm talking about. Basically 'Operations' is a playlist of Domination games, all thrown into one session. Each time you or the enemy team conquers a map, you then will be progressed onto the next map of the playlist. This playlist-like option was introduced to enable players to have more drawn out domination match, as if they were playing an actual war; rather than a quick Domination match.

Perhaps we may see a 'Hardcore' mode being introduced in the future, but no other modes have been released at the moment.

New 'Elite' Classes:

Flame Trooper:

The types of Elite classes vary, for which there are 3 different variants. The first class will be oriented towards close quarters combat and clearing buildings which brings us to 'Flame Trooper'. With Flame Trooper you are proficiently equipped to handle crowds and you also possess the element of surprise; with you stands a Flamethrower, Gas Mask, and Fire Resistant Armor to take down any unwanted characters.

Sentry:

Players will think twice about running up to a walking tank, heavily armored head to toe in metal. Sentry is ideal for team-based tactics, such as when players require cover fire when moving to destinations; or very useful, for picking off unwanted guests on your objective. You shall boldly greet your opponents, with your provided water-cooled Machine Gun, but be on the lookout for Gas Grenades; as you cannot use a Gas Mask due to your metal helmet.

Tank Hunter:

We already know vehicles are a significant part when in the field; and at times even detrimental when used against us. This brings us to 'Tank Hunter'. What is truly unique about this particular class is that you may choose to discreetly and anonymously disable vehicles, leaving the enemy clueless and a loss for words to what actually happened.

This is done by using a very hefty gun called the' 1918 Tankgewehr', this gun will take out a Mark V tank in about 5 carefully placed shots, and even less if you just want to disable the tank. Now don't think this is exclusively for tanks, the Tankgewehr is also very good at performing one shot kills. The downsides to this weapon is that you are required to either prone, or prop up on the edge of cover in order to actually fire the gun. Another thing is that it is limited to 1 bullet per shot, and takes a substantial amount of time to reload; so place your shots carefully.

Now that we have our anti-vehicle weapon ready to go, we're also provided with a close encounters sawed off Shotgun as well, this beast holds 2 shells and does a significant amount of damage at short distances. Though the shotgun only holds 2 shells, you will be impressed by the reload speed.

Rent vs. Buy:

As soon as you launch Battlefield 1, you are instantly tossed into a battle zone of chaos; which is the name of the game right here. From the very beginning, Battlefield throws all of its greatest reasons as to why we all enjoy it so much: the amazing audio, the guns, the graphics, and the story. This was a smart maneuver to get the player's attention.

The enjoyment of Battlefield's campaign is short lived, due to the fact that it is approximately 6 hours. This is a major downfall for a lot of people, who enjoy a long story adventure, I'm not saying Battlefield wasn't an adventure, I'm just saying the adventure is short lived. For this reason is why I think that Battlefield 1 would lean more towards multiplayer gamers, rather than story mode enthusiasts. Because once you finish the story and campaign, it is now expired and all that is left to play is online gameplay.

Even though the campaign was very good, it still doesn't change the fact that it was only 6 hours long. The multiplayer however will grant you with hours of playtime. If you're a person that doesn't care much for online gameplay I think you're better off renting Battlefield 1 for the campaign, and if you're a person prefers online OVER campaign, I'd recommend buying it for which you will receive hours of playtime.

Report Card

Even though the campaign was very good, it still doesn't change the fact that it was only 6 hours long. The multiplayer however will grant you with hours of playtime.

(Krakrabbit.com)

A


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