Battlefield 2042 – Review
Want to know what Battlefield 2042’s coolest weapon is? It’s a hovercraft. With so many weapons at your disposal, it’s hard not to get lost in the chaos of Battlefield 2042 when you take out an enemy team of Specialists while charging across the dunes.
If Battlefield 2042 is a first-person shooter, it’s because of moments like this that prove it’s a game for everyone, not just fans of the series. Like other Battlefield games, Battlefield 2042 doesn’t take itself too seriously, and as a result, it’s fun to play.
Pros:
Extremely fun battles
Massive scale
Impressive visuals
Stellar weapon mechanics
Vehicular combat
Cons:
No campaign
Specialists don’t stand out much
Score – 9/10
This time around, Battlefield 2042 is a completely multiplayer game, with three different modes to choose from that can either suit your gameplay style or leave you feeling a little bored. It’s hard to swallow the $60/£60/AU$99.95 price tag for the standard edition of a solely multiplayer title on PS4 and Xbox One (add $10 on for the PS5 and Xbox Series X) when you add on the price of the PS Plus or Xbox Live Gold membership needed to play on consoles.
Battlefield 2042, on the other hand, feels like the next step in the series’ evolution, with its stunningly detailed environments, epic battles involving 128 players on massive maps, and Specialists who actually speak. On PC, it’s one of the best-looking FPSs we’ve seen, and it runs smoothly, but we’d like to see how it performs on console, which we weren’t given access to during the pre-release review period. All impressions expressed here are based on the PC version of the game, not the console version.
With seven All-Out War/Hazard Zone maps, six classic Battlefield Portal maps, and 10 Specialists to choose from, Battlefield 2042 appears to have a lot to offer players at launch. The multiplayer experiences in this game aren’t going to be for everyone, and we expect players to prefer one to the others until new content is released. It will be interesting to see if these seasonal content drops have a significant impact on Battlefield 2042’s long-term viability. However, there is currently no clear roadmap for players to follow.
The core of Battlefield 2042’s All-Out Warfare experience is the game’s foundation. For those who have played first-person shooters before, All-Out Warfare’s multiplayer experience will be familiar and will likely be the best for newcomers to the franchise.
Let’s start with Breakthrough mode, one of our personal favourites. Breakthrough is the best way to experience Battlefield 2042’s massive battles at their best. Team Deathmatch pits 64-player teams (or 32 on PS4 and Xbox One) against each other, with one team attempting to attack and take over the map while the other tries to defend it. There are no free-for-alls here; instead, the map is taken over by securing sectors until one team has the majority of it.
In Breakthrough, we felt like part of a well-oiled machinery as our team worked together to secure each sector of the map. Breakthrough has a strong sense of teamwork. As a result of the squad dynamic, you’ll each feel a sense of belonging to a larger effort.
It’s a two-team shootout on the same maps as Breakthrough, but the focus shifts to sectors composed of multiple flags rather than individual control points. Unlike Breakthrough, where each control point is gradually unlocked, Conquest allows you to travel anywhere on the map, allowing you to go wherever you want. While Conquest felt more like a free-for-all, we found that Breakthrough’s gradual unlocking of sectors allowed for better pace and focus.
The biggest advantage of Battlefield 2042’s All-Out Warfare mode’s increased player count is that there is no pause in the action. As long as you don’t have a lot of enemies around, you’ll almost always run into someone. If you’re looking for an enemy or teammate, you won’t have a problem because the map has been scaled to fit your size, and there are so many players that the action never stops.
In Battlefield 2042, developer EA Dice refers to these as “clusters,” and they’re where the real fun takes place. Players tend to congregate in large groups at strategic points in the map called “clusters,” which can lead to all-out firefights. As you try to capture a sector, you may find yourself in a pitch-black tunnel exchanging fire with the enemy in order to gain ground. These clusters are brilliant, and they tell you that wherever you go, you’ll find something interesting to do. A dogfight was taking place over our heads while we were walking to our destination. Everything about it made us feel connected to something much greater than ourselves.
As a part of the All-Out Warfare system, you have more latitude in selecting your Specialist and can try new things with it. To play as engineer Boris or Sundance’s wingsuit, it won’t cost you the victory, and between deaths, if the battle or your intrigue requires it, you can change your Specialist to someone else if necessary. As a result, you can use any loadout for any Specialist. Specialist selection can feel redundant at times, especially in Breakthrough and Conquest. However, some special abilities are better suited to specific maps and modes. With the help of a grappling hook, Mackay can reach areas that other characters can’t, such as Discarded, where there are many shipping containers that can be climbed to gain an elevated view.
Additionally, we were a little underwhelmed by the weapon selection. There are assault rifles, marksman rifles, and pistols to choose from, but the selection isn’t extensive.. Because of the wide variety of weapon customization options, you can tailor your weapon to your play style. Even so, you have a variety of gadgets and vehicles at your disposal that can be summoned during cooldowns. For example, if you need more firepower, you can bring in a robotic dog (we called ours Reginald) or jump in a helicopter to shoot down Specialist-infested floors on a high-rise building rooftop.
In addition to the gadgets and player count, the maps in All-Out Warfare contribute to the game’s epic feel. Battlefield 2042’s dystopian world is subtly illuminated by each of these stunning landscapes. As the puddles began to form as it rained, even if it meant getting sniped, there were times when we happily stopped to take in the rain-dropped landscapes, even if it meant getting sniped. Breakaway and Hourglass are two of the most visually stunning maps in the game. These beautiful battlefields become a different beast when dynamic weather like tornadoes and sandstorms are thrown into the mix. Each offers its own challenges and benefits to learn and strategize around.
While All-Out Warfare allows players to blend in with the crowd, Hazard Zone is all about tight squad play. There are four of you again, but this time you’re competing with other teams to collect data drives and reach an extraction point to earn credits.. After that, you can use the money to buy new weapons and other in-game items.
Hazard Zone is a fun multiplayer game, but it suffers from a lack of balance. The tight squad play is enjoyable, but the economy of it makes it feel unbalanced.. As a result, you’re given a data scanner, an assault rifle, and a grenade as your primary weapons. Perform well in the games and you’ll be able to buy better weapons with the credits you’ll earn from collecting data drives and selling them at extraction zones or by killing occupying AI forces. It’s great if you succeed, but if you don’t, you’ll be left with just a few credits and basic weapons for the rest of your time in the game.
Players with more experience will have an easier time getting a foot in the door at Hazard Zone, making it difficult for newbies to get started. Inexperienced players can earn credits over time, but they are almost certain to be defeated by more experienced players, resulting in the loss of any upgrades they may have earned. Risks turning into an exclusive club for the most competitive players because of its steep slope.
If you don’t get enough data drives and kill AI (and any other players that show up), you’ll have to get to the extraction point. As one of the last two remaining squads vying for the final two spots on the extraction aircraft, you’ll find this mode to be tense and enjoyable, but there doesn’t seem to be enough variety in each match to keep it interesting.
In-game voice chat will not be available in Battlefield 2042 until after the game’s launch, which is a problem for this mode. In Hazard Zone, which is heavily reliant on communication and cooperation, you can only use the in-game text chat or a limited ping system to communicate with your teammates if you’re playing solo.
If the other multiplayer modes in Battlefield 2042 don’t appeal to you, you can always design your own from scratch. Create, discover, and share your own custom battleground sandbox experiences using maps from Battlefield games past and present like Battlefield 1942 and Bad Company 2 as well as maps and vehicles from many other games in the series.
For those who don’t have the time or inclination to create their own maps, they can modify an existing map from the franchise to create their own unique experiences. The only weapons players could use during our review session were rocket launchers and knives. To get more ammo, you had to keep jumping, which led to a shootout between soldiers who were launching rockets at each other. It was a lot of fun for a while, but the novelty soon wore off.
It’s possible to make a modernised version of games from Battlefield’s past, such as a Rush on Arica Harbor from Bad Company 2 with the help of content from previous titles and remastered fan-favorite maps running in 4K at 60fps. Even though these maps have been visually and mechanically improved, the original soundtrack has been preserved, making it feel like you’ve travelled back in time.
It’s up to you how complicated or simple these matches are. A simple step-by-step option is available for those who want to adjust the teams, AI, weapons and maps only. A more advanced option allows you to alter event triggers, projectile speed and other fine details. We can’t wait to see what players come up with in the Battlefield Portal.
If you don’t have the time or inclination to create your own matches, you can still enjoy other people’s creations, with EA DICE also planning to include some of its own.
Battlefield Portal, on the other hand, offers a slightly different take on the Battlefield 2042 experience. Battlefield veterans will appreciate it, but newcomers will be able to explore parts of the series they may not have previously had access to. Battlefield Portal, on the other hand, allows you to fully immerse yourself in the more laid-back aspects of the game. In comparison to other multiplayer games, Portal can be a playground for those who simply want to partake in absurd situations like fighting only with defibrillators while maintaining a healthy sense of competition.
Because of the repetitive and competitive nature of first-person shooters, Battlefield 2042 may be a good fit for you. The intense battles in All-Out Warfare let you learn the ropes as part of a large group while also making you feel like you’re contributing to a (hopefully) successful effort. But there’s also the chance to just have some fun with this game. Drop a tank on a foe, if you please. That’s something you’re capable of doing. Let us know if you’d like us to attach an explosive to the Ranger robot dog and send him into enemy territory. Even if Reginald tried to do both at once, he wouldn’t have made it.
In the same way, if you’re an FPS veteran who wants to lead the charge in All-Out Warfare or ramp things up in Hazard Zone before creating a defibrillator vs knife fight in Battlefield Portal, you can do that as well.
Currently, Battlefield 2042 is a sandbox of opportunity, but without regular content drops that significantly change things and offer players more modes than are currently available, the game risks becoming stale and boring. First season of Battlefield 2042’s first season, which will include new Portal content and a new Specialist, as well as a Fortnite-like Battle Pass, won’t begin until some time in 2022. Could we get tired of the pranks before that? Probably. Battlefield 2042 will be a “evolving” game with live-service elements that could see each season bring new life to the title. Is EA DICE’s Battlefield 2042 foundation strong enough to justify its high price tag right now? Wait for more content before you open fire, unless you’re a huge Battlefield or first-person shooter fan.
