Battlefield, the only franchise that can compete head-to-head with Call of Duty, will be getting a new installment this year. Unsurprisingly, the game will be called Battlefield 4 and feature more of the same excellent multiplayer that fans have come to expected coupled with a singleplayer campaign that promises to be more “human, dramatic and believable” than past entries.
That singleplayer campaign is the focus of the 17 minute gameplayer trailer that accompanied the reveal last night. DICE stresses that everything in the trailer is rendered in game. Battlefield 3 was already a visually impressive game, and Battlefield 4 is already looking like it will set a new benchmark for in-game visuals.
“We are so humbled and proud to debut Battlefield 4 on a global stage with simultaneous events in San Francisco and Stockholm. To be this early in development, and to already be so polished is a huge achievement for the DICE team and reflection of their passion and commitment to driving the franchise forward. Today’s demo was just the beginning — we have so much more in store,” said Patrick Soderlund, Executive Vice President, EA Games Label. “It is thrilling to witness peoples’ reaction when seeing the game for the first time. It really makes you realize that we are at the beginning of a whole new era for gaming. As artists and craftspeople, we are focused on creating a dynamic, open design that brings people together with amazing, surprising unscripted moments that they’ll talk about for days. That’s the beauty of Battlefield.”
Beyond the visuals, it looks like we’ll get more of the solid gameplay that Battlefield is known for. The only unknown is the story, but the early gameplay demo shows promise. DICE has already proven it can tell an entertaining story with the Bad Company series, but it remains to be seen if the developer can do the same thing with a more dramatic turn of events.
Battlefield 4 will be released this fall for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. There’s no mention of next-gen consoles, but a game this pretty is bound to end up on them.