Battlefield V Review

Battlefield V seems like it’s been somewhat rushed to market. With a number of placeholders in the menus and vague future promises, Battlefield V will probably be best to be bought in a post-Christmas sale once the content is there and some bugs have been squashed.

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Multiplayer:

Continuing on the subject of elements being missing in action, don’t expect to be playing Battle Royale yet (or anytime soon) – it won’t release until the spring.

The usual modes return though, with the game (as usual), pointing you towards Conquest mode, where up to 64 players go head-to-head capturing a set of objectives in a match that normally lasts in the region of 20-30 minutes. The new maps are generally well designed, and matchmaking is pretty quick. The game suffers from many of the other bugs that plague the rest of the game though, with wonky physics, terrible load / quit times, geometry issues etc. At least the game plays without lag.

Progression feels more balanced than in previous Battlefield games, and there’s a huge amount of customisation options and unlocks available. Personally, with snipers being less over-powered than in previous games, it feels like a big step forwards in gameplay terms. There’s also better class based abilities. Anyone can heal, but medics take about a quarter of the time. The support class can build fortifications, in a nod to Fortnite(?). The only frustrating thing is that assault is the only class who can really take down vehicles from the get-go. It’s maybe more surprising that the game doesn’t push you into ‘grand operations’, the main new mode available at launch. This splits up a much larger match (think roughly an hour) into smaller segments, where you’ll play on up to four maps and modes. The reality is a bit of a disappointment, as there’s nothing really extra to the game other than some basic narrative explaining why you’re playing concurrent multiplayer matches.

Presentation:

The Battlefield games have a history of looking and sounding exceptional, and V is no different. It’s incredible what the team are able to do with the Frostbite engine, even on hugely open areas. The most impressive thing is the game look incredible from all angles. Most games have some flaw – maybe it’s texture or geometry pop-in, poor textures when up close, odd lighting in some situations. Battlefield V will take you from the snowy nights of Norway to the deserts of North Africa and the towns of Northern Europe, and it’s basically impossible to find fault. There’s huge visual variety and exceptional quality throughout, whilst the game runs well and is very crisp too.

If it’s possible, the audio sounds event better. Battlefield has always had the best gun effects and explosions in the business, and on Xbox One X with Atmos enabled, the effect is staggering. It’s unbelievably immersive, with deep bass and exceptional directional audio. The game also has some great music, with a brilliant rendition of “I vow to thee my Country” which plays over the intro level to the campaign.

 

Conclusion:

Battlefield V” looks and sounds amazing. There’s some smart gameplay changes too. But then there’s a wealth of bugs and glitches, and a number of placeholder menus. There’s too much content missing at the moment to really give the game a thorough recommendation. EA are effectively selling you a promise – that the Battle Royale will come good. That the single-player conclusion will be good. And clearly, as a reviewer, I can’t guarantee that. Personally, given the wealth of feature-complete games out there, I’d wait until after Christmas and get more game for less money.

Good

  • Amazing presentation
  • Conquest as good as ever

Bad

  • Bugs
  • Placeholders
  • Lack of single-player variety
8.7

Great

Story - 8
Graphics - 9.5
Sound - 9.5
Gameplay - 8.5
Multiplayer - 8.5
Vakue - 8
Editor - Reviewer GamerKnights

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