In case you’ve been distracted by all the Grand Theft Auto V hullabaloo… a slew of Battlefield 4 intel just peppered the gaming landscape like a well placed mortar strike.
Multiplayer Madness
First up is the new trailer video (see above) showing off all the wonderful multiplayer aspects of B4, including “Levolution” and the return of Commander Mode. So, what is this technobabble called “Levolution” actually mean? Simply stated: the dynamic environment changes with your every move.
Tiiiiiiiiiiiimbeeeeeeeeerrrrrrr!
Bring down a freakin’ skyscraper in downtown Shanghai, blow up a levy and turn city blocks into an urban naval battleground, or make new paths (through buildings!) with a tank or… get this – destroy the anchor of a docked warship, beach the sucker, and get team access to the onboard anti-air cannons! BOOM! The options appear limitless. Plus, again, Commander Mode is back. If you forgot what it does, this feature lets two additional players take control from a birds-eye view and deploy intel and assets to aid their respective ground teams.
Open Beta Opens
Next on the docket… open beta starts – in waves – early next month. If you’ve pre-ordered the B4 Digital Deluxe Edition, are a Battlefield 3 Premium member, or are proud and registered owner of Medal of Honor: Warfighter Limited Edition/Digital Deluxe Edition… the gates open on October 1. For everyone else… access to the battlefront will begin on October 4.
Get Ready for Virtual Battlefield-ing
While we knew that Xbox 360 and Xbox One players would be able to use Kinect and SmartGlass (both Microsoft peripherals) with Battlefield 4, we didn’t know how. Executive producer Patrick Bach recently told Xbox Wire that by using the Kinect’s head-tracking abilities players will be able to lean out from cover and peer over barriers. He also mentioned that DICE is looking into the best ways of incorporating voice commands.
Eeny, meeny, miny… MOE GOES KABOOM!
Since cooperation is key to online multiplayer battles, why not let Commanders (via the Commander Mode) use the second screen features of SmartGlass to view the overhead map? Done. Talk about having an eye in the sky! But there’s more… for the first time players will be able to play Battlefield 4 without even being in front of their Xbox One and Xbox 360.
Good stuff, for sure! Just in time for Halloween, Battlefield 4 drops for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on October 29 (in North America) and October 31 in Europe. Americans with new fangled PS4s can jump into battle on November 12, while their Xbox One brethren can join the fracas on November 19. Our European brothers-in-arms receive it on November 22 on Xbox One and November 29 on PS4.
