Battlefield Hardline looks like another great addition to the series.
The Battlefield series is one of my favorite first-person shooter video games but it’s been hard to keep up with the franchise. With 11 titles and 12 expansion packs released since 2002, I’ve somehow managed to find time to play most of them. Now that Battlefield Hardline is out I’m having flashbacks of all the fun times I’ve had playing this addicting game.
Here’s a brief history of my experience playing Battlefield video games:
2002 – Battlefield 1942
Battlefield 1942 was one of the first multiplayer video games to incorporate vehicles into massive maps. This is precisely the reason why this game quickly became my favorite LAN party game. And, thanks to maps set in El Alamein and Berlin, we were able to hold epic battles between soldiers, tanks and aircraft.
2003 – Battlefield Desert Combat (mod)
While this wasn’t part of the original series, it’s the video game that really inspired so many modern combat games. This modded version also quickly replaced Battlefield 1942 as the top game at LAN parties. Flying the massive Lockheed AC-130 and having your team parachute down onto an unsuspecting base was a blast. The maps may have been the same as Battlefield 1942, but it felt like a brand new game.
2004 – Battlefield Vietnam
The next Battlefield video game in the series did have its drawbacks: Levels felt muddy and washed out but I guess that’s how the jungle should look. Unfortunately, the jungle was also very sparse and where there was a serious pop-in problem whenever you encountered vegetation. Even with these drawbacks, Battlefield Vietnam still had an amazing sound engine and great features like the ability to turn on the radio and listen to MP3’s in your boat. And with the Doppler Effect you could also hear music travel in the distance. This was the most immersive sound available at the time but the gameplay and maps could have been better.
2005 – Battlefield 2
Battlefield 2 was the first video game to re-introduce huge maps. Maps like Wake Island and Karkand made this video game great. Everything about it just felt right and many hours were spent in matches as we made convoys and protected each other while rolling into battle.
2006 – Battlefield 2142
Battlefield 2142 was a fun video game with futuristic weapons like walking tanks. The Titan matches were an awesome addition and I spent many hours holding off hallways during battle. Some of the maps were too compact and made it easy for players to bunch up. The vehicle maps were a tad larger but were still too sparse for cover. Battlefield 2142 is also the first video game in the series to offer defibrillators and a precursor for what would become Battlefield 3.
2008 – Battlefield: Bad Company
Battlefield: Bad Company is another great video game in the franchise. You can really feel the evolution from vehicles to squads in this game and the Story Mode was fun too. This video game is significant because it’s the first one to use the Frostbite engine – which added better atmospheric effects and destruction physics. Unfortunately, the map sizes and vehicles were limited. With only two vehicles available, the matches felt more like you were playing football because you had to keep pushing forward. This may have been fine for those who were inside and getting the kills, but it was bad news for everyone else on the map. However, with so much attention to internal space and physics, everyone knew the next video game would be much better.
2011 – Battlefield 3
Finally! Thanks to the Frostbite engine, Battlefield 3 introduced a much bigger playing field with more physics which made for exciting gameplay. I spent many hours playing this video game as an engineer and my favorite thing to do was drop mines on popular routes. Battlefield 3 had some really awesome lighting effects thrown in and the larger maps are among my favorite in the series.
2013 – Battlefield 4
Battlefield 4 pushed the envelope again with a new revision to the Frostbite engine and featured even more destructible environments and wild gameplay. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to play Battlefield 4 because the video game was too powerful for my PC to handle at the time.
2015 – Battlefield Hardline
Battlefield Hardline is the newest addition to the franchise and it looks like a promising game. It’s a welcome change from the standard Battlefield genre and I hope it offers the fun and excitement of the original games. I’m pretty sure that won’t be a problem because it’s adding a new mixture of weapons and missions that look more exciting than ever.
What’s Your Favorite ‘Battlefield’ Video Game?
With so many Battlefield video games to choose from, everyone is bound to have different opinions on which one is their favorite. Let us know which you prefer and if you’ve had a chance to play Battlefield Hardline yet.
Visit GameCrate for the latest gaming news, reviews, videos and more.
