Battlefield Hardline, is the latest addition to the Battlefield franchise, from EA Games. For the first time in the franchise history, the game is focused on policing, instead of military warfare, which is what the previous installments have been about. In the single player campaign mode of the game, you get to play as a police officer, with the option of shooting or arresting criminals, which is surprisingly more fun than you would think.
Unlike other games where you get to play as a police officer, the criminals in this game actually fear law enforcement officers, and are as likely to surrender without putting up a fight, as they are to start shooting. While most people that play first person shooters prefer to shoot first and ask questions later, Battlefield Hardline rewards players that take the arrest approach, and give more respect points for arrests than they do for killing criminals.
The characters and storyline in the campaign mode are also pleasantly surprising, and will keep you interested all the way through the end of the game. Like most games of this genre, there are a few cartoonish characters, but most of the other characters are really interesting.
The main issue I had with the game was the ability to unlock the weapons that you need. The flaw with the rewards system that the game has, is that players don’t get rewards that are designed for their playing style. Understandably, stealth players get the most rewards, because it is the most difficult way to play the game, but the rewards they receive don’t make much sense. They are rewarded with unlockable items like loud guns, which are useless to them, because they need quiet weapons, and the people who enjoy killing all the bad guys could use the gun more than a stealth player. Other than that little detail the campaign mode is one of the best you will find in a first person shooter.
After years of basically having the same multiplayer mode, Battle field finally made some new improvement to the mode, and it is quite impressive. The trash talk between the characters is hilarious, and you get to use new gadgets like grappling hook and zip lines, which allow you to get to higher vantage points, and also move more quickly. In Hotwire mode, instead of defending a property, you get to chase your opponents down while driving a car very fast, which is very exciting, and if you are a fan of the old multiplayer mode, Conquest is available, and can be played by 66 players.
After playing this game for hours, I have to say it was much better than I had anticipated, and it will keep you entertained for a long time, so I suggest giving it a try.
