With Battlefield‘s Beta coming to an end, we saw many highs and lows, but far more highs than lows for me at least! However, some fans aren’t impressed as one of the big talking points surrounding the upcoming title right now is the intensity of its core gameplay and how it compares to the older titles. For me, as previously covered here at Everything Nerd, the studio behind Battlefield 6, which is a collective under the brand of Battlefield Studios, have said they aim to bring the intensity of Battlefield 4 back and return the franchise to its core brilliance.
Series lead producer David Sirland has said DICE is “very much” looking at older titles, such as Battlefield 3 and 4, even notably Battlefield Bad Company 2. With modern gamers getting their hands on the title ahead of its release via the Beta weekends, Sirland has faced criticism on his socials, as he requested feedback, with fans saying, “jump shots and sliding nonsense like Call of Duty is not how Battlefield should be.”
As this cut a little too close for Sirland, he responded with “we are very much looking back at our past modern incarnations when it comes to pacing. I’d urge everyone to go and play some smaller/medium maps, BF3 and BF4, to get a good example of the intensity curve. It is slower and more deliberate on the larger maps, as it was in the past.”
Whilst I agree that jump-shooting and sliding around isn’t the core Battlefield way, I do, however, understand how it can be frustrating when they openly want to avoid the over-the-top antics of their critically acclaimed “too big to fail” competitor. However, I think it’s key to note that DICE probably wanted to make a big impact on players by utilizing smaller maps as a focus so that gameplay could be more intense and fast-paced, as opposed to those huge maps we can get in Battlefield that sometimes feel a little daunting, especially for new players to the series.
Previously, Sirland had also explained, following criticism of the smaller maps chosen for Battlefield 6, that “we picked these maps to make sure we hit the full-octane version of Battlefield on the head – and made everyone see we could handle that too. Large maps exist, and the tempo scales accordingly, you’ll be able to see soon enough.” By God, I hope we do, because I love the larger maps in the titles. Maps such as Bandar Desert, Dragon Pass and Gobi Desert. For real, please go and have a look at Bandar Desert and play that map. It is HUGE. Whilst larger maps are slower to gain traction until the match progresses a bit, when the gunfights happen, that’s when it becomes intense! Not only that, but with bigger maps come necessary vehicles such as jets, tanks and jeeps, and the chaotic vehicular combat they bring with them.
Essentially, to sum up, the guys over at DICE and the other collective teams within Battlefield Studios wanted to have an impactful Beta, and I think they did just that, with people speculating and giving their opinions on the title worldwide. It seems to me that it worked just fine. However, I do understand where people are coming from, because when you load up Battlefield you want a hefty map to greet you, flying a jet or driving a tank into the heat of battle, so I understand the fans who expected the full sha-bang, but for now we all just need to hold our horses for the full release!
If you all are anything like me, you’re already hyped regardless! With the folks over at EA and DICE working together at full steam, I am expecting Battlefield 6 to be a complete return to form that far exceeds its preconceived expectations. As previously discussed in our recent article about EA wanting to make Battlefield an annual release, we could even get those amazing campaigns flowing again. This is my love letter begging for Bad Company 3… Please, EA?
