Battlefield 4 (PS4) Review

Unlike Killzone: Shadow Fall where the game fully utilizes the DUALSHOCK 4 controller, Battlefield 4 uses very little of it. From the many features of the new controller, the touch pad is the only thing that’s being utilized. If you are looking to check your battlelog or see what your friends are doing, you can press the touch pad and it will bring up the menu. From there, you can see your stats, leaderboards and what your friends are doing. Unfortunately, that’s the only feature the DUALSHOCK 4 benefits from. It’s a nice feature but almost useless as I was hoping that they will make use of the color-changing lights similar to what Guerilla Games did.

Players get to feel like they are both a small part of an overarching machine at the same time as being an important individual, capable of affecting any battle single-handedly. Even menial jobs such as transporting troops can have a huge impact on the result of a battle. By performing devastating flanking maneuvers and backing up others who are stuck in firefights matches can be won. Naturally, battles are often won by combinations of ground troops, with support from both air and sea. However, the close matches are often affected by heroics of an individual player with perfect timing.

As the franchise has grown, so has the mind and creativity of the developers. This time around they have decided to follow the American saying of ‘Bigger is Better’. Of course it wouldn’t be a Battlefield game without plenty of destruction. If blowing up small houses and driving tanks through building walls wasn’t enough, skyscrapers and water dams will be brought crashing down countless times throughout Battlefield 4’s lifetime. It never gets boring to see and despite happening a number of times still results in a ‘Holy ****’ response every time, especially when it fall on top of your character.

Bouncing across the waves is a strangely satisfying experience on all of the sea vehicles and this is matched by the craziness that can be accomplished on an ATV. The tanks and personal carriers do offer a safer option of transport, but where is the fun in that? Getting into a forward position fast to hold an location can be key to winning vital points and this can often only be accomplished by putting pedal to the metal and hoping an enemy tank isn’t set up waiting for you around the next corner. This is just one example of how the game can offer multiple routes with roles suited to different play styles being attached to them. Whether you would pick the slow tank over a fast ATV is, at the end of the day, up to you.

Battlefield 4 gives gamers plenty of reasons to keep playing with over 70 unique weapons to unlock, including nine different knives or blades to sneak up and embarrass enemy soldiers with. While the early levels pass rather quickly, allowing gamers to unlock some basic equipment later unlocks take time. On top of that, there are a decent range of attachments to try out. You will often find which scope you deem best isn’t the same one as your friends, as they all offer a slightly different feel when used.

From the array of launch titles that are available on the PlayStation 4, one of the must-have games that you should definitely pick up is Battlefield 4. Sure, the campaign is short but the fun doesn’t simply end there. For those who find the multiplayer portion of Battlefield games to be phenomenal, there’s no doubt you will enjoy this one. When it comes to realism and keeping the entertainment a priority, Battlefield 4 exactly delivers that and it’s not really surprising why many hardcore gamers prefer the Battlefield series over Call of Duty. DICE simply keeps on improving on every entry and this one definitely shows it.

[Editor’s Note: Battlefield 4 was reviewed on the PS4 platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]