Bloody beautiful: Battlefield 1 creates thrilling reinactment of WWI

By: Ben Boezinger

Loading Battlefield 1 after long months of waiting was one of the most relieving feelings there are, and early on I was not disappointed.

The first cutscene that popped up on the screen showed me just how brutal the war is. Men screaming as shovels and knives impale their stomachs, the sound of explosions sounding off in the background, the smoke residing within the dark and cloudy backdrop. The brutality of war. That is what DICE and EA, Battlefield’s publishers, are doing their best to show you.

Before the first gameplay you experience, a note fades onto the screen. “You are not expected to survive.”

And for the next five minutes, you fight through swarms of varying enemies only to be gunned down by every angle. You, with a lonely shotgun vs. a heavily armored flame trooper that broils you to death after only a couple seconds is one of the reasons Battlefield is so fun. Other actions includes scouring the playing field with a giant tank picking off enemies left and right, and then doing the same just from a sniper’s perch.

Battlefield 1 is the best in the series so far, and, as of now, completely blowing competitors out of the water.

The historical aspect of B1 is probably the most fun and fascinating part of the game. The weaponry and vehicles play true to history and are incredibly difficult to get a handle on. It is incredibly different than anything I’ve ever played before.

With the snipers, I often had to aim away from the enemy to actually hit them. If you’re like me, this will take time getting used to.

Likewise, when you are patrolling the battlefield, you have to aim in front of the enemy from greater distances to be able to actually hit them and cause damage.

This is one of the most challenging parts of Battlefield that is painful to master, but, on the other hand, you have tanks, airships, trains, planes and giant canons. If you can get your hands on one of these early on, or any time for that matter, you can really dominate.

The tanks are the easiest to control and probably the most effective. You can be a one man army, sitting in the middle of an objective and easily taking it for your team.

And depending on the tank class, you can succeed in different areas. In lighter tanks, I like to cruise from point to point and try to play more objectively. In larger tanks, it’s best to park yourself in a common spot for enemies and try to pick them off from inside there.

Make sure to keep moving, as one of the main problems I’ve faced is getting bombarded from grenades thrown and littered across the ground. The tank then slowly disintegrates until an explosion spreads across, and I’m sent back to the respawn menu.

The graphics in B1 are one of the best I’ve seen in a first person shooter game. From weapons, to vehicles, to people, this is one of the most realistic games on the market.

The scenery and maps are gorgeous, and the one that comes to mind is Italy. The mountains are beautifully sculpted in detail, from the trenches sheltered by rocks, to the green grass swaying in the mountainous wind, to the blue sky and the big puffy clouds shadowing the field.

Bullets bring me back out of my trance, and I push onward through the clouds of green mustard gas between myself and the objective.

Then there are the Middle Eastern maps where sandstorms are a normal occurrence. With this map, I found it hard to acquire cover and snipe enemies from safe distance and found success using the support class to mow down enemies from mid range.

This is my biggest tip for multiplayer: don’t get attached to one class. If you prefer the assault class, maybe you learn how to attack a bit from mid range and from angles with the support, or as an aggressive medic.

For instance, like to use more of run and gun style with close range and shotgun, but I had to learn how to fight from a distance when people needed more support when taking an objective. That’s one of the things I liked most about Battlefield; the game forces you to play outside your comfort zone, which is for the better.

During my short stint with Battlefield One so far, I have enjoyed the variety the game has to offer me. No doubt the game will get old, and I’ll soon be done playing the limited amount of modes on the limited amount of maps, but so far this game has been great.

The variety in the historical aspect of the game is amazing. The amount of things going on while you sprint to your next objective is really mind boggling. It’s incredibly easy to get lost in the game and the beautiful scenery.

Overall this game is great, and if you have the extra cash, I suggest going out and picking it up for yourself.

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