Former Host of BASHandSlash.com’s Overclocked podcast and co-founder and President of the gaming community The Company, Jag_Five-O has re-entered the FPS world full force after taking some time off due to RL issues.
Jag’s an ol’school Battlefield gamer and he has kindly decided to share his thoughts on the past and future of Battlefield with us, just days before the franchise’s latest release, BF3, is due to hit the shelves on the 25th.
From 1942 to BF3
by Jag_Five-O
As someone who has played every version of Battlefield for the PC (except for Vietnam, I wasn’t drafted for that one) I thought I might add some quick insight on the franchise and where I think they might be heading.
It’s been a really, really long time since I sat down and wrote something like this so please excuse the rusty prose.
Recently, I ran into an old friend who asked for my perspective on the Battlefield franchise. As someone who has been around the block a few times in BF, I said ‘sure, no problem,’ but there was a problem. I didn’t know how I was going to fit everything about BF3 into a few paragraphs. The technical side of the game alone would be a massive undertaking to write. Should I add reams and reams on the gameplay? With only the Beta under my belt, not. I know. I’ll do it from the heart. So here goes.
For me the Battlefield series started with Battlefield 1942. I loved the game and loved the demo at the time. I used to sit at night for hours and hours just playing the Wake Island map demo. When I did get the full game only then did I find out how much more fun this game really was. It had vehicles! How cool was that? Remember, this is back when CoD was still only on the PC and had no vehicles. What I remember best about Battlefield then was it seemed to be pushing the technical envelope. Maps were huge, tons of vehicles, but there was always a fight around every corner.
Skipping ahead to Battlefield 2, I didn’t get the game right away only because I was still enjoying CoD:UO. When I did get it: Wow! Loved it. Right from the beginning. I saw everything I liked in 1942. Maps were big, vehicles were awesome. Heck, even though the graphics were upgraded it still felt like a Battlefield game. Battlefield 1942 players could quickly pick up from where they left off. It was consistent. I played BF2 for a long time. I strayed to CoD for a while but always came back because with Battlefield I knew what I was getting. I loved when CoD players came to BF2 because they couldn’t hit a damn thing. You would always see them running around with their guns blazing, not knowing it took patience and precision not just a quick finger. How many times did I have to tell them, ‘always aim and if possible be prone or crouched. Don’t move and fire 1 or 2 rounds at a time.’
Battlefield 2142 came along later and once again you could tell this was a Battlefield game. DICE, the game’s developer, added a new gametype, “Titan” which was completely awesome, but it showed they were willing to make some changes and push the game, but it never felt anything other than Battlefield. The weapons were great and the vehicles were crazy. My favorite thing to do was to step on enemies with a walker. If you haven’t done that I don’t think there is a greater feeling in a game. 2142 brought a deeper squad system than had been seen before as you could have beacons to spawn on players other than just your squad leader. The game felt like a reskin of BF2 and it probably was, but the graphics were improved and it had it’s only value to the BF Series.
After 2142, Battlefield took a break. At the time everyone thought it was because BF3 was coming. BF3 hadn’t come. Instead, the game DICE threw at us was Bad Company 2. In my view Battlefield was back and it brought with it a brand new engine and great maps. While it wasn’t BF3 it was something. The maps weren’t as big as in BF2, but with no jets they didn’t have to be. The maps beat any standard CoD map hands down. Regardless of all the BF2-things missing there was something else up with BC2 that only those of us who had been through the whole series might have noticed. While I loved the gameplay and everything about BC2, there were bugs and it always felt like a Beta. The fact that the bugs were taking so long to get squashed could only suggest that DICE was busy doing something else. Was that something on the horizon? The announcement of Battlefield 3 confirmed my suspicions and BC2, with the Frostbite 1 engine, now all made sense. BC2 could now be seen as a glorified precursor along the development road to Frostbite 2.
With BF3 now out in Beta, I’m still not going to judge anything too harshly, just yet. Yes the map had it’s issues, but then again it is a Beta, not a demo. From everything that has been delivered to us in past releases, I have no reason to worry. DICE supports their games and instead of just using the same engine as they did in their first version (<cough> CoD <cough>) they decided to go all out and bring something new that would set a new standard for all new games. As for what I would like to see from Battlefield 3, I have a list of things. Maybe I’ll save those for another post after the game is released, because I’m sure a wishlist seven days before launch is pretty useless. However, whatever DICE decides to throw at us with BF3 there is one thing I know. Even in 2011, I’ll still be able to see BF1942 live on in the gameplay and for video games that is something unique and will keep me coming back.
- Jag_Five-O
For those of you who have never played Battlefield, it is a great experience that can only be enhanced if you play it within a cohesive team. I know that many of you are longing for the good ol’days of FPS gaming and all the camaraderie that you found playing FPS in a tight clan atmosphere. In my opinion, Jag and Buster over at TheCompany continue to provide that environment. If you want to play BF3, the way it should be played, try clicking over to TheCompanyhub.com and join the boys on their servers once the game releases. Let’em know we sent ya!
Here’s a link to help you find out more about The Company: link
If I may pick you up on an inaccuracy, at the time BF1942 was released, CoD didn’t exist. The FPS game of the day was Medal of Honour Allied Assault. Some of the devs from that left to form IW and subsequently released Call of Duty.
Oh yes and it went quiet on the BF front because DICE was focusing on consoles – remember that after BF2 they released Modern Warfare (console only) and then progressed from that to Bad Company (console only). Only with Bad Company 2 did they come back to the PC as well.
I don’t know if you have now played the retail version of BF3 but oh my god it does feel like Battlefield. The scope, the beauty of the maps, the Frostbite destruction and the sense of intensity that BC2 created – all combined with the teamwork that makes this so very different to CoD games.
“DICE supports their games and instead of just using the same engine as they did in their first version ( CoD ) they decided to go all out and bring something new that would set a new standard for all new games.”
Yea. You can talk all the s*** you want about the engine CoD uses, but the FACT is it works DAMN good. The engine is the most core element of the game. There’s a reason more people play CS 1.6 over CSS.
yeah and it has to do with the fact the everyone though Cs1.6 required more skill because it had way to much recoil while css toned that down. The engine works heaps well and is just as stable as the original