Battlefield 4 is set to continue the trademark open-war mayhem of the Battlefield franchise, with the game officially announced earlier this week in a trailer titled ‘Fishing in Baku’. With DICE still at the helm for the Battlefield series, the developers are renewing their efforts to build an engaging single-player campaign, while again refining what a multiplayer shooter is capable of.
The 17 minute ‘Fishing in Baku’ trailer showcases the power of proprietary Frostbite game engine, now in its third iteration. As players of Battlefield 3 would know, the engine is capable of producing astonishing visuals and features a high degree of environmental demolition. This is particularly evident in the trailer, as the central character attempts to outrun an enemy helicopter amidst a whirlwind of gunfire and destruction. Other features of the Frostbite 3 engine include larger battlefields and richer colours.
While the Battlefield franchise is widely celebrated for its online component, DICE is also hoping to rev up the intensity of its solo offerings. The campaign for Battlefield 3 showed what the developer is capable of, but they hope to reach a whole new level for the forth game. If the introductory video is anything to go by, players are certainly in for an exciting ride. Our character has a difficult choice as the trailer opens – trapped in a car sinking further into water, a fellow soldier is pinned behind the driver. Shooting out the window offers a means of escape, but doing so will condemn his trapped squad mate. You can almost cut the tension in the air. The proceeding demo, embedded below, rewinds time and explains how the soldiers ended up in such a precarious situation.
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Tasked with securing intelligence in Shanghai, the group of US soldiers engage in a shootout on an open street. Grenades and bullets are exchanged, illustrating how players can again wreak destruction on the virtual environment. The demo also shows how social networking features are implemented in-game, with pop-ups appearing for messages and challenges. The soldiers eventually sneak away, but are quickly ambushed again by patrolling enemies. The player commands his squad to fire on an entrenched group of foes, as shown by red indicators on the HUD. The suppressive fire focuses their attention away and allows the player to flank from behind with a shotgun. A new grenade launcher is also seen in action, quickly shredding away at destructible cover and the enemies attempting to shelter behind it.
The demo ends with a helicopter in hot pursuit of our group of soldiers, and the said helicopter being downed with a carefully timed grenade. However, the getaway vehicle is forced off the road and into the water – hence explaining the opening predicament. In the closing moments, we hear off-screen comments of the commanding officers, discussing the wider ramifications of this incident. It seems that a larger conflict is brewing, and that the higher powers are gearing for war.
Battlefield 4 is set for release in 2013 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. The game is also said to be coming to the next-generation of consoles.
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