‘Battlefield 2042’ review: A visually pleasing game that needs fixing some bugs ASAP

Before PUBG and Call of Duty were taking the 100-player-plus multiplayer warfare gaming genre into the realm of battle royale, DICE’s Battlefield series excelled at building a loyal player base with its signature massive sandbox, Where hundreds of players took to the skies, or behind tanks to destroy each other.

(Subscribe to our TODAY Cash newsletter for a quick snapshot of the top 5 tech stories. Click Here To subscribe for free.)

Now, after entering World War I with Battlefield 1 and World War 2 with Battlefield 5, DICE decided to confuse the game nomenclature even more by introducing Battlefield 2042 – the 17th installment in the much-loved series – which The franchise moves into a war in the near future, with mixed results.

Instead of a single-player campaign, the developers have gone down the route of live-service games. The world setting of 2042 around the multiplayer experience. A war breaks out between the United States and Russia (the only two superpower states) in a world ravaged by a space debris storm, which causes the Kessler Effect, leading to a global blackout, shutting down the world’s communications grid. Huh.

You play as one of 10 experts – soldiers without borders – who choose a side and fight on a massive battlefield. Each hero derives from familiar battlefield classes (Medic, Recon, Assault) with their own special gadgets, such as wingsuits, drones, and more. Still, built based on basic classes, Experts’ purpose is confusing, because with a medicit, ammo kit, or torch, one can belong to any class or be revived. So why the specific hero?

To make up for the lack of a single-player campaign, the maps are bigger and better this time around. The game is set in locations such as Doha that has now been reclaimed by the desert, a ship scrapyard in Alang, India, Brani Island, the climate-deregulated tropical biome of Singapore, and more. Not only does each map come with its own nuances; For example in South Korea, you have to zipline between future buildings.

‘chaotic and heavy’

Battlefield 2042 is chaotic and overwhelming at times, with crowded fields full of players destroying each other with tanks, planes, helicopters and more. Just as you feel you’ve got the hang of things, a massive tornado, sandstorm, or rocket launch ensues. This kind of chaos forces you and your squad to think on the fly and change your strategy accordingly, which makes both Conquest Mode and Breakthrough Mode all the more exciting.

Screenshot of the video game ‘Battlefield 2042’ featuring the wingsuit | photo Credit: EA

While this is great in theory, sometimes things get too tumultuous because there were entire games where I would react and get picked up immediately. It takes getting used to, and the dastardly worms spoil everything. DICE has a lot of work, especially with experts to do, fixing and fixing a lot of mechanics.

Battlefield 2042 comes with another feature called Portal, which allows you to replay select fan-favorite old maps, except you can mix and match soldiers, weapons, or vehicles from every era , essentially promising a crossover experience for the most dedicated franchise gamer. So you can have WW1 vehicles containing 2042 soldiers and more.

Screenshot from the video game ‘Battlefield 2042’ | photo Credit: EA

This iteration of DICE’s Frostbite engine looks amazing what was already on the bleeding edge at the time of destruction, kicking everything up a notch except for the effects of the weather. The lighting is also unbelievable, especially in Doha, when you fight in a sandstorm between glowing buildings that light up everything in a terrifying way. Truth be told, most of my deaths were because I was standing around looking at the scenery. The game is drop-dead gorgeous, and comes with a mind-blowing score by Academy Award winner Hildur Guðnadóttir ,Joker, chernobyl) and Sam Slater.

Battlefield 2042 comes with some interesting changes to the formula. Although we would strongly suggest to wait and see as bugs and problems with the game get fixed, before jumping in headfirst.

The author is a tech and gaming enthusiast who hopes to finish his science-fiction novel one day