I'll be honest, it takes a hell of a lot for a modern military FPS to impress me these days, and I've just about hit my limit of annual Call of Duty releases. EA's Battlefield, whilst great, has rarely been a game I’d usually seek out. However, that may all change, if this first gameplay footage of Battlefield 4 is anything to go by.
The below 17 minutes of gameplay footage is taken from the game's campaign, and it's both griping and technically impressive stuff. Make no mistake, Battlefield 4 is going to be quite the looker, and the various set pieces shown here are eye wateringly good (well, it's no doubt running on a ninja PC, so it's no surprise). What's more, there's some actual drama in there, thanks to the old flashback leading up to the opening predicament routine, and the infiltration team are a believable unit that looks out for each other.
Aside from the aesthetics, the game also looks like it'll be a success in the gameplay stakes, with tried and tested Battlefield tropes such as destructible environments, vehicles and co-operative play, all tempered by Battlefield's solid game engine and smooth controls. This time, however, it all benefits from that next gen magic we all look forward to ahead of a new platform's launch (obviously less so with current gen platform versions), and even old tricks like destructible environments actually look like real tactical options, instead of bolt-on gimmickry, which previous versions often felt like most of the time.
Battlefield 4 is due to arrive this Autumn/Fall on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, and has also been announced for next gen consoles, although there's no specific release date set at this time.
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