Destruction With a Side of Gameplay
I know I am extremely late to the party when it comes to Battlefield 4 (BF4), as it came out a year and a half ago, but I just bought it last week and I would love to share my first thoughts on the game.
After the first 10 levels of progression in BF4, I can say that the game definitely has a lot of great upsides, that come with many downsides as well. The weapons feel great to shoot: the sounds are really heavy and realistic, and the recoil is manageable when you learn a gun's pattern. The maps are very dynamic due to DICE's new "levolution" feature, which is completely player-controlled, and the design of large urban areas as well as dense forests make for very contrasting experiences in the game. However, the amount of explosives and heavy vehicles used by players is, in my opinion, way over-powered.
I do enjoy the levels of destruction possible in the game. However, on maps such as Golmud Railway, the destruction can get a little over-the-top, as the main town on the map can be completely leveled in a matter of minutes, leaving you with minimal cover and not as much dynamic gameplay as you had in the first stages of the battle. My favorite instance of "levolution" in BF4 is definitely the famous fall of the tower in Siege of Shanghai. This massive event usually happens about halfway through the battle, and makes for a fun rubble environment with a lot of nooks and crannies for enemies to hide.
The progression element in the game makes me feel good about my progress in the game, and the different perks and equipment you unlock throughout the levels give a lot of variety to how you play the game. You can really make your own playstyle in this game. I do enjoy the "assault" class the most, as the rifles available to the class are powerful and dish out a ton of damage in minimal amounts of time. The attachments such as sights, scopes, flashlights, grenade launchers, laser sights, grips, and much more are fun to experiment with, as they all affect the weapon's performance in different ways to make it better, or worse.
The main issues with this game is the fact that, in my opinion, players abuse vehicles and explosives, which creates a more hectic game environment than I like. On open maps, such as Golmud Railway, most of my deaths can be attributed to long range tank or rocket snipes, causing me to rage a lot more than I think I would otherwise. Also, the availability of RPGs and grenades make any close-quarters map difficult to navigate without being blown to bits by enemy explosives. I think that the developers could easily fix this issue by limiting the amounts of tanks that can be on the battlefield at once, and the amount of explosives one person can carry at a time.
Overall, I think Battlefield 4 would be a great choice for anyone looking for a more arcadey shooter with some more open maps inviting more complex strategies. I enjoy it myself, even though I look for a more hardcore and competitive spin in my shooter games.
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