Battlefield: Hardline

The most interesting thing about Hardline is the change of direction. For the first time in this series we see something special. Set in modern day, in the city, no battlefields, no soldiers. It's a cop procedural. I found it interesting. Since we haven't seen Battlefield this way I was excited to see what was waiting. Playing as a detective is fun and amazing. This story feels like a playable tv series with a Netflix-feeling. Sure the story wasn't that deep or emotional in that way. But it was enjoyable to discover Los Angeles and Miami, in a gangster environment. A bit too much cliche sometimes and too less storytelling, actually the beginning of the campaign gave us some time to get to know Kai and Mendoza still. And the ending, I found it likeable. It shows were Mendoza have gotten for this point of time. And the face off between Mendoza and the "antagonist" pretty cool. And of course like the Hollywood movies this game tried to represent, it had a little twist ending. The story wasn't deep, but it was a fun Hollywood experience with evident antagonists.

Multiplayer is cool. All these game modes, this cop vs criminal style is perfect setting of the game. I feel that this game suceeded with making something special and it gave Battlefield some fresh air.

A new take on the BF series, definitely fun to play in different modes and break the traditional gameplay. Installing the content takes hours, and you are limited to the 7min prologue when you first set up the game. I've read forums and reviews and apparently there is not much that users (or EA) can do about it but just sit and wait for hours on end. Estimated wait time is around 7.5 hours to install full game. And yes it's 2020 and still no solution for a game that was released more than 4 years ago.

Some cool actors added to the cast, although the story is sometimes a bit predictable and too much cliché if you ask me.

Great fun outside of the traditional with new game modes, but if you are new to the game you better be patient when installing it.

'Battlefield: Hardline (2015)' takes its long-running, military shooter franchise to the streets. Its aesthetic is unmistakably 'cops vs robbers', seeming similar to pretty much any police procedural you can think of. In multiplayer, this translates to the same large-scale battles you'd expect from the series (even if they're pared back somewhat) and some game modes that attempt to capitalise on its new dynamic (or, rather, the milieu surrounding it). In single player, this translates to a story that could be straight out of 'NCIS: Los Angeles (2009)' or any some such TV show. It's styled as if it's a TV show, too, with chapters that represent episodes and open up with recap montages of the story so far. It's chock-full of the tropes and stereotypes you'd expect from a police procedural, ultimately feeling rather generic. However, it's still enjoyable and the schlocky narrative has a certain, perhaps unintentional B-movie charm to it. The gameplay is standard for a first-person shooter, except for the fact that you're given the option to arrest criminals instead of killing them. In practice, this just means you can sneak up behind or tase an enemy and then activate a prompt to cuff them (effectively eliminating them). This is much harder to do than to just shoot enemies, especially since the stealth is very basic and most missions inevitably escalate into full-blown firefights, and there's no real incentive to do it. That's a shame because it could have been a strong, perhaps even stand-out feature. As is, it's an interesting side-challenge if you're so inclined to take it; I played the entire thing only using my taser and handcuffs, aside from the few instances in which pulling a trigger is literally required to progress (which is really annoying). Overall, the game is a decent effort. It's rather enjoyable to play and its story does what it needs to. It isn't a masterpiece, but it's a solid spin-off from an established franchise. 7/10

It starts off pretty good but gets boring. Either way it was fun for the couple of missions. I played it for a while until the game crashed and I lost my progress for the mission i was doing.

I was very happy that the Battlefield franchise steered away from the War/Military genre and took on a new direction with the Cops and Robbers genre with Battlefield Hardline. I was eagerly looking forward to Battlefield Hardline and once the game came out last Thursday 19 March 2015 I went straight into the nearest store and got my hands on this bad boy. I was very impressed with Battlefield Hardline and it did not disappoint. Battlefield Hardline lived up to its hype before its release.

The single player campaign seemed like I had stepped into an action packed movie similar to Bad Boys and Lethal Weapon that would make producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Joel Silver proud. For the single player campaign you are the honest and hard nosed young Miami Police Detective Nick Mendoza (Nicholas Gonzalez) who is taking on a drug ring as well as investigating links of police corruption. At the start of the game Detective Mendoza is teamed with Detective Carl Stoddard (Travis Willingham) but is later partnered with Detective Khai Minh Dao (Kelly Hu). Mendoza and Khai answer to Captain Julian Dawes (Benito Martinez), a person who is seemingly being groomed for a higher position with the top brass and may or may not have a secret agenda.

Battlefield Hardline is different from previous Battlefield games where the player relies on arrest, stealth, a scanner, and distraction methods rather than relying on shooting and killing countless bad guys. You also have the option of knocking out the bag guys with a baton or even take them down with a taser. You can still shoot the enemy if you cannot arrest them or should you come under fire. It goes without saying that you have a huge arsenal of weapons at your disposal and more weapons are unlocked as the game goes on as well as finding evidence in missions in order to complete cases.

I also liked the previous reference to the Battlefield franchise such as commandeering a turret on a disused military aircraft and an army tank in one mission.

Multiplayer is similar to previous Battlefield games but with a few changes here and there. The various modes including Conquest, Hardwire, Blood Money, Heist, Crosshair, Rescue, and Team Deathmatch. You also get to play with a variety of vehicles including police cars, sedans, motorbikes, armoured vans, and helicopters.

All in all Battlefield Hardline is a worthy entry into the Battlefield franchise and is well worth the money spent. It was good to see the Battlefield franchise take on the cops and robbers genre and it has worked wonders. Perhaps the flagging Call of Duty franchise could benefit from a change in direction.

9/10.