First Glimpses of Battlefield 4 at Gamescom 2013

With Gamescom 2013 in full effect, DICE is allowing gamers to try out the Paracel Island multiplayer map for Battlefield 4. The gameplay that is being shown today is from the Alpha phase so there are likely to be differences from what players will see in October for the open beta. However, from what I have seen so far the Alpha looks pretty good in its own right.

DICE is showing off the Conquest mode today which has become a Battlefield staple for matchmaking. Tomorrow will be the debut for Battlefield 4’s new game mode Obliteration, which was announced yesterday in the EA Press Conference. For the matches this week, DICE has opened all the classes and unlocked all the equipment so players get a look at what all is going to be offered when Battlefield 4 releases.

Paracel Island’s Weather Affecting Gameplay

At the beginning of each match, Paracel Island looks like a pristine tropic island that players could really enjoy the sights of…if it were not a frantic warzone at the moment.  The Frostbite 3 engine allows foliage to react to both the wind and any player input, such as walking by a plant or flying past it in a fighter jet. However, the serene island weather has the ability to change in an instant, and change it does!

While watching the stream, the first instance of the weather changing suddenly happens around the 7:50 minute mark. The fighter jet is flying in good weather when a storm pops up and you can see how the inclement weather affects the battlefield. Rain will cause visibility to decrease and will actually show the rain droplets on the windows of vehicles. Even infantry soldiers will be affected by the rain because the rain drops will obscure the sights or scope of their firearm. 

Another cool feature that Paracel Island brings is the destroyed warship that is stuck to one of the giant windmills towards the back of the map. The warship looks like it is there just for ambience but if that windmill is destroyed, then the warship will actually run aground at Point C, Firebase Island. This dynamic moment will affect gameplay as either team can storm the warship and use its cannons against enemy jets and helicopters. 

Vehicle Gameplay

The vehicles that are featured in the Paracel Island maps consist of jets, helicopters, amphibious vehicles and some anti-aircraft vehicles as well. The jets and helicopters seem to operate similarly to how they have in previous Battlefield games, and both can be flown in either first-person or third-person. The jets have use of both cannons and missiles as well as having some support items such as radar and flares to help them stay alive. Helicopters did not get quite as much attention as jets but helicopters look to have similar capabilities from Battlefield 3.

The boats seem to have changed quite a bit from Battlefield 3 in that players now have an escape route if the boat starts to get destroyed. Instead of having to jump overboard and swim to shore, players can now switch to one of the onboard jet-skis and make a quick get-away if necessary. Also, the gunboats have several gun emplacements on the deck so there is no shortage of firepower on them either.

Infantry Gun Play

From the livestream this morning, the guns that were featured all sound great and there seems to be a good balance so far. The biggest issue with guns in any first-person shooter is making sure no one gun is too over-powered to where other guns cannot match them. And from what was shown this morning, it looks like DICE has done a good job of offering plenty of guns to experiment with, and keeping all the guns balanced.

There was definitely a heavy-focus on vehicles in the beginning of the stream and focused on the dynamic map changes, but the guns get a good bit of coverage towards the end of the Battlefield 4 livestream.  For tomorrow, DICE will be unveiling their Obliteration gamemode so definitely keep your eye out for that if you are a Battlefield fan! I will be doing my best to cover that tomorrow when the livestream goes live. 

Update: If you are considering buying Battlefield 4 then I recommend you check out this review done by ChizeloffdaBlock.  The game is ambitious but it does have some issues right now, so it might be worth waiting to buy the game until DICE releases a major patch.

Leave a comment below with what excited you about the livestream today or with what you are excited to see about Battlefield 4 at Gamescom this week.