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Battlefield Hardline beta test arrives February 3
Hoping to both stress test its servers and drum up an extra bit of pre-release hype, publisher EA has announced plans for a five-day beta test of its imminent cops versus robbers shooter Battlefield Hardline scheduled to begin on February 3. "There's nothing more valuable to our team than the relationship we have with our community. Their passion feeds our passion and their feedback has definitely helped make Hardline a better game," said Battlefield Hardline executive producer Steve Papoutsis. "We want them to play the hell out of the beta next week and trust that they'll keep that feedback coming so we can continue to fine tune the game." The beta test will be available on PlayStation 3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and on PC via the Origin digital distribution platform. No purchase is necessary to join the beta, but the file is likely to be a big download, so hopefully you have bandwidth to spare. [Image: EA]
EA snitches on Battlefield Hardline, reveals maps and modes
Following a raid by local authorities, informants at publisher EA were compelled to give up detailed information on the multiplayer maps and game modes included in the upcoming cops versus robbers shooter Battlefield Hardline. The nine maps included in Battlefield Hardline all seem either ripped from a Michael Mann heist film or from one of the earlier, military-focused Battlefield games. Bank Job centers around an imposing financial institution that must be relieved of its cash, Hollywood Heights is populated by expansive houses likely belonging to media moguls and hip hop artists and Riptide is an ocean-front map that continues the Battlefield series' long-running fascination with gun battles set against a tidal backdrop. There's also a map called "Growhouse," but we're guessing you can figure out what happens there. A full rundown on each of the maps can be found on the game's website. Battlefield Hardline will include seven gameplay modes, ranging from the classic to the wholly novel. Conquest is a Battlefield mainstay mode that pits teams of players (up to 64 in total) against one another in a battle to see who can control certain areas of the map. Blood Money, by contrast, is a new mode where both cops and robbers attempt to swipe money from the opposing teams' vault while gunfire rages all around. Perhaps the most intriguing new mode is Hotwire, a vehicle-focused addition in which the criminal team attempts to steal a list of cars while the cops try to stop them with extreme prejudice, leading to the sorts of high-speed gunfights pictured above. Full details on the game modes found in Battlefield Hardline can also be found on the game's website. Battlefield Hardline is slated to launch on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC on March 17. [Image: EA]
EA Access offers first look at Battlefield Hardline
General PSA for EA Access subscribers, and likely to be similar to the Dragon Age: Inquisition promotion, Battlefield: Hardline will also be available early through the service. "Yes, you will be able to get early access to Battlefield Hardline through EA Access," responded the official Battlefield twitter to a question about the game being downloadable for the service. The DA:I early access was on the Xbox One-exclusive service for five days ahead of launch, with a trial period of six hours. We've followed up with EA for further details.
Battlefield Hardline beta will bust perps on all platforms
Publisher EA has announced plans to beta test its upcoming cops vs robbers shooter Battlefield Hardline on the PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. EA's announcement fails to mention when the beta test will take place, but it does offer a handful of new details on what will be included. Alongside the series' mainstay Conquest mode (with support for up to 64 players, assuming you're playing on a PC, PS4 or Xbox One), beta testers will have access to the new Hotwire game type, which the publisher describes as "an all-new mode coming to Battlefield focused on combining all-out warfare with all-out speed." There won't be any progression cap during the beta, so players are free to gain as many ranks and new gadgets as they can (though none of this progression will carry over to the final game). EA's decision to beta test Battlefield Hardline on a wide range of systems stands in contrast to other imminent shooters, notably Turtle Rock's Evolve, that heavily promote a console-exclusive beta test prior to launch. Battlefield Hardline is scheduled to launch on March 17. [Image: EA]
Cop drama, gadgets star in new Battlefield: Hardline trailer
Battlefield: Hardline's latest trailer shifts focus from police officers shooting non-descript criminals with military hardware to highlighting the game's melodramatic storyline and its non-firearm gadgets. Though, inevitably, there's still lots of gunplay and explosions. [Image: EA]
Battlefield Hardline delayed to deepen cops vs. robbers fantasy
Battlefield Hardline is due out in March 2015, following a delay announced in July this year. During EA's financial call today, CEO Andrew Wilson explained that feedback from beta tests and trade shows drove the decision to give developer Visceral Games more time. "The cops and criminals fantasy – this is kind of the foundation for the game – resonated very, very strongly not just with existing fans, but with new players to the Battlefield franchise," Wilson said. "But the feedback was also universal that we should go deeper with that fantasy and really deliver against that to a greater degree. What we've done is given the development team that time to go back in and really look at how to truly deliver on that cops and criminals kind of gameplay as it exists in a Battlefield world." Battlefield Hardline pits players against both police officers and well-supplied criminals in large cities, rather than taking place in the traditional military FPS landscape of a warzone. When Battlefield Hardline was delayed, Visceral said it wanted to flesh out the game's multiplayer experience, single-player story depth and its overall stability. Pre-delay, Beta testing spawned a list of the "Community's Most Wanted" tweaks to the game. [Image: EA]
Battlefield Hardline launches in March 2015
Battlefield Hardline is due out on March 17, 2015, in the US and beginning on March 19, 2015, in Europe. EA announced the dates in its financial report released today. Battlefield Hardline was delayed in July to a 2015 launch window. In an attempt to assuage fan fears, Battlefield Hardline Creative Director Ian Milham promised earlier this year that the game will work at launch. Previous EA games, including Battlefield 4, encountered connectivity and playability issues for months after release. [Image: EA]
Joystiq Weekly: Vib-ribbon launches, Driveclub Review, RE: Revelations 2 preview and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. "Better eight years late than never," PlayStation Network users probably said during this week's return of Vib-ribbon. Sure, we're not exactly in drought season, but what's stopping you from impulsively bailing on 2014's release calendar to revisit a 1999 cult classic? Beyond money and life's responsibilities, anyway. If Vib-ribbon is fair game for a 2014 appearance, can we go ahead and get our hopes for comparably-unlikely surprises? Sure, StarCraft: Ghost's indefinitely-on-hold status is probably irreversible at this point, but if Blizzard felt like continuing development in secret for years and launching it without warning, we wouldn't be upset. Valve, you're more than welcome to do the same with fresh installments in the Half Life or Left 4 Dead series. There was more to this week than feeble wishes though, including resolution news for Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Assassin's Creed: Unity, reviews for Driveclub and Neverending Nightmares, and previews for AC: Unity and Resident Evil: Revelations 2. All those and more are tidied up for you after the break!
DICE producer admits Battlefield 4 woes damaged fan trust
Almost a full year after its launch, DICE LA producer David Sirland has admitted that the glitches that long plagued Battlefield 4 damaged the public's perception of what was once a highlight of the first-person shooter genre. "I can absolutely say that we lost [player] trust in the game's launch and the early parts of the year," Sirland told Gamespot. "We still probably have a lot of players who won't trust us to deliver a stable launch or a stable game." Like EA CEO Andrew Wilson, Sirland is quick to offer assurances that Battlefield 4's woes were an isolated issue that will not be repeated: "I am certain that [Battlefield 4's problematic debut] won't be repeated because we've changed the way we work." Sirland offers few specifics, but key to this shift is a new transparency in the Battlefield development process while more attention is being paid to fan input. Whether that holds true or not remains to be seen. Specifically, it remains to be seen once EA launches Battlefield: Hardline, an open-world cops and robbers shooter now slated to appear at some point in 2015. According to Ian Milham, creative director at developer Visceral Games, unlike Battlefield 4, this one will actually work. [Image: EA]
Joystiq Weekly: The Cryptarch grows a heart, Alien: Isolation review, N64 turns 18 and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. Between the Nintendo 64's birthday and the Pokemon TCG iPad app reminding us that our childhood card games no longer have to be played with expensive, holographic pieces of paper, we're teetering toward a slight meltdown. When did we swap out our trapper keepers for a stack of bills? Why did we have to give up Saturday morning cartoons, again? What do you mean there's more to save up for in life beyond booster packs and video games? Sorry, we'll do our best to get a grip. This week brought more than a halting reminder of time's unstoppable march, though! Bungie tweaked a few loot-related settings in Destiny, we reviewed Alien: Isolation, Skylanders Trap Team and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, and we explored the weirdest stages of the N64's now-adult life. Those stories and more are waiting for you after the break!
Rejoice! Visceral says Battlefield Hardline 'will work' at launch
Battlefield Hardline will operate as expected at launch, according to Ian Milham, creative director at Visceral Games. "What you're basically asking is, 'Is your game going to work?' And the answer is yes, it's gonna work," Milham told Game Revolution. The statement follows a rough launch for the last game game in the series, DICE's Battlefield 4, which suffered months of connectivity issues after its October 2013 arrival. That led to multiple law firms alleging that publisher EA issued "materially false and misleading statements" regarding Battlefield 4's playability. When a CEO like EA's Andrew Wilson publicly deems a game's launch as "unacceptable," questions about the next game's stability will certainly come up.
Payday devs poke fun at Battlefield Hardline similarities
Only the blind could deny similarities between upcoming cops-versus-robbers shooter Battlefield Hardline and the extant Payday franchise of cops-versus-robbers shooters, but to ensure that absolutely everyone is in on the joke, Payday 2 developer Overkill Software has decided to spoof EA's game in its latest DLC announcement. Though the "Gage Assault Pack" is a pretty typical addition - it features four new guns, four melee weapons, four masks, four materials and four patterns - its unveiling has a decidedly familiar aesthetic. From the font to the wheelchair-bound fellow who seems to have contracted whatever horrible disease makes the soldiers of Battlefield glow with an eerie incandescence, the DLC's page is directly modeled after Battlefield Hardline's promotional materials. Overkill even created background music for the page that's legally distinct but undoubtedly sounds like the bombastic Battlefield Hardline score. Moving past the cute homage, which Overkill describes as "tipping [its] hats to a fellow Swedish game developer," the Gage Assault Pack will reach Steam on September 4 and will feature a $5 price tag. For more details visit the Overkill Software website. [Image: Overkill Software]
12 minutes of upholding the law in Battlefield: Hardline's single-player
EA showed 12 minutes of Battlefield: Hardline's single player campaign at its Gamescom 2014 presentation, but you can watch the same demonstration in the above video. EA's snippet follows protagonist Nick Mendoza as he hunts down someone from his past, a motivation that aligns with story details we heard previously from San-Diego Comic Con. Since Hardline stars a cop, players don't have to default to shredding enemies and environments to bits with bullets and explosions: in the demo, Mendoza subdues threats with a taser and a "Freeze" mechanic, brandishing his badge and conducting proper arrests to eliminate the threat posed by some criminals.
Battlefield Hardline gets car, hostage multiplayer modes
Battlefield Hardline comes with two new multiplayer modes, Hotwire and Rescue, EA announced at its Gamescom press conference today. Guess which one involves cars and which is about a hostage situation? Hotwire has cops and criminals riding around in shiny, fast cars, attempting to capture and incapacitate marked vehicles. Rescue is an eSports mode where five police officers must save a hostage from a group of five bad guys. It emphasizes the planning phase and trap-laying, rather than the more spontaneous, explosive vibe of Ubisoft's hostage game, Rainbow Six: Siege.
Battlefield Hardline's story makes good cops bad cops
We can't uphold or defy the law in Battlefield: Hardline until 2015, but thanks to San Diego Comic-Con, we can get a sense of what will unfold in its single-player content right now. According to Polygon's report, Hardline's story follows a pair of straight-shooting cops as they're set up by another group. As a result of being framed, they land in prison, faced with fighting their way out before settling the score with the people who put them there. Polygon notes a video shown to panel attendees depicted urban environments, as well as a scene following Hardline's lead cops as they storm a cocaine warehouse in a desert-like area. A crime lord named Roark owns the facility, and given his profession and choice of locale, we can't imagine he's receptive of any stop-ins from local law enforcement. Eugene Byrd (Bones), Kelly Hu (Arrow) and Benito Martinez (The Shield) will have significant roles in Hardline's story, with Mark Rolston (The Departed) playing Roark. Wendy Calhoun, co-producer of Justified, is serving as a narrative consultant, with The West Wing editor Bill Johnson working as Hardline's performance director. [Image: EA]
Joystiq Weekly: Battlefield delay, Dark Souls 2 DLC review, Dragon Age preview and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. This week hosted a smattering of high-profile release date changes. You thought you'd be playing Dragon Age: Inquisition in October? Nope! Figured you'd prowl through Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor on that same day? Wrooong. What about upholding the law in Battlefield: Hardline sometime in October? Sorry, criminals will go unchecked until next year. We suppose we'll persevere through the frightening uncertainty that is this dose of video game release dates, but we're not sure our frail hearts can handle any more excitement in this crazy life. Actually, we're fairly certain that frailty would combust into a five-story blaze if Destiny or Super Smash Bros. slip out of 2014. There was plenty more to this week than release-date musical chairs, though! There's details on how to get The Last Of Us: Remastered for cheap, when we can next expect Sonic Boom to break our hearts go fast, a review for Dark Souls 2's first bout of DLC, a video preview for DA: Inquisition and much more, all waiting for you after the break!
Battlefield Hardline delayed, now arriving in 2015
Despite earlier claims that EA's cops versus robbers shooter Battlefield Hardline would debut in October of this year, the publisher has now officially delayed the game to 2015. According to a new entry on the Battlefield blog, Battlefield Hardline has been delayed to give developer Visceral Games more time to ensure that Hardline is "the best, most innovative Battlefield experience we can give to you, our fans." Full details on how Visceral plans to accomplish that feat are lacking, but the developer claims the delay should allow it to improve the game's single-player story depth, add more innovative multiplayer features and enhance the shooter's online stability. Battlefield Hardline is not the only game delayed by EA today, as Dragon Age: Inquisition has also been pushed back to November 21. [Image: EA]
Battlefield Hardline beta spawns most wanted list of changes
Following the recent Battlefield Hardline beta, the designers of EA's cops versus robbers shooter have compiled a lengthy list dubbed the "Community's Most Wanted." As its name suggests, the list is a rundown of changes most frequently requested by players. The Battlefield Hardline development team plans to use this list as a set of informal guidelines in creating updates for the game going forward. Among planned changes are a 10 percent increase to overall player speed, additional feedback when searching for objectives that may be above or below your character and a helpful change to the stairs found in the High Tension level which, according to lead multiplayer designer Thad Sasser, will no longer suck players into an otherworldly void. A full list of current Community's Most Wanted alterations can be found in the most recent Battlefield blog entry, but Sasser claims the list will be an ever-evolving project. "This dialogue doesn't end with the beta," Sasser wrote. "We plan on continuing this from now until launch - and beyond." It's unclear exactly what that will entail, but Sasser invites players to leave their ideas in the comments below his post. [Image: EA]
YouTube to introduce support for 60 frames per second
YouTube videos rendered in 48 and 60 frames per second are to finally become a reality in the coming months. Following a year in which 1080p and 60fps have become increasingly familiar bedfellows for the video game industry, YouTube promoted its higher framerates with new videos of Battlefield: Hardline and Titanfall. Among other features coming to the video site including fan-submitted translations and tagged shout-outs to collaborators, the one to keep an eye on is Fan Funding. Essentially an online tip jar, this allows viewers to donate to content creators direct through YouTube. For now, only "a handful of creators" are testing the feature out. Head below the break for the Battlefield: Hardline and Titanfall vids in full 60fps glory.
Battlefield: Hardline does not point to annualized franchise, EA says
Last October, EA and DICE released Battlefield 4. This October, EA and Visceral Games are bringing the cops-and-robbers action of Battlefield Hardline. It's a move that brings to mind the way Activision handles its annual Call of Duty games, shifting developers year-to-year. So does that mean the Battlefield franchise will go the way of its biggest competition and become annualized? EA Studios executive vice president Patrick Soderlund told Polygon that's not necessarily the plan. "It doesn't necessarily mean that we need to annualize Battlefield and that's the way it's going to be forever and ever," Soderlund said, explaining that Hardline exists because the heads of DICE and Visceral wanted to make it, not because they were pushed to. "The EA that I'm trying to help build isn't an EA that needs to annualize everything," Soderlund said. This isn't the first time the topic has come up; shortly before Battlefield 3 made landing in 2011, executive producer Patrick Bach expressed his doubts that the series would become a yearly release. "I think that would dilute the vision of the franchise," he told GameSpot. "You will eventually kill the franchise by doing that." [Image: EA]
