Battlefield 1‘s multiplayer gameplay paints a refreshing picture of explosive action that needn’t rely on jet-pack boosting futurism.
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Titanfall 2 exists clearly as a means to directly compete with Call Of Duty, and suddenly the comparisons between the latter and Battlefield lack weight: the two are worlds apart.
Battlefield is now firmly established in its own field of multiplayer shooter, relying on a boots-on-the-ground philosophy of action the has helped define the “Only In Battlefield” experience over the past few years. The fast-paced action of Call Of Duty dictated a shift to the future setting we all know so well today, and with Titanfall‘s DNA clearly inspired by the run-and-gun fundamentals of CoD, it’s hard not to pit those two franchises against each other.
This leaves Battlefield in a league of its own. Go back ten years and you’ll see gamers clamouring for something beyond a World War II era. That led to Modern Warfare in 2007, and a consistent stream of modern and futuristic shooters. Initially, these shooters felt unique, and they seemed to offer genuine variety. In 2016, however, games like Titanfall and Infinite Warfare, while certainly appealing in their own ways, just seem like more of a “been there and done that”. There’s a reason why Infinite Warfare is one of the most disliked trailers in YouTube history.
Battlefield on the other hand is one of the most liked, and the reason is clear: its risky shift to a relatively untouched era in games is a reflection of DICE’s confidence in its own ability, which is to continue to redefine the Battlefield experience. While Titanfall 2, as endlessly enjoyable as it looks, takes a page out of the Advanced Warfare and Black Ops III book, Battlefield 1 looks to actually contribute to the history books with a World War I setting, presenting a level of variety we so desperately need in the genre.
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Always the trailblazer — it went modern and “future” long before Call Of Duty or any other mainstream shooter did — Battlefield is retreating to an era that DICE knew was a risk, and the footage so far proves it was a risk worth taking. There’s no denying why Battlefield 1 has generated the sort of hype it has, especially when compared to how Infinite Warfare has been received. It proves that taking risks and offering variety is all it takes to stand out from the crowd, and Battlefield 1 does exactly that.
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