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Battlefield 2042

RRP $ 59.99

"Battlefield 2042 is packed with valuable multiplayer content and takes the long-running shooter franchise to new heights."

advantages

• Captivating scale and spectacle

• Develops and improves classic modes

• Impressive variety of content

• Specialists reinvent every battle

• Portal has potential

disadvantage

• Danger zone feels unbalanced

• Stability problems

The easiest way to think of Battlefield 2042 is that it's Battlefield 3 or 4, but bigger. The game features massive 128-player matches on equally huge maps and offers players a choice of weapons and vehicles. The only place where 2042 loses some weight is in the single player mode that players can usually expect with Battlefield games.

Battlefield 2042 is a pure multiplayer game, and as such, its developers have gone out of their way to create a varied experience. In addition to playing some classic Battlefield modes that have been grouped under the cover of the All-Out Warfare game mode, Battlefield 2042 offers players two more options: Hazard Zone and Battlefield Portal. While additional modes always felt like dead weight in previous Battlefield games, the two new additions to 2042 shine in their own ways, making this year's entry a first-person shooter not to be missed.

Battlefield's next step

Battlefield 2042 is a multiplayer first person shooter that specializes in goal-based matches. The main Battlefield experience consists of the game's classic modes, including Conquest, Breakthrough, and Rush. Despite not being able to play Rush, I got into a few rounds of Conquest and Breakthrough and can attest that the heart and soul of Battlefield 2042 is not only present, it is being strengthened.

As I fought on the great, giant maps of Battlefield 2042, I felt like I was in the prime of Battlefield 3 or 4. With a wide variety of weapons and vehicles at my disposal, I could attack my enemies and their targets in any way I wanted. Specialists and the game's new open approach to loadouts have only doubled the degree of freedom of the game.

Specialists are one of the most controversial new features of 2042, but one that I really enjoy. The special characters have their own passive and active abilities, from hacking vehicles to keep them from firing, to putting down watchtowers. They are another way for players to turn any card to their advantage or turn an encounter in their favor. And although not every specialist is made the same, they all have their moments to shine.

In keeping with the theme of giving players options, the Battlefield 2042 scale does just that. Regardless of what map I was playing on, I had a multitude of options for what I wanted to do at that moment. I could drive a tank to a target, pick up a helicopter, stand back and shoot, or delve into the details of one of the dozen of fights that are taking place at any moment. With 64 players competing against each other on each team, there is always a new conflict to plunge into. If a fight isn't going well, there is no need to adjust your class to suit the situation. Just go and fight somewhere else.

In each of those moments, I howled, had fun, and experienced something that can only be gotten in a Battlefield game.

The openness of All-Out Warfare, of course, leads to some of those practically protected Battlefield moments. In just two hours of play, I did things that I couldn't do in any other game. I shot down a helicopter with the main cannon of a tank, wrecked a car full of players with a repair tool, and forced another player to jump out of their tank by ramming them so hard with mine that they topple over. In each of those moments, I howled, had fun, and experienced something that can only be gotten in a Battlefield game.

Battlefield 2042's emulation of the heyday of Battlefield 3 and 4 even comes without the shortcomings of those games. During my stint at 2042, I didn't throw any vehicles or weapons off balance. Tanks are strong but can easily be taken out by other tanks or players. Attack helicopters, which were nearly indestructible in Battlefield 4, are slow and vulnerable. Fights, no matter how they are fought, are almost always balanced.

The multitude of options also applies to weapons. The arsenal of Battlefield 2042 is broad, varied and can be changed in the blink of an eye. While players cannot simply switch to a different loadout, the game's "plus menu" system is a game-changing addition that allows players to swap out their weapon attachments on the fly. As a DMR user, I was able to quickly equip my weapon for hand-to-hand combat after fighting from a distance.

Without a doubt, Battlefield 2042 should be played through conquest and breakthrough. Both modes make perfect use of the enormous size of the game. Battles rage across huge maps, vehicles transport players from destination to destination, and there are always new ways to approach a situation. Bottlenecks are no longer so pronounced thanks to larger maps, so that the action never stops. From start to finish, I was busy playing one of these modes.

Hazard allowance

The same cannot exactly be said of any of the new Battlefield 2042 modes, Hazard Zone. Instead of having two teams of 64 players compete against each other, eight squads of four players (on PC and next-gen consoles) are flown onto a map and have to fight against each other and AI-controlled enemies to secure data drives. With the drives in hand, players then have to get out of the map in a helicopter. The idea, however, is that only one squad can escape safely.

Hazard Zone is related to Escape From Tarkov for lack of a better comparison. By killing enemies or capturing drives, players make money that can be used to purchase new weapons, gear, and other gear. This new equipment can then be taken into the next Hazard Zone game, giving the winners an edge over the competition.

This leads to a potentially diabolical cycle in the later life of Battlefield 2042. The early adopters (and winners) of the game mode will always have a head start on other players thanks to a large war chest that provides them with good weapons and other equipment. The winners will continue to win while everyone else loses due to a serious imbalance in funds.

But this problem is far away, and I didn't have to deal with it during my review. In my experience, Hazard Zone is a fantastic addition to the Battlefield repertoire, albeit with a few flaws. After being thrown into a huge map and being asked to kill enemies and collect drives, players need to communicate. Hazard Zone is by far the most communication-dependent game mode in Battlefield 2042, and at launch the game will not have in-game voice chat. That means players have to join a roster with three other friends if they want a solid chance to win a match in Hazard Zone, a luxury not everyone has.

But if you have a squad and can communicate, Hazard Zone is a brilliant game mode that puts aside the destruction and scale of Battlefield as a franchise in favor of tactics. During my time with the game mode, my teammates and I figured out where to go before moving to make sure no one is ever left alone to be picked up. In combat, we worked together, marking targets that our rocket-wielding teammate could take out.

Hazard Zone is a successful experiment that needs few tweaks to shine as bright as All-Out Warfare.

This collaboration was supported by the specialists of 2042, which really made the game mode shine. The right specialist can turn the tide of a fight or end one before it even begins. I've spent most of my time playing as an Irishman who can break down little barriers wherever he wants. That meant that no matter where my team fought, we always had cover. Other specialists like Falck, Boris and Paik have been incredibly strong in the danger zone thanks to the support they provide to your squad.

I admit that I had danger zone concerns when I first heard about it. I tried Battlefield's previous foray into the battle royale genre and I honestly hated it. But Hazard Zone is a successful experiment that only requires a few tweaks to shine as bright as All-Out Warfare. With no adequate way for teammates to communicate without being friends, and a gameplay loop that constantly favors winners, I just hope the developers can hone what should become an integral part of the Battlefield franchise.

A blast in the past

While All-Out Warfare is a refined version of the Battlefield experience and Hazard Zone is a successful experiment, Battlefield Portal presented itself as the weird during my time with the game. Portal is essentially the 2042 creation suite that allows players to create their own game modes with tons of options. There is even a rudimentary coding system in place.

In my limited experience with 2042, these options have been used to create simple game modes including a quick free-for-all mode and another where each player can fire a single missile and get another by just jumping five times. They weren't particularly fun to play but served as a successful proof of concept. Players who choose to spend enough time learning about the Battlefield Portal systems can create some fantastic game modes that can potentially rival those of the game's in-house developers. While I haven't seen anything like this during my time with the game, I'm more than excited to see what comes after it launches.

The highlight of the Battlefield Portal for me was when it was used to emulate old experiences rather than generate new ones. Game mode gives players access to a select amount of content from Battlefield 1942, Bad Company 2, and Battlefield 3, as well as everything from 2042. As such, I was able to play Rush on Bad Company 2's Arica Harbor. With a few tweaked settings, I couldn't punish while sprinting, aim a shotgun at the visor, or lie down, just like in this cult classic from the Battlefield franchise. Simply put, it was magical.

The same goes for Battlefield Portal's version of Battlefield 3's Caspian Border, which, like any other non-2042 map, has been redesigned in game mode with improved graphics. The map and its massive, collapsible tower now look even better for returning players and is a treat for newbies. Playing a game of Conquest on the map just struck me with another dose of nostalgia that leaves me hoping that other maps from previous Battlefield titles will get the same treatment.

The mode offers a wealth of tools and options for creators that are now only needed by creators.

I don't really feel like I saw the Battlefield Portal climax during my time with it. I had to play some half-baked custom game modes, but the star was a trip back in time with replicas of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Battlefield 3. It doesn't seem like it. The Battlefield Portal is more geared towards player-created content than reliving old entries in the Battlefield franchise. If I really wanted to, I could only play Battlefield 3 at a time. But I'm optimistic that people will take advantage of the tools offered on the Battlefield Portal and create some stunning modes for others to use. The mode offers a wealth of tools and options for creators that are now only needed by creators.

Buyers beware

The Battlefield 2042 review process has generated some red flags that are worth knowing. EA only distributed PC codes for the game. Critics had to meet a minimum specification requirement to review. While this is a cross-platform game (with both current and last generation consoles), any Battlefield 2042 review you read will likely be from someone who played the game on a capable PC. We don't know how the game runs on consoles, including the PS4 and Xbox One.

Without the ability to play Battlefield 2042 on consoles, how well does the game run on platforms other than PC? Simply put, we don't know. The game runs reasonably well on PC, but I ran into problems. While reviewing the game, my PC crashed once and increased the system memory usage from 50% to a maximum of 98% several times. The PC used to test Battlefield 2042 has a total of 16GB of DDR4 3200 MHz RAM, the amount the game lists as recommended in the datasheet.

Our opinion

Since Battlefield 2042 is only online, it had to make up for its lack of any single player content with a variety of great online content. The game's developers have not only achieved success in this regard, but have gone beyond. All-Out Warfare is a fantastic evolution of the classic Battlefield experience and modernizes the franchise with more scope, spectacle and play options than ever before. The Battlefield Portal and Hazard Zone also shine in their own way, with the former proving that it can serve as a base for players to create their own unique experiences within 2042. If a future Battlefield title skips these two modes, I might think they are incomplete.

Still, Battlefield 2042 isn't perfect. The version of the game that I played, and which players will also have access to when it launches in Early Access on November 12th, has performance issues. 2042 is also in-game without voice chat, a feature that will be added after the game's official release on November 19th. With these issues aside, Battlefield 2042 is still one of the best first-person shooters I've played all year and it's becoming a highly visited part of my PC's library.

Is there a better alternative?

If you're looking for a different kind of shooter experience, Call of Duty: Vanguard is out now. However, nothing corresponds to the scale and quality of 2042.

How long does it take?

Since this is a pure multiplayer game, there is no "completion" of Battlefield 2042 in the traditional sense. That being said, it should be easy for gamers to get hours of entertainment out of the various modes.

Should you buy it?

Yes sir. Battlefield 2042 is the new highlight of the franchise and one that no Battlefield fan should miss.

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