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In a world that consists largely of futuristic first-person shooters, Battlefield 1 is a breath of fresh air and a welcome one at that. The much awaited open beta for EA’s World War One epic landed in early September and there were many positive things to be remarked upon.
The stats alone showed Battlefield 1 as the most played open beta of all time with an unbelievable 13.2 million gamers taking part while it was available on Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC via Origin, beating out heavyweights such as Overwatch and Star Wars Battlefront. Reactions to the combat game have been largely positive with gamers taking to social media and posting jokes regarding the death of Call of Duty. But what made it so good?
Visually, the game is stunning. The graphics are similar to the smoothness of Star Wars Battlefront and the destruction of buildings is captured in acute detail. The constantly dynamic weather also plays a crucial part – wild sandstorms could whip up at any moment, obscuring the vision of snipers, close quarters encounters instantly became much more important.
“The weapons and other vehicles are as authentic as they come, making you truly feel immersed in a World War One dogfight in the skies”
The fan-favourite Conquest mode was also made playable, set against the gorgeous and gaping backdrop of the Sinai Desert. With the game being set in 1914, new elements have been introduced to gameplay such as the ability to ride on horseback and the introduction of the Behemoth class vehicle; the armoured train. With a staggering number of guns and a large amount of health, the armoured train can also act as a spawn point, designed to help the losing team close the ticket gap. The extended health and the ability to move the train backwards and forwards between objectives makes it a formidable force and certainly lives up to its name. The weapons and other vehicles are as authentic as they come, making you truly feel immersed in a World War One dogfight in the skies, or making full use of the bolt-action rifles of the time.
I wish I had something bad to say about this beta to make it seem like this review isn’t biased, but bar the occasional glitch which didn’t affect gameplay, there isn’t a lot wrong here. Battlefield 1 plays superbly, it has deviated from the norm of futuristic shooter games and crushes the competition in terms of visuals, gameplay and downright awesomeness.
