Hands-On With The Battlefield 6 Multiplayer
This week, Finger Guns were fortunate enough to be invited to the unveiling of the new Battlefield 6 multiplayer. Hosted at the Truman Brewery in Brick Lane (where the late WASD was held), the scene was set for the global reveal on July 31st. Sparing no expense, the wonderful hosts put out a spread with some innovative Nandos food support, DJ’s and a whole host of war-torn decor. Tanks and all.
But before we break down what’s coming, check out the reveal trailer below:
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more appropriate use for Limp Bizkit, to be honest. Sat in the decked out hall, rubbing shoulder with other journo types and media peers, my jaw was on the floor when this kicked off. To preface, I haven’t been keeping up with Battlefield, nor the world of shooters or even much in the way of esports or competitive online games. Essentially, I was a fish out of water and going in totally blind.
So, what is Battlefield 6 bringing to the table? Will it rekindle the enthusiasm for shooters lost by the likes of me, or to those follow it, is it the next great step in the series? Let’s break down what they’ve told us is coming.
A Touch Of Class
Now, from what I gather, players weren’t fond of the specialist system in Battlefield 2042. From what I can extrapolate, it looks like they were going for a character-based system akin to Rainbow Six: Siege. I can see how it works in Siege, but as an outsider, I don’t see how it’d apply to a massive online shooter. It also seems like the feedback has been listened to, and Battlefield 6 is going back to the four classes:
- Assault – the all-round, offensive shooter template
- Support – the medic and ammo class, bringing aid and firepower
- Engineer – the unit for repairing your vehicles whilst blowing up theirs
- Recon – the “I like to watch from afar” sniper, with the head-hunting perks
Whilst those are all brief summarisations, the ability to customise loadouts is still present. Meaning that the more players progress, different bits of kit will become unlockable for each class. As with anything of this ilk, the best way to find out which class you’re into is to play it, die a lot, and keep playing around with the classes.
From New York To Gibraltar
What is a shooter without its variety in maps? Players love a variety, and fortunately, Battlefield 6 is catering to that. From the towering skyscrapers and criss-crossed streets of New York, the tight corridor-based roads of Gibraltar, all the way to the snow-capped mountains of Tajikistan and history-steeped Egypt.
I only managed to play on the Empire State Building map, but by god the amount of detail that’s gone into these warzones is impressive. Which nicely leads me to…
Levelling The Field
What makes Battlefield great, ever since the days of Bad Company 2 as a standout for me, is the sheer destruction at hand. Well, Battlefield 6 is upping that ante. Fully revisiting and revamping their destruction tech, EA and Battlefied Studios are making it a massive part of their warfare-based gameplay. Rather than just razzle-dazzle to win us over, destruction now brings a technical element to gameplay too.
Fireteam giving you grief from a floor above and you can’t pitch a grenade into a window? Bring the floor down with some C4. Conversely, blow through floors to get the literal drop on someone who thinks you’re going to take the stairs.
For example, I was playing it in a linear fashion during my time with it. I was rounding corners, repeatedly being picked off because of the goddamn campers other really good players. It was only when someone tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Why not just go through the walls?” that it clicked for me. I mean, I still died, but it made it more fun to Red Faction my way towards the opposition.
Escalating To Portals
In regards to variety, Battlefield is covering all angles when it comes to game modes too. From classics to more recent iterations, the spread is pretty impressive. The standard Deathmatch modes are there, as are the Dominations and Kings of the Hills. Conquest and Rush return, but it’s the new Escalation mode that’s both piqued my interest and got me sceptical.
It seems like standard fare: capture points and whittle down enemy respawns, natch. But the escalating part is that the map gradually shrinks, restricting the field of battle and cramping players together, until a winner is decided. The sceptical part is the, “It just sounds like PUBG/Fortnite/any battle royale” thinking, and I think that’s valid. But, it’s Battlefield, so it’s going to be insane having such high octane battles in tighter spaces.
The other surprising mode (to me, at least) was Portal. This, in essence, is the “create your own” mode, and it’s not wrong. Whilst the levels on show were clearly created for the showcase purposes, it nonetheless looked pretty daft. My mind went to Grand Theft Auto Online and its gravity-defying stunt levels that players make. But still, if you’re of that creative bent then I’m sure there’s hours of fun to be had in making custom levels.
Sign Me Up
There’s a whole wealth of content coming in Battlefield 6, which we’ll delve into when we know more. This was just a look at what’s in store, and from just an hour’s play I was convinced. That may sound like some sell-out, “I heartedly endorse this product” type of statement, but it’s genuinely not. Admittedly, being repeatedly killed by better players did remind me why I stopped playing these games, but it didn’t put me off.
From the mixed reception to Battlefield 2042, it seems like EA are really trying to redeem themselves. And that’s without telling us much about the singleplayer either, the faith in the competitive element is that strong. For what it’s worth, I want it to do well. I had an absolute blast (no pun intended) with what I got to see, and as I say, I kinda want to get back into it.
If you are interested, or even slightly on the fence, EA have got you covered. There are two open betas coming, the first being the weekend of August 9th-10th, and a longer one coming on the 14th-17th.
The full game releases on October 10th, and expect there to be different versions/pre-order tiers and the like. As much as I’m hyped for it, remember: this is still EA. Keep checking in regularly for more updates on Battlefield 6, from the singleplayer to the pricing. Let us know what you’re looking forward to in the comments below.
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