Should you purchase Battlefield: Hardline at launch? Well it depends on a lot of different things really and in this opinion piece I’m going to go over the risks and the benefits of purchasing Hardline at launch. It doesn’t matter if you’re a veteran Battlefield player or not, if you’re interested in the franchise this might be something you want to read. But enough of this… let’s get into the topic by first talking about the risks of picking this game up at launch.
THE RISKS:
- EA Server Issues – As we all know EA is notorious for their bad servers. Every single Battlefield has a very bad first day for the multiplayer and I wouldn’t be surprised if the same thing happened with Hardline. I think we should just accept the fact if it’s EA hosting the servers the launch day will be excruciating for the folks that want to play online.
- Bugs and Glitches – As well as the server issues the Battlefield series has been known as the franchise that gets released and is littered with random bugs and glitches. Sometimes they’re even game ruining. Ever since Battlefield: Bad Company 2 this trend has been confirmed. Bad Company 2 had a really shaky launch with bugs and terrible servers and so did Battlefield 3. But nothing will even come close to the launch Battlefield 4 had and this could possibly prevent a lot of people from purchasing Hardline. The amount of issues that came with Battlefield 4 were mind blowing and it absolutely chased a lot of people away from the series. Between the horrific netcode and the random campaign save corruptions the game was barely playable and slightly enjoyable. My point is the franchise is known to have issues and if you’re a multiplayer person it might be a smart move to hold out on this game until you know for a fact it’s perfect.
THE BENEFITS:
- New Developer – Most of you probably know that Hardline isn’t being developed by the original developers, DICE, but by Visceral Games. And yes, they’re the ones responsible for the Dead Space series. This brings in a lot of hope for the game and really gives a good reason to actually play a Battlefield campaign. The people at Visceral Games really know how to make a great story and can really take this franchise to higher places. This is a big step for them and with it being their next game after Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel, I think they have a lot to prove and will not let the hardcore Battlefield player down.
- An ACTUAL Beta – Every time a new Battlefield game is announced we can pretty much guarantee a beta. But this time it was a little different. Instead of the beta being the same month as the game, which gave the developers practically no time to fix the issues, it was actually playable FIVE months before the games release date. This will surely allow the developers to gain more feedback and fix the issues and actually take the players complaints more seriously. Which of course gives us the right to believe the game will be well polished for the launch. Whether or not we’ll see another beta before the game is officially launched has yet to be announced but they’re taking HUGE steps in the right direction.
- A New Game – Even if there are some issues with the game at launch you will still have a new game to play. If it’s not completely broken at launch like Battlefield 4 then there really shouldn’t be a reason to pass on this game. Battlefield really delivers a unique FPS multiplayer and can be a ton of fun with friends and even random people. It’s no secret that even after all the issues the franchise has experienced it continues to sell very well and that’s due to its one one of a kind multiplayer and it really shows that no other game out there can provide you with the same kind of experience that Battlefield can.
I’ve been a fan of the series for quite sometime now and I definitely think Hardline can help this series out. Although I’m passing on this game at launch, until I get conformation it’s good, I still cannot wait to get my hands on this game. The beta was a ton of fun and I definitely think it has potential to change people’s initial thoughts on the franchise. Visceral Games has a lot to do and they want to make a very good first impression for their first Battlefield game and I can’t blame them. They have a lot on their plate and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us.
If you want to share your thoughts on Battlefield: Hardline please leave a comment! Are you getting the game at launch? Let us know in the comment section and for more news on Battlefield and gaming in general stay here!
