The Battlefield dudes were at the New York Comic Con to show of an alpha build of 1943. It's definitely been simplified drastically in comparison to any of the other Battlefield games before Bad Company. Dumbed-down I believe is the term. Only three classes, only 24 players per match, regenerating health, infinite ammo, accurate fire-from-hip weapons, no drivable battleships (though this is brought over from BF2 and not really a bad thing), and no reticule in third person fighter plane view. This is a very early build of the game and therefore some mechanical aspects of this demonstration might change before release such as the lack of a useful third person view in a plane, but the most jarring changes are purely design decisions. I can see these being a continuation of the evolution of the series started in Bad Company in terms of the simplification, nevertheless they neuter the game as a skill based, tense, strategic shooter and bolster the growing notion that consoles are dumbing-down videogames as a whole.
Alright so maybe it's just shooters I'm worried about. And EA do own DICE, so maybe it's just a problem with the company. They do have a tendency to aim for the lowest common denominator. Elsewise known as the Mainstream, and it is certainly being courted by nearly every major publisher out there. I don't like it when my beloved franchise are jury rigged to appeal to those who can't appreciate the beauty of an elegantly complicated system in motion. Yes, I am a gamer elitist.
Is this the same as the upcoming Battlefield Heroes which also looks like it's more user-friendly and accessible? I don't see why they be making two different products that are both kind of attempts to capture the casual audience.
ReplyDeleteI also don't really see the point in creating an online shooter designed with casual gamers in mind. Every casual gamer I know wants nothing to do with shooters, especially online shooters.
Hopefully this is a little side project and not actually DICE's next big Battlefield game.
No it's not their next real Battlefield game for sure. That's probably in development now, though. I can see 1943 as sort of a cross between BF Heroes and BF Bad Company. BF Heroes looks to be simplified to the extreme, so much so that it's free. And you buy clothes for your dude. I guess casual gamers like that..?
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