I’m huge fan of the Battlefield franchise. Some of the best times I’ve had gaming have been playing
BF2 and
BF2142. As I write this we are 2 ½ years since the last PC version of Battlefield was released. When I look at the 4 announced BF PC projects and the one unannounced I have just one question, What are they thinking?
I think one reason why I’ve grown to love the franchise so much is the social aspect of the game. When you squad up and talk with other players via voip you build a relationships with your teammates. There can be great sense of satisfaction when you revive a squad mate or shoot a opponent that’s trying to sneak up on a squad mate. This is evident when you see how dedicated “regulars” (players that play regularly on a clan/community server but aren’t members) are to the servers they play on.
So what is EA/Dice working on you ask. Currently they have 4 announced projects in the works
Battlefield Heroes
Battlefield Heroes is a free to play
TF2 style game that from the information I’ve seen released seems to lack the depth of play most Battlefield players are looking for.
Battlefield 1943
Battlefield 1943 is what I can best describe as a half a game. As a PC gamer I’m really excited to try out the Frostbite engine this game is based on and at an estimated cost of 15 dollars I’m sure to give it a try but fully expect to be unsatisfied.
Battlefield Bad Company 2
Battlefield Bad Company 2 is a sequel to Battlefield Bad Company except this time it will be released to PC in addition to Consoles. BC2 is also based on the Frostbite engine and of the announced projects this is the most interesting to me.
BF2 Patch 1.5
I have to give Kudos to EA/Dice for still supporting the
BF2 community. The 1.5 includes a new map Operation Blue Pearl.
As I was playing the
BF2 1.5 beta the other night. I found myself wondering about a couple of things the first was why is this new map so foggy? I guess this would be a good place to explain a bit about the new map. It’s a beach landing into an urban area. The one thing that stands out is that there is stuff everywhere, I’m talking cover galore. It’s a really fun change for a battlefield map except for the drab colors and that darn fog everywhere. Well it turns out the only reason the fog is there is cut down the amount of objects being rendered to maintain compatibility with the original
BF2 system requirements from 2005.
So the second and real what if is why doesn’t EA/Dice take
BF2 and create new maps and repackage it into a whole new game “
BF2.5”, I’ll let the marketing gurus pick a better name. This would be a new game not an expansion as those never work out very well. Since this is more of an update and map pack to an older game maybe sell it for 20-25 Dollars instead of 50. I think with more modern hardware requirements and new maps the game could still be great. I’d also predict that this would sell a whole lot better than BF1943 to the PC community.
There is however still some hope with the one unannounced BF project. It has been confirmed they are working on one more project. There is very little known about this one except small hints left behind from Dice such as,
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by zerk16 Battlefield Community Manager 03/02/2009 Quote:
> DICE knows that PC gamers want a true sequel to BF2.
> We have been clued many times by Zerk, and DICE that
> it is coming, but I doubt that BC2 is it. BC2 is a
> sequel to BC1, face it. Don't criticize the game
> becuase it is like BFBC, IT'S THE FREAKING SEQUEL.
| Yeah, I really have. The PC community won't know what hit them this year, they will be completely shocked with *joy* Just wait. |
http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/14579.page
Is zerk16 hinting to the long awaited BF3? I have heard hints and rumors from other sources that it is coming. But even if they are true I'd be amazed if it was released this year.
So again I have to ask what are they thinking? The announced release date for the PC versions are September 2009 for BF1943 and the expected release date for BF:BC2 is end of year 2009. So after three years of not releasing a PC Battlefield game they might release 2 in two months and possibly a third shortly after. I fear that too many releases all at the same time coupled with the fact that BF1943 is maybe at best half a game may lead to poor PC sales feeding the theory that PC gaming is dead when the reality is the Battlefield gamers are just patiently waiting for a new game that continues the Battlefield experience.
Someone get me a wooden beam!
[Ban] 
