[HTML1]

After teasing the reveal of Battlefield 4 for several weeks through the game's official website, Electronic Arts and DICE have finally pulled the curtain off of the fourth installment. The destructible environments, various vehicles (be them land, sea, or air), and gorgeous visuals that fans have come to expect from the series are all present and accounted for, but it's evident by the new 17 minute gameplay video that there have been some major overhauls to the game — all of which look to be for the better.

Based off of the recently leaked teaser trailer, prominently featuring Rihanna, this Battlefield 4 footage follows the events that lead up to a heart-wrenching decision that the game's protagonist, Recker, must make. Will Recker choose to save the intel at the cost of his squad mate's life, or will endanger the entire team's life and mission in order to save one member of the "wolf pack?" Anyone who watched the video knows which decision is made, but the emotional impact of that scene alone — coupled with the rather stunning visuals — make this scenario in particular stand out in a sea of pre-existing first-person shooters.

The visuals in question are courtesy of DICE's very new and very shiny Frostbite 3 engine, which EA claims to be the "future of interactive entertainment." Judging by the apparent success that the developer has had with implementing the enhanced Frostbite engine into BF4, these claims certainly seem valid for the time being.

[gallery columns="2" exclude="183776"]

It's one thing for a game to look great, but it's an entirely different thing for it to play well. Electronic Arts is aware of this, and that's why they took the liberty of confirming that Battlefield 4 will be jam-packed with new features within the game's single-player campaign. Aside from the massive environments that'll be made available for players to tear apart, there will be a steady supply of vehicles and armaments, as well as the ability to direct squad mates to better vantage points. Inspired by Battlefield's immensely popular multiplayer options, the campaign will also track friends' progress and accomplishments — adding some friendly competition for those trekking through the single-player portion of the game.

It's nice to finally see the fourth Battlefield in action rather than through concept art or 20 second teaser cinematics, and it looks just as good as everyone was hoping it would. Some people may be so intrigued by the product that they now feel the urge to run out and throw down money to pre-order the newly unveiled shooter, and EA has confirmed that it'll be accommodating gamers who are looking to do just that. Starting today, fans can head to participating retailers and surrender their money in advance to receive a Premium expansion pack for free. The same applies for Origin users, but they'll also be awarded with a spot in the exclusive Battlefield 4 beta.

Battlefield 4 will be launching in Fall 2013 for PC, Xbox 360, and PS3. Next-gen consoles haven't yet been confirmed platforms for the title.

-

You can follow Riley on Twitter @TheRileyLittle.