Heading into the launch of Battlefield 3 on console, the competition between Electronic Arts’ FPS franchise and Call of Duty was at an all-time high, and more importantly the mud slinging was down and dirty. However, neither series has had a glowing a reputation since that time, and as a result the playful jabs went away.

That doesn’t mean the franchises haven’t kept an eye on what the other is doing, though; they just are not in the place to be throwing stones. Then again, when an opportunity strikes, players can expect that one franchise or the other will take advantage, like Battlefield Hardline did with Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.

While not an outright burn, the above image shows that Battlefield Hardline has a slight dig at Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. Specifically, Visceral Games is making light of Advanced Warfare’s ‘Hold F to Pay Respects’ moment, which came under harsh scrutiny last year.

For those who might not have played Advanced Warfare – although a lot did – the moment in question occurs early on during a funeral scene. While the game could have easily let the moment of grieving play out as a cutscene, Sledgehammer Games decided to put the ‘Hold F’ prompt and in turn drew a ton of parodies. Needless to say, it was typical of Call of Duty’s scripted nature, and even more fuel for the franchise naysayers out there.

While plenty of gamers have poked fun at this scripted moment for its lack of emotional resonance, the fact that Battlefield Hardline is getting in on the action says a lot. It’s obviously not something that Call of Duty hasn’t seen before, but when it comes from a major competitor the sting has to be a little sharper.

That being said, plenty have criticized Battlefield’s past campaigns for being better looking Call of Duty facsimiles, complete with scripted sequences. Battlefield 3, for example, borrowed many pages from the Call of Duty book when developing its campaign, to the point we could hardly tell difference. Sure, one looks better than the other, but scripted sequences were plentiful in BF.

Battlefield Hardline, on the other hand, appears to be a little different beast, with a unique, episodic approach to its story. Perhaps that freedom, and maybe Visceral’s confidence in their narrative, gave them the wherewithal to make this Call of Duty dig. Or maybe they just wanted to give gamers something to talk about and help push sales.

How do you feel about this Call of Duty jab? Should Battlefield and COD take more potshots at each other?

Battlefield Hardline is available now for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

Source: PC World