For years now, the Call of Duty franchise has deployed a familiar plan when promoting its latest game. First, the developers unveil the game's single player, then they show a little more at E3, and then blow the lid off the game's most enticing element, the multiplayer.
COD's biggest competitor, Battlefield, likes to do things a little differently, however. With this franchise, the multiplayer takes precedent, and the firm details regarding single player follow shortly thereafter.
Case in point: Battlefield: Hardline, the next entry in the FPS franchise that just so happens to feature a cops vs. robbers concept and a new developer in Visceral Games. We know quite a bit about Battlefield: Hardline based on multiplayer previews, hands-on demos, our time with the beta, and various leaks. But, we know very little about the single player.
Slowly but surely, though, Visceral Games is starting to peel back the layers, teasing players with their new approach to single player storytelling. It started first with a claim that the developer would be using its skills in single player to bring new life to Battlefield: Hardline's campaign and it continues with talk of non-linearity.
Speaking with RPS, Creative Director Ian Milham revealed that his company's approach to single player will not "do as much of a single-path linear rollercoaster that's been done before." Rather he hopes to use the game's setup of Los Angeles cops trying to take down robbers as a way to circumvent those ideas.
“On the singleplayer side the stuff that’s important to us is maybe not do as much of a single-path linear rollercoaster that’s been done before. We want more tactical choice, more player choice. Things to do besides just shoot everybody. That’s not really a cop thing as much.”
Milham wouldn't go into specifics, but he suggests that there will be options within the campaign that don't simply involve killing every aggressor. As we saw in the EA Press Conference preview of Hardline, ultimately the cops greatest weapon is a good pair of handcuffs, so we suspect that apprehending, not killing, will play a larger role in the gameplay.
As far as whether the storytelling will have any non-linear elements, Milham again wouldn't say. We have heard that Battlefield: Hardline will tell its story in episodic chunks a la a TV cop drama, so perhaps the ability to choose between episodes will give players a greater sense of freedom.
Regardless of what Visceral does with the single player the hope is that they can outdo DICE's previous campaigns, which have been mediocre at best. Top name talent and bombastic action sequences are all well and good, but a strong narrative is what could set Battlefield apart from the pack. If done right that is.
And since it wouldn't be a Battlefield: Hardline post without a little bit of multiplayer talk, we bring news of a few leaked modes, weapons, and maps from the recent beta test. Apparently, a few gamers went digging around in the beta's files and discovered a list of multiplayer weapons, some potential map names, and a few modes for the game. Below you'll find a list of the hidden guns and below that is a tweet from a YouTuber who lists some potential map names and modes.
- M93R — Hand Gun
- M1911 — Hand Gun
- RS357 — Magnum
- MAC-10 — Personal Defense Weapon
- M240B — Light Machine-Gun
- SR-25 ECC — Designated Marksmen Rifle
- L96A1 — Bolt-Action Rifle
- SMAW — Launcher
- M18 — Smoke Grenade
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What would you like to see from the Battlefield: Hardline campaign? How can Visceral improve the single player to match the success of the multiplayer?
Battlefield: Hardline releases October 21, 2014 for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
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Source: Rock Paper Shotgun
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