Since 2002, the Battlefield series has brought large scale online warfare to players across the globe. From dogfights in the sky to tank battles on the ground and everything in between, the Battlefield franchise has made a name for itself among gamers as a series that accurately captures the advanced technology of warfare. The bombastic multiplayer mode of Battlefield has been a staple for first-person shooters since its inception. In recent years, it's been a leading figure in the growth of the genre.
The series has undergone a great deal of change since its inception, but the general concept has stayed the same. Still, some fans of the old-school entries in the Battlefield franchise might have noticed that some of the mechanics and features of the older games have changed or disappeared all together. These are just a few examples of ways the games have changed.
6 A Modern Setting
Unlike most first-person shooter series, Battlefield has not lingered in the modern warfare setting for an extended period of time. The series has always enjoyed the freedom to jump around time periods. It has even leapt into the future with Battlefield 2142 and the upcoming Battlefield 2042. But a contemporary setting has only been used for the Bad Company series, and a few games in the main series.
For the past five years, the Battlefield series has been focused on the first two World Wars with Battlefield 1 and Battlefield V, which have both been massive hits with fans. It is uncertain if Battlefield will return to the realism of a modern setting, but the series has been known to mix things up unexpectedly. Who knows what the next entries will have in store?
5 Conquest Only Single-Player
In the early days of Battlefield, the single-player campaign was really just the same thing as the multiplayer, pitting the player against an AI on the same maps as the same factions. The franchise has always been known for its multiplayer, more so than its single-player campaigns.
That has changed in recent years as the series. Since the Bad Company games, the series has been actively working on breaking into the realm of iconic first-person shooter campaigns. The recent entries to the series have only received increased praise from critics and gamers alike for their dynamic storytelling and addicting gameplay mechanics.
4 An Emphasis On PC Gaming
The first game in the series was originally proposed as a GameCube exclusive; however, Battlefield ended up on the PC and remained there for a number of years. The first few Battlefield games were PC and Mac exclusive, until the spin-off Battlefield 2: Modern Combat released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Xbox 360.
Interestingly enough, the first Bad Company was a console exclusive, only available on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The days of console and PC exclusives wore thin for the series. Now, Battlefield has been multi-platform for the past decade as a result of the changing tides.
3 Fictional Battles
With the recent shift back into the two World Wars, the Battlefield franchise has sacrificed creating fictional battles for the sake of the game's setting. In the modern and futuristic settings the franchise created, each map was a wholly original battle complete with unique characteristics and significance.
The past two entries in the series returned the series to its roots by designing each map after real historical conflicts. This has been a welcomed and necessary change for the series; however, it was fascinating to see in previous games what kinds of intricate battles the developers came up with. The next game in the series, Battlefield 2042, will hopefully conjure up some exciting maps for players to clash on.
2 Bad Company
For a change of pace, Battlefield experimented around with the Bad Company series. These games added a story mode, humorous characters with personalities, and more explosions than gamers knew what to do with. Only two games and one spin-off set during the Vietnam War have been developed for this series thus far. This has led many to speculate that the Bad Company name has been retired.
There are no immediate signs of Battlefield Bad Company making a return. Still, many fans of these games are holding their breath for the explosive series to make a comeback.
1 Non-Customizable Classes
It might seem ridiculous today, but early Battlefield games had little to no customization for classes and weapons loadouts. Classes could typically have a few different weapons available for fighting, usually dependent on whichever faction the player chose. But beyond that, very little cosmetic or weapon customization existed in the full capacity gamers know today.
To truly get good at the game, players had to master one particular weapon at its base stats, with no additional attachments or specializations. This could make the game tougher for new players; however, it was still useful to know that all players were using the basic weapons available to them. This has changed in recent years, with the addition of more customization options.