Hello readers, I'm currently downloading the Exclusive Beta for PS3 as I write this and will be updating this blog post with my experience with the game as I go along. As far as I can tell, the beta will feature the map Siege of Shanghai, demoed at E3 earlier in the year to spectacular reception (mainly because of the awesome destructible skyscraper). I'm really excited because I also took part in the Battlefield 3 beta two years ago and that was a blast even though it was Metro 24 hours straight for about a week. Check back every few minutes as I update this blog post with my impressions of the game as quickly as I can.
Update 1: Just finished playing my first match, overall, I'm extremely satisfied. Battlefield 4 is a beautiful game, no doubt about that. Despite the texture pop-ins and occasional glitches with graphical fidelity, this thing is quite the looker. Gameplay-wise, it's classic Battlefield with the exception of the controls which have been changed quite a lot. Also, I saw the skyscraper come down during the course of the Conquest match. It was beautiful.
Update 2: The controls are a little hard to wrap my head around because I'm so used to the Battlefield 3 controls but other than that, so far so good. The gameplay is solid teamplay, vehicles are still fairly integral and gunplay is just fantastic. My only criticism so far is that Siege of Shanghai is a little big for 24 players, it's a bit hard to come across enemies unless you're already engaged or near an objective.
Update 3: There's an interesting glitch whereby the textures disappear after the skyscraper has been destroyed, making it look like the textureless pre-alpha build shown on YouTube by a bunch of Battlefield YouTubers. Also, the 5-man squad doesn't quite work because of the 12 vs. 12 limit on PS3. There's always a squad of 2 players in the end, a bit of a problem. Man, it is difficult to fly a scout helicopter now. The controls are really weird and hard to control, it has the ability to become extremely accurate and intuitive but having just jumped in, the new control scheme for helicopters feels weird. I hope they provide Battlefield 3 controls in the full game.
Update 4: Tried one match of Domination, didn't quite enjoy it. Too fast-paced and reflex-based for my liking. I'm the slow tactical type. It's an interesting combination of objective-based gameplay with what appears to be a team deathmatch driven philosophy in the sense that it's a micro-version of Conquest so that you are always in the action at any given moment.
Update 5: After a couple more matches, I noticed some interesting changes from the last game. Firstly, when you reload, your ammo count drops based on how many rounds were left in the last magazine. That's a pretty awesome feature since it adds to a bit of realism. I'm a bit annoyed that you don't keep the magazine, instead you toss it out but I suppose from a balancing perspective, it makes sense. As well as that, there are distance markers for where your squaddies are, which is a great little innovation. Additionally, the commorose is back! Or it's finally arrived on consoles. For those of you unfamiliar with the commorose, it's basically a menu where you can select some commands/requests such as "Need Ammo" or "Need Health" or "Need Transport" or "Attack/Defend". Very cool. Battle pick-ups are also present in the map and I had the opportunity to test out the Milkor MGL, the M82A3 and the HVM Starstreak. These are very interesting and in the right hands, can change the course of the battle. The M82A3 is a joy/nightmare depending if you're on the giving end or the receiving end because it's a one-hit kill superweapon with a range-finger attached.
That's it for my first impressions of the Battlefield 4 Beta. I'll write a more comprehensive article once I've stress-tested the crap out of the beta and gotten Bernt Toast and Brancake's opinions on the beta when they can finally join during the open beta because the suckers didn't buy Medal of Honor: Warfighter or pre-order Battlefield 4.
Under this situation, you get the gun back in the place from where you shot it. In simple words, when you shoot, there is a vertical climb due to the Heavy Barrel, but if you wait for a second, it'll go right back into the original position. If you don't use the automatic mode to pull the trigger, it becomes really accurate, from long distances as well.
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