After Infinity Ward announced the next Call of Duty game, DICE and Electronic Arts were quick to point out that the next Battlefield game would be premiered the Friday after the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare reveal. Several developers at DICE even trash talked the Call of Duty trailer claiming, “The internet will melt when the Battlefield trailer is released.” For all intensive purposes YouTube and Reddit did indeed melt at the sight of the Battlefield I trailer. Although the title may appear deceiving this is not the first Battlefield game. The 1 in the title is in reference to World War I, the time period that the game takes place. To my own common knowledge there has not been a single AAA game that has attempted to encapsulate World War I in a video game altogether (however there is an indie game titled Verdun that has attempted to do this).
I have to applaud the franchise for returning to its roots. The original Battlefield game took place in World War II. Although this is not a return to the same time period, several elements found in the original game are more than likely going to return in Battlefield I. According to the press release and the trailer event, Battlefield I will have both a single player campaign and multiplayer. This, of course, is not surprising in the slightest degree. The campaign will follow several different soldiers from different respected armies that fought in the plains of France, the Italian Alps, the Arabian Peninsula and more. The British MK II tank in the screenshot above is taken more than likely from the Arabian Peninsula portion of the game. Combat in the game will include mounted calvary combat, early tank battles, dog-fighting in the skies, large scale naval, and zeppelin engagements.
Some may believe that World War I or the Great War was nothing more than men standing in trenches shooting at each other for four years, but in reality, this is only partially true. More evolved combat was fought in the Italian Peninsula, modern day Turkey, the Eastern front, and the combined arms combat in the Arabian Peninsula. This war was the dawn of modern combat, machine guns, gas attacks, and tanks were used by both sides. This conflict alone bred hostilities that arguably led to countless conflicts from then all the way to current day. It is about time that these battles were retold through a perspective that has already been used to convey battles from World War II, the Vietnam War, and increasingly modern wars. I for one believe that this game can be more than just a game. It can attempt to tell stories that embody what it meant to fight in this time period. It can shed light on a conflict in which all of the combatants are now dead.
Large scale combat is staple in this series. Combined arms tactic in game prove essential to the overarching meta of both the singleplayer and multiplayer experiences. And what better time period to experiment with this kind of gameplay than the dawn of these very tactics? EA and DICE will more than likely do the memories of those that were involved with this global conflict justice through this game. From what was shown of the game, I can safely assume that this game will be massive in scale; the words expressed by the developers on Friday echo this. Combat at the amount of fronts shown off in this brief trailer corroborates this. I also believe that the remix of “Seven Nation Army” may be a reference to the 7 major nations that took part in the war. Of course more than 7 fought in the Great War, but 7 particular nations contributed far more to the conflict than the others.
Lastly, some may argue that the weapons and tech used in the Great War are simply not compatible with a modern fast action first person shooter. To those people, I say that dozens of weapons were used in both World War I and World War II. Among them are the Russian Mosin Nagant, the Browning Automatic Rifle, the British Lee-Enfield Rifle, the Colt 1911 and the Winchester 1897 to name a few. These weapons were in the countless World War II shooters and all of those games’ gameplay held up just fine. Combat in the game will obviously be more up close and personal as described by the developers who also pointed out that they completely reworked the melee combat system for this title. CQC will be incredibly relevant in this title and will also be quite violent.
The gaming community’s response has also been showering the change in gameplay with praise. At the time of this screenshot, the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare trailer which had been released this past monday was already about to be passed in views by the Battlefield I trailer. It is worth mentioning that the Battlefield I trailer has had overwhelmingly positive feedback. If you prebuy the Early Enlister Deluxe version of Battlefield I you can expect to play it on PC/PS4/Xbox One on October 18th (my Birthday!). This version comes with additional content and early access to the first map pack and the Harlem Hellfighters Pack (This was an American Combat Unit comprised of African American soldiers). If you decide to wait you can pick up the game on the 21st of October this fall.
