Electronic Arts and developer Visceral Games have unveiled the latest snippet of footage for Battlefield: Hardline, which has been billed as the “fastest Battlefield game” in the history of the long-running franchise.
Featuring a familiar slice of explosive action, the trailer delves into some of the tactical equipment and strategies that players will be able to utilixe to either take down the pursuing police or, on the other hand, to nail those pesky criminals. There’s also a sliver of a storyline running through the bombastic action, and while the performance capture and voice acting look relatively impressive, the narrative itself appears to be wholly aboriginal for FPS genre piece such as Hardline.
Finally, the ninety-second sizzle reel also hosts a fresh look at the game’s non-lethal takedowns and driving mechanics, which look to play a major part in the cops versus robbers dynamic of Battlefield: Hardline. If both EA and Visceral support the multiplayer component with enough new content — daily and weekly heists, for instance — then the latest entry in the shooter franchise could carve out its own audience come next year.
But the one overriding question that will no doubt be lingering in the minds of fans is this: can Hardline do good on the studios’ promises and avoid the launch problems that befell Battlefield 4? Time will tell.
Battlefield: Hardline will deploy for duty across PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC on March 17, 2015. In the interim, you can let us know your own early impressions of Visceral Games’ maiden entry into the series in the comments section below.