2) Battlefield Hardline
When Battlefield Hardline was leaked ahead of time in the build-up to E3, fans of the franchise were left understandably confused. Was this to be a new expansion pack in DICE’s blockbuster series? Or did EA plan to start-up a whole new sub-series under the IP in the vein of Call of Duty: Black Ops? As it turns out, Hardline was showcased as a full, stand-alone shooter — one which placed an emphasis on a cops versus robbers dynamic. Questions abound.
If this game had an elevator pitch, it would be the combination of Battlefield 4 and the co-op elements associated with Overkill Software’s Payday 2. And that’s exactly its problem. We’ve touched upon our early impressions of the game in the past, citing Hardline as glorified DLC, and in the time that has lapsed between then and now, not much has changed.
For the uninitiated, Battlefield Hardline is currently incubating in development at Visceral Games — the same studio that brought Dead Space to life with aplomb in 2008 — and is due to blast on to the scene in March following a lengthy delay. It’s a game infused with cinematic aspirations, drawing influence from Michael Mann’s Heat in particular, though as we inch ever closer to release, the studio has focused more on single-player than its online counterpart — which has been met with some degree of suspicion.
Over the last few weeks, it seems as though the video game industry has been inundated with broken releases, with everything from Assassin’s Creed: Unity to Halo: The Master Chief Collection arriving half-baked. And despite the fact that Visceral Games has made it crystal clear that Hardline will skate around those crippling issues that affected Battlefield 4 upon launch, we wouldn’t be too surprised if the studio’s maiden entry into the series failed to hit the ground running.
Given the pedigree of Visceral, the studio deserves the benefit of the doubt, but until Hardline is out in the open and hosts a stable online connection for players to enjoy, that suspicion will ultimately prevail.