Photo courtesy of Tribune News Service – A scene from “Battlefield Hardline.”

Battlefield: Hardline – From Visceral
Xbox One, Playstation 4, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC
7 out of 10

By Jack McAuslan
THE ROUNDUP

“Battlefield” games, specifically the multiplayer aspect, are very well known for a few reasons: big battles, realism and completely destructible environments.

These three pieces make up one of the most loved first person shooter franchises of all time.

Die hard fans would say that without one of these pieces, the game isn’t “Battlefield.”

“Battlefield: Hardline” takes on the first two very well.

The game is very realistic, at least compared to other FPS games such as “Call of Duty.”

In “Battlefield” bullets take up actual space and are affected by real physics.

It also features big team battles.

The biggest game modes can host up to 64 players at one time.

This makes for very exciting and fast paced fighting.

But this is where the problems for “Battlefield: Hardline” start.

When it comes to destructible environments, though, really the only things in the environments that can be destroyed are windows and doors.

Most players expect that when they shoot a grenade launcher at a wall, the wall will no longer be there.

This threw me off for the first few games because I never expected a new “Battlefield” to not have destructible environments.

Another controversy that this upside-down game faces is its huge lack of vehicles.

Every other “Battlefield” gives the players the option to fly a fighter jet, pilot an attack chopper or drive a tank.

In “Hardline,” the biggest and most powerful vehicle that can be manned is a tiny helicopter with two machine guns on it.

There are no tanks, either.

Land vehicles are limited to cars, trucks with machine guns, and armored cars.

Although this is much more than any “Call of Duty” game, it isn’t even close to what vehicles were featured in past “Battlefield” entries such as “Bad Company 2,” which is arguably the best game of the franchise to date.

Yes it is interesting to play cops and robbers in the format of a “Battlefield” game, but this would have been suited better as the final downloadable content for “Battlefield 4.”

The game really isn’t worth the full $60.

“Battlefield: Hardline” is a disappointing addition to an otherwise stellar game franchise.