How Is Battlefield Hardline Different Than Battlefield 4? Developer Explains
Visceral says the game's brand new modes, TV-style story campaign, and eSports focus will make it stand out.
In a new interview from London's EGX event, Battlefield Hardline's creative director explained the many ways in which he believes Battlefield Hardline is a significantly different game than 2013's Battlefield 4. In a video interview with YouTuber jackfrags, Visceral Games creative director Steve Papoutsis first said the game's five brand-new modes will make Hardline stand out compared to last year's game.
These are "very unique and never been seen in Battlefield before," he said. One such mode is called Hotwire, and it involves high speed car chases and high-octane gunfights. It looks like a lot of fun. Overall, Hardline will have seven modes and nine maps at launch, he said.
Another differentiating factor for Hardline is its setting and story, Papoutsis said, which offers up a cops-and-robbers narrative. Further, he said Hardline will do more to support the eSports crowd because these players "really want Battlefield to be a competitive thing," he said.
On the single-player side, Papoutsis teased that Hardline's campaign will be "very different than anything you've seen in Battlefield before." The story will unfold like a TV show in some respects, and Papoutsis says its cinematics, character development, and episode structure are all new elements for the Battlefield series. He also says that while past Battlefield games were somewhat linear, players will have more freedom to take on missions how they want to in Hardline's story mode.
"Overall, I feel like what we're creating is a significant entry for the franchise, and we hope people see it that way," he said.
Also in the interview, Papoutsis acknowledged that one of the challenges with launching the Hardline beta in June immediately after the game was announced was that some gamers did not understand that what they were playing did not represent the final version of the game. This is one of the factors that led some players to think Hardline was just a "re-skin" of Battlefield 4, Papoutsis said.
In June, Visceral responded to concerns that Hardline looked too similar to Battlefield 4, saying at the time that Hardline will be a very different game due to various improvements, tweaks, and additions.
Hardline launches in February 2015 for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC. A beta for the game will be held on all platforms sometime before the end of the year. For more on Battlefield Hardline, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.
Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @EddieMakuch
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