Battlefield 1 Beta: Taking war games back to the real war

The Battle of Romani, Sinai Dessert, 1916.

A war fought with cavalry, tanks, fighter planes and solid boots on the ground. A war brought to the twenty-first century with Battlefield 1.

In a gaming world with its heart set on advanced warfare and new technology, Battlefield creators EA took a step in the opposite direction, further back than they had ever gone before – the First World War.

And so, they released the Beta stages of the game. One map, two game modes and a hell of a lot of fun.

Set in a battle between the British and the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, players opt for either a massive 64-player capture-the-flag style Conquest mode or a more aggressive, 24-player search and destroy type Rush mode.

 

Battlefield 1. Copyright: Electronic Arts

The beauty of the game lies within its history. I’m going to be brutally honest, before I played the Beta I didn’t know the British Empire fought in such a conquest across Egypt during the First World War.

When someone of my age pictures WW1, I am going to imagine the fierce fights in places like Ypres and the Somme. These are the battles we are taught in school. These are the battles we remember the most.

But there is a completely other side to the war that is not imagined, and it is depicted even in one map of the new Battlefield.

Games can be educational. This is proof.

Whether it be the authentic weapons used by soldiers, their clothing, the types of aircraft and tanks that players can use or even just the location – this game opens your eyes to a war that is slowly being forgotten.

Authentic fighter planes. Copyright: Electronic Arts

Nothing can be learned from a game set in the future. Despite how catchy the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare trailer was, hosting David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’, the initial reviews of both the COD trailer and that of Battlefield show the WW1 game will come out on top.

And it seems even Call of Duty understand the need to backtrack, having unveiled plans to release a remastered version of fan-favourite, the 2007 Modern Warfare game alongside their futuristic newcomer in a bid to boost sales.

Of course, it will work. The words “Modern Warfare” delve deep into the inner geek-gamer in all of us. It doesn’t matter if Infinite Warfare has terrible reviews, the small add-on of COD 4 will make it a huge success.

But back to Battlefield…

Mounted assault. Copyright: Electronic Arts

The landscape is beautifully dynamic. Powered by EA DICE, the map can change as you play it.

Whether it be an explosion from a tank causing a building to be destroyed, a crater being formed providing cover after a plane crash or even something as simple as a sudden sandstorm – the game is wonderful, and something hard to find in its competitors.

It’s cinematic. It’s beautiful. It’s fun to play. I’ve had the Battlefield 1 Beta for three days now, and I haven’t been bored of playing – even with there only being one map on offer.

Understandably there have been some technical issues with the servers, but hey, it’s a Beta. Things are meant to go wrong. In terms of the game itself, its pre-order price is £45.99 and is available on PS4, XBOX One and PC and is released on general sale on October 21.

Hey, check it out for yourself: