Battlefield Heroes (PC) Preview
Posted by Armando Rodriguez on 03.05.2008
Battlefield meets Team Fortress.....for free!
Battlefield Heroes will be a spin-off of sorts for the Battlefield franchise that has more in common with Team Fortress 2 than it does with Battlefield. Have I mentioned it will be free? So here is a very early first look at what we can expect from Battlefield Heroes.
First of all, the conflict that serves as the base for the Battlefield Heroes story is entirely fictional. Instead it is between the Royal Army and the National Army and to add to the silliness, they are fighting over a dubious decision in the Olympic Games! The graphics are very cartoonish and similar to Team Fortress 2. The weapons and vehicles are clearly inspired by World War II- era equipment.
The game's main mode is like a cross between the typical deathmatch modes of other games with the original Battlefield formula. Each team has 50 tickets that serve as re-spawns. Every time you kill someone, it drops a ticket. You can capture control points that give your team additional bonuses. The last team standing wins. However, instead of the 64 players supported in previous battlefield games, the maximum amount of players in Heroes is limited to 16. Another change to the gameplay is that it only features 3 classes: soldier, gunner and commando. Also you cannot change your class mid-match, you are stuck with the choice you make before the game begins. The soldier is your typical jack-of-all trades character, he is not the best at anything, but he is good at everything. The commando is the sniper-style class and the gunner is the heavy class, with the most powerful weapons, but the slowest movement speed. You will also take command of vehicles like tanks and planes. Another drastic change to the gameplay is that is takes place from a third-person perspective and you only go into first person when using the sniper rifle. This change was made to make the game more accessible and to show off the game's new character customization features. You will be able to unlock new uniforms and weird clothes to customize your character with and show off to your friends or enemies.
The game will be free to play. You just go to the web page, fill in the registration form and you can start to play. EA will make money out of advertising, which will be featured during the loading screens and not in game, and through micro-transactions, although there are no further details on what things you will be able to buy.
Battlefield Heroes sure looks like a fun and free way to waste your time. The character customization feature sounds like a hook to keep people playing and the gameplay sounds like arcade fun. We will keep you updated on any new details that emerge.
So we get a free game at the expense of every feature we've come to expect since 1999? I hate when games try and do crap like this, I mean seriously, 16 people? I don't expect to play this for more than a couple hours.
Posted By: Mark Salmela (Registered) on March 05, 2008 at 10:09 AM
Wow, Complaints about a free game! Its Free!
I'm sure battlefield will make another regular edition, but for the time....It's free!
Posted By: Pear54 (Guest) on March 05, 2008 at 11:43 AM
Army MEn 2008 ?
Sorry, giving this for Free- is not going to draw me to it Sorry!
It's stripped down cartoonist version of what not to expect !!
Thanx but no thanx -FREE also means i don't have to play it and Free doesn't wave it from being scrutinized !! FYI Pear54!!
Posted By: WTF (Guest) on March 05, 2008 at 12:12 PM
It's a free game though. Who cares if the graphics are cartoony and not realistic. Not every game out there has to be the most top notch real life graphics there can be. At least attempt to play the game before you knock it.
Posted By: Apollo (Guest) on March 05, 2008 at 05:49 PM
