Battlefield: Hardline has a single-player campaign that evokes a lot of cops-and-criminals television dramas, with a combination of suspense, snappy dialogue, and action. Electronic Arts, which is publishing the first-person shooter game next year, previously showed off the nonstop action of its multiplayer combat. But the single-player campaign tells a story about what it’s like to be a cop dealing with heavily armed criminals in the modern day “war on crime.”
It’s a big departure from Battlefield 4, the last big entry in the military-combat series, which has sold tens of millions of copies. By moving from the military to the police genre, EA is entering the turf of titles like Grand Theft Auto, and it is doing so with a heavy investment in a narrative drama, with quality voice acting and a tight storyline.
The game is being developed by Visceral Games (developer of Dead Space) in collaboration with EA Digital Illusions CE (DICE, the make of the Battlefield series). You won’t be able to get your hands on it until March 17, 2015, when it debuts on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. But I got a hands-on preview of a couple of long levels, and I liked what I played. Battlefield: Hardline promises to take you into the jungle. And so far, I’m impressed. It’s gripping, and it gets your heart going.
How it starts out
Episode 1 begins with Nick Mendoza (played by actor Nicholas Gonzalez), a Cuban-American beat cop who is the main character, driving through a tough neighborhood with a female detective, Khai Minh Dao (played by actress Kelly Hu), a first-generation Vietnamese immigrant. The movie-like cutscene starts out with Nick and Khai getting to know each other as they run down a lead in a drug case. They’re searching for a possible informant.
Finally, the cutscene ends, and you play as Nick. As Nick and Khai move deeper into a tough neighborhood, you get the sense that they are moving behind enemy lines. Instead of approaching a gang leader head-on, they take a side route, hopping over fences and creeping through backyards.
When you find a criminal guard, you have to knock him out. Khai turns to Nick and asks him whether he will play along and keep the dirty tactics out of the paperwork and to himself. The cops have rules of engagement that limit them from just outright murdering people, in contrast to the thugs that you play in Grand Theft Auto V. But they don’t always have to play by the rules, obtaining search warrants. And they’re not concerned with knocking out guards from behind. It’s not nice behavior for a cop. On the other hand, you can choose to get through the game through non-lethal means.
“Our goal was never to make a realistic police simulator,” said Ian Milham, the creative director for Battlefield: Hardline, in an interview with GamesBeat. “We’re really trying to make it more like a cop show. So there’s an element of cops who don’t play by the rules.”
As I played, I had to toss a rock to distract a guard. That worked well when there was just one of them. But when there were two, only one would go follow the sound of the rock. I had to sneak up on the other and knock him out before the other guard noticed. That wasn’t easy. Then I had to corner the informant by surprising him and showing off a police badge. The mere act of showing that badge can cause a lot of reactions. Some criminals will run. Others will respond to your command to “freeze.” But others may reach for a gun, and you have to deal with that swiftly. In the case of the informant, he cowers and responds to tough treatment. After he tells you where to find the leader you want, the scene ends.
It’s questionable behavior, for sure. But it works.