Reviews// Battlefield 4 on PS4

A Step Back
What is inexcusable though are the bugs that plague getting into games. Although I’ve found games to be stable when in them, finding a server to play on can be a chore. At the time of writing, when searching for servers all of them show up empty.

Quick match works, but If you’re the sort of person that tries to find a specific game it might be a bit troublesome. It’s even worse if you play with a group of friends. It seems as though entering a game with a friend is really hit and miss. Sometimes you’ll be dropped straight into the same team and squad, other times you’re left battling against a friend.

It’s also a shame that you can’t move around from server to server as a party. One of you has to go in, test the waters and invite their friends individually and worse still there’s no queue system. If the room is full (which you won’t know until you’re in) the others will have to keep trying in a hope that they manage to pop in just as someone leaves.

These are issues that will be patched out over time but I’m starting to get concerned that developers think it’s OK to launch a game that has these sorts of issues. The 'ship now patch later' approach to game development is starting to become accepted and it shouldn’t be. What’s worse is that these problems have existed in the 360/PS3/PC versions that were launched back in October, so it’s not as though they’ve rushed to fix them either.

What Single-Player?

The single-player campaign is still intact and although it’s had a noticeable face lift, it’s still the same stilted mess it’s always been. I personally hope that in Battlefield 5 Dice decides to try something completely different. To experiment. What has it got to lose?

The single-player aspects of these games are never highly rated and they have an amazing multiplayer sitting on the same disc, so why not go for something completely different? What's the worst that could happen? If they’re not prepared to show us something different, maybe they should drop it altogether as, if anything, it just leaves a nasty mark on an otherwise incredible package.

As you would expect the leap in visual quality is massive between the console generations and the setpieces will melt your face, but when the gameplay itself is such a let down, you’ll be hard pushed to even get to them.

Worthy Upgrade

So, seeing as Battlefield 4 on the Playstation 4 is more of an upgrade than a completely new experience you have to ask whether it is worth these next-gen price tags.

I think it is. The improved visuals coupled with the increase in players allowed to join in your shooty fun means that Battlefield 4 is a vast improvement on the PlayStation 4 (and Xbox One, if that’s the machine you chose). It’s by far the best way to play Battlefield with a controller in your hand if you’re worried about the increased accuracy from those mouse and keyboarders.

PC players will argue that it still looks better on their machines, and they might well be right. But Dice has made a significant improvement on their console version and unless you are versed in the ever-evolving platform, this could well be one of the best looking games you’ve ever seen.

It’s also the best military based first person shooting multiplayer out there. This means that if you choose to pick this up, you’ll have a game that will fill your life with enough gaming time to justify the purchase of your new black box.

Although it’s nothing new, it doesn’t need to be.


Pros:
+ Massive visual improvements.
+ Extra players handled well.
+ One of the best launch games out there.

Cons:
- Server issues and bugs.
- Occasional audio problems

SPOnG Score: 4/5