Battlefield V, EA
Battlefield V was released to mixed views, and now, one year after release, it has had a major injection of content that proves EA are now becoming masters of recovering from poor releases.
Released on November 20th in 2018, reception for the new instalment of the Battlefield series was mixed.
Martin Robinson wrote that it was “A strong if slim shooter that lays down strong foundations for the future, while feeling a little unfinished” in his review for EUROGAMER.net.
James Duggan tag lined his IGN review of the game upon its release, with “Someday this may be the greatest Battlefield ever… but today is not that day”.
The game has had a continuous drip feed of new content through it’s ‘Tides of War’ mode. This new content was made available to all players. The new maps and game modes were made available through updates, while new guns, vehicles and cosmetics were unlocked through weekly challenges.
Since it’s release there has been four completed chapters, focused on aspects of the Western Front in the early years of World War Two.
The first chapter Named Overture arrived with a new map, set in the fields of France, named Panzerstorm.
Chapter two was named Lightning Strikes, bringing a new game mode, Combined Arms and a selection of anti-tank vehicles.
Chapter three, aptly named Trial by Fire, brought about the much-anticipated Firestorm mode; a battle royale mode where players fight to be the last man standing while the area is shrunk by a burning ring of fire. Also added was a new Mediterranean map, Mercury.
Battlefield V, EA – Firestorm
The last full chapter, Defying the Odds, came with an update to the ranking system, adding a further 450 ranks. Alongside this, four maps were added, Al-Sudan, a vast desert map, Marita, an urban map set in Greece and two small maps, Lofoten Islands and Provence.
Recently EA ran a Battlefest event over the month of October. During it they released a remake of a fan favourite Battlefield 3 map, Operation Metro, now named Operation Underground.
Battlefield V, EA – Operation Underground
These new releases have made Battlefield V a brilliant must have game and EA haven’t stopped making content for it yet. Now one year on from release, EA have released the biggest update yet, taking their game to the Pacific Theatre. In doing so they have brought new factions, new maps, new weapons and new vehicles.
Most of these weapons haven’t been made available yet; they will be released through the weekly challenge system or the chapter rewards system. Though some fan favourites have been made available from the get-go including the M1 Garand and the M1919A6 medium machine gun.
The famous Sherman tank has been added, along with the distinct F4U Corsair and Zero aircraft, which each having a fighter and bomber variant. A further five tanks have been added (three standard and two as reinforcements). Each standard vehicle has an expanded spec tree, allowing players to turn them into anti-air, anti-tank or support vehicles, compensating for the smaller numbers of vehicles than in the European portion of the game.
Battlefield V, EA – A HaChi, Rocket Barrage tank
The two new maps have been added with another to follow in December. The first map, Iwo Jima, is an all new map fought on the beaches and in and around Mount Suribachi. The Breakthrough game mode is a particularly epic slog that spans from the beaches all the way to the summit of the mountain.
The second map, Pacific Storm, is based on Battlefield 4 map Paracel Storm and like its former, features a tropical storm that hits the archipelago mid-way through the game limiting visibility.
The third map is yet to be added. A fan favourite, Wake Island has already featured in numerous Battlefield games and is set to be released a few weeks into Chapter five. The horseshoe shaped island is based on Wake Atoll and was used as an airbase in World War Two.
Battlefield V, EA – Iwo Jima
This new content fits and exceeds the regular feel of Battlefield V. The new battles are on an even more epic scale and the new weapons and vehicles are acceptably accurate to the times and are fun to use. Since launch Battlefield V has added 33 weapons and gadgets, eight vehicles, 12 vehicles and 11 maps, which is around double the content that was available at launch, with plenty new features on the way. Plus, an outright new Battlefield game isn’t to be released until 2021/22; which likely leaves it to be released on the next generation of consoles.