Battlefield (series)

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This article is about the video game series. For the TV series, see Battlefield (TV series). For other uses, see Battlefield (disambiguation).
Battlefield
BattlefieldLogo.png
Battlefield series logo
Genres First-person shooter
Developers EA DICE
Visceral Games
Publishers Electronic Arts
Platforms Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 2, Xbox, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Platform of origin Microsoft Windows
First release Battlefield 1942
September 10, 2002
Latest release Battlefield Hardline
March 17, 2015

Battlefield is a series of first-person shooter video games that started out on Microsoft Windows and OS X with its debut video game, Battlefield 1942, which was released in 2002. The series is developed by Swedish company EA DICE and is published by American company Electronic Arts. The series features a particular focus on large maps, teamwork and vehicle warfare than most other first-person shooters. The PC games in the series are mainly focused on online multiplayer. The Battlefield series has been played by more than 50 million players worldwide as of 2012,[1] across 11 games and 12 expansion packs released since its inception in 2002. The series' music has a recognizable 6-beat sting.[2][3]

Gameplay

Battlefield series games usually focus on large, online multiplayer battles, but the series will contain a new Cops-vs-Robbers theme with the release of Battlefield Hardline. This new title will likely not have nearly the emphasis on piloting vehicles as previous titles have, yet there will still be a number of vehicles as well as team-based infantry combat. Playing in squads has also become a major element of games in the series.

Since Battlefield 2, all games in the series centrally record online statistics for each player allowing the players to receive rank promotions and weapon unlocks based on their statistics as well as awards such as medals, ribbons and pins.

A class system has been present within all the Battlefield games. Each class features a different type of primary weapon along with different equipment, differentiating roles on the battlefield.

The ability to melee other players with a knife has always been present in Battlefield games. Also since Battlefield 2142, the series has included an award of dog tags for each player killed using a knife.[4]

Games

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Main article: List of Battlefield video games
Titles in the Battlefield series
Year Engine Title Platform(s)
Win OS X PS2 Xbox 360 PS3 PS4 Xbox One
2002 Refractor 1 Battlefield 1942 Yes Yes No No No No No No
2003 Refractor 1 ■ Battlefield 1942: The Road to Rome Yes Yes No No No No No No
2003 Refractor 1 ■ Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII Yes Yes No No No No No No
2004 Refractor 1 Battlefield Vietnam Yes No No No No No No No
2005 Refractor 2 Battlefield 2 Yes No No No No No No No
2005 RenderWare Battlefield 2: Modern Combat No No Yes Yes Yes No No No
2005 Refractor 2 ■ Battlefield 2: Special Forces Yes No No No No No No No
2006 Refractor 2 ■ Battlefield 2: Euro Force Yes No No No No No No No
2006 Refractor 2 ■ Battlefield 2: Armored Fury Yes No No No No No No No
2006 Refractor 2 Battlefield 2142 Yes Yes No No No No No No
2007 Refractor 2 ■ Battlefield 2142: Northern Strike Yes No No No No No No No
2008 Frostbite 1.0 Battlefield: Bad Company No No No No Yes Yes No No
2009 Refractor 2 Battlefield Heroes Yes No No No No No No No
2009 Frostbite 1.5 Battlefield 1943 No No No No Yes Yes No No
2010 Frostbite 1.5 Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Yes No No No Yes Yes No No
2010 Refractor 2 Battlefield Online Yes No No No No No No No
2010 Frostbite 1.5 ■ Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Vietnam Yes No No No Yes Yes No No
2011 Refractor 2 Battlefield Play4Free Yes No No No No No No No
2011 Frostbite 2 Battlefield 3 Yes No No No Yes Yes No No
2011 Frostbite 2 ■ Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand Yes No No No Yes Yes No No
2012 Frostbite 2 ■ Battlefield 3: Close Quarters Yes No No No Yes Yes No No
2012 Frostbite 2 ■ Battlefield 3: Armored Kill Yes No No No Yes Yes No No
2012 Frostbite 2 ■ Battlefield 3: Aftermath Yes No No No Yes Yes No No
2013 Frostbite 2 ■ Battlefield 3: End Game Yes No No No Yes Yes No No
2013 Frostbite 3 Battlefield 4 Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
2013 Frostbite 3 ■ Battlefield 4: China Rising Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
2013/2014 Frostbite 3 ■ Battlefield 4: Second Assault Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
2014 Frostbite 3 ■ Battlefield 4: Naval Strike Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
2014 Frostbite 3 ■ Battlefield 4: Dragon's Teeth Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
2014 Frostbite 3 ■ Battlefield 4: Final Stand Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
2015 Frostbite 3 ■ Battlefield 4: Weapons Crate Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
2015 Frostbite 3 ■ Battlefield 4: Night Operations Yes No No No No No Yes Yes
2015 Frostbite 3 ■ Battlefield 4: Community Operations Yes No No No No No Yes Yes
2015 Frostbite 3 ■ Battlefield 4: Legacy Operations Yes No No No No No Yes Yes
2015 Frostbite 3 Battlefield Hardline Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
2015 Frostbite 3 ■ Battlefield Hardline: Criminal Activity Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
2015 Frostbite 3 ■ Battlefield Hardline: Robbery Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Notes:

■ DLC located directly below the title it was released for.

Development history

Aggregate review scores
As of April 1, 2015.
Game Metacritic
Battlefield 1942 (PC) 89[5]
Battlefield Vietnam (PC) 84[6]
Battlefield 2 (PC) 91[7]
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (Xbox) 80[8]
(PS2) 80[9]
(X360) 77[10]
Battlefield 2142 (PC) 80[11]
Battlefield: Bad Company (PS3) 84[12]
(X360) 83[13]
Battlefield Heroes (PC) 69[14]
Battlefield 1943 (PS3) 84[15]
(X360) 83[16]
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (X360) 88[17]
(PS3) 88[18]
(PC) 87[19]
Battlefield Play4Free (PC) 68[20]
Battlefield 3 (PC) 89[21]
(PS3) 85[22]
(X360) 84[23]
Battlefield 4 (PS4) 86[24]
(PC) 81[25]
(XONE) 81[26]
(PS3) 80[27]
(X360) 79[28]
Battlefield Hardline (PS4) 73[29]
(XONE) 71[30]
(PC) 71[31]

Battlefield 1942 was released on September 10, 2002, using the Refractor game engine, also introducing the "Conquest" gameplay mode, in which players fought for "control points" throughout the map. Two expansion packs were released in 2003, Battlefield 1942: The Road to Rome and Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII.

Battlefield Vietnam, released in 2004, moved the setting to the Vietnam War, and was built on an updated Refractor engine with various gameplay improvements, such as the ability to fire personal weapons while seated in vehicles, and supporting dense foliage.

The 2005 release Battlefield 2 takes place in the modern day, depicting a war between the United States fighting China and the fictional Middle Eastern Coalition (MEC). Despite it requiring numerous patches due to a large number of bugs and glitches in the game upon its release, it was a large commercial success, selling more than 2,250,000 copies worldwide, by July 2006.[32] One expansion pack, Special Forces, which added Russia, exclusive missions, and new weapons and gadgets, and two booster packs, Armored Fury (adding three new battles in the USA) and Euro Force (adding the European Union), were also released. A similar game called Battlefield 2: Modern Combat was released for consoles, with a larger single player mode but limited online play.

Battlefield 2142 was released in 2006, taking place during a global ice age in the 22nd century. While most of it is graphically similar to Battlefield 2, it introduced a variety of equippable items to unlock and battles between two giant "Titan" airships. The Northern Strike expansion pack was later released, adding new maps, vehicles, and a new game mode. Its use of in-game advertising was controversial among players.[33]

Battlefield: Bad Company, released in 2008, followed the "B" Company's escapades and their search for hidden gold. This new,Battlefield game had a variety of vehicles for land, air and sea. It had a new destruction system that allowed the player to break and destroy environments, based on a new game engine named Frostbite, which replaced the Refractor engine used in earlier releases (with the exception of Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, which used RenderWare.

In 2009, EA released two download-only games, Battlefield Heroes, a free-to-play Refractor 2 engine game, supported by advertising and micropayments and Battlefield 1943, a Frostbite engine game, released in July 2009, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and was scheduled for release in Q1 2010, for PCs, but was cancelled.[34]

In 2010, a sequel to Battlefield: Bad Company, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, was released, involving "B" Company's search for an EMP weapon (called a scalar weapon ingame). It had a larger, and arguably better multiplayer than its predecessor "Bad Company", with updated graphics and new realistic effects (e.g. bullet-drop). It also featured a "VIP" system of content distribution where player with VIP codes gain early access to new maps. DICE also released an expansion for Bad Company 2, Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Vietnam, setting the game in the Vietnam war.

Battlefield 3 was announced in 2009,[35][36] and in 2010 it was confirmed that gamers who pre-ordered Medal of Honor (2010) Limited Edition or who pre-ordered from origin (in the U.S. only) would receive beta access to Battlefield 3 48 hours before the open beta was released. On February 4, 2011, the first teaser trailer for the game was revealed, with a preliminary release in the Fall of 2011.[37] Among the features that remain in the game are Jets and the ability to go prone. The game still allows 64 (on the PC) players as in all previous Battlefield titles, though the consoles allow for 24 player matches. The Battlefield 3 Beta was released on September 29, 2011.[38] Battlefield 3 was released on October 25, 2011 and has received almost unanimous high review scores and has received awards from IGN.

On November 5, 2010, EASY Studios announced a follow-up to its free-to-play Battlefield Heroes, Battlefield Play4Free. EASY develops the free-to-play variants of Battlefield. Its latest offering gives players the same free-to-play pricing structure of Heroes, while still offering a more serious, core Battlefield experience (as opposed to Heroes' lighthearted, cartoon-styled environment).[39] Battlefield Play4Free went into open beta on April 4, 2011.[40]

On July 17, 2012, an advertisement appeared on EA's Origin webpage that players who pre-order Medal of Honor: Warfighter, would receive access to an exclusive Battlefield 4 Beta. Battlefield 4 was announced on March 26, 2013. A Beta for the game began on October 1 and ended on October 15. It was released on October 29, 2013.

Information about the next entry in the series, Battlefield Hardline, was leaked on May 27, 2014, and officially unveiled on June 9, 2014, during E3. The game was developed by Visceral Games and, unlike previous installments in the franchise, is centered around a cops-and-robbers theme.

In July 2015, CFO of EA Blake Jorgensen announced a new Battlefield title will be released in 2016.[41][42][43] This has been followed up by Dan Vaderlind, EA DICE Development Director, announcing that since the Starwars Battlefront release has been completed successfully he will now be focused on the upcoming Battlefield title.[44]

TV series

In October 2012, Fox Broadcasting Company announced their intentions to make a one-hour-long television show based on Battlefield: Bad Company. The show will be written by executive producer John Eisendrath (Alias, Outlaw) and co-produced by Patrick Bach and Patrick O'Brien of Electronic Arts, and Doug Robinson of Happy Madison.[45]

References

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External links

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