https://youtube.com/watch?v=A6r3_jbxVxUhttps://youtube.com/watch?v=SJ6zupM-NUU
It looks I made the right call to skip 2042, even in its current state. It looks like a mobile game at first glance. Even with all the backtracking, it looks uninspired. I will say that 2042 has one thing going for it: its ability to have AI backfill lobbies at will. (Unless I'm mistaken, Battlefield never had that feature.)
I'm optimistic for Battlefield 6, but with EA's track record (and the gaming industry in general), there's plenty of opportunity for Battlefield 6 to go wrong in the short and long term. I'm seeing a few videos from jaded CoD players that Battlefield 6 would be a CoD killer against Black Ops 7.
There's, rightfully, some hype riding with this Battlefield being a "return to form" from previous entries. I won't let that cloud my skepticism from judging it as its own thing. First person shooters are not in a good place IMHO because of monestization and lack of identity.
These guys that do this stupid shit make their own misery. I'm a Battlefield guy, I've played basically every Battlefield game up to 5 which I consider a bigger disaster than 2042 but a more noble attempt at something specific. I'm partial to the older games, and 2042 is just a botch job that they patched into functionality. The game is not terrible if you're playing Conquest, and it's actually pretty good when Hardcore mode rolls around.
Ultimately its become just an unimpressive version of 4 with mid to bad maps. Its completely playable in its current state. Remaking Battlefield 4 won't save the franchise, because 3 and 4 were conceptual downgrades from 2. They're only upgrades in relation to BC2. The Frostbite engine was substandard for most of its existence.
The problem isn't that 2042 has wingsuits or grappling hooks. The problem is that the games are not strategic at all anymore. There's no commander position, and most people just want to run around doing dipshit run and gun stuff. There's no reason to "obtain platinum" where you have to subject yourself to hazard zone or perform 20 melee kills in one round. You can unlock weapons and achievements in the solo-coop mode as far as i know which can be set to super easy.
Slowing the game down won't fix the problem with the game not having the strategic/tactical aspects that were key to making the game a team effort. 2042 for example you can't call in ammunition drops, there's no artillery type call ins, there's no UAV call ins. Nothing that organizes the players towards any objective. And with the AI bots, this would actually make their movements more effective. I mean in Battlefield 2 you could command AI to move to a position or stay there. In 2042 AI steals your vehicle if you get out to repair it.
Now, on top of that, a lot of weapons that should probably be more effective are not. The explosive damage on a lot of helicopters or planes is lacking because "it would be unfair" but thats only because they designed the maps to be absolutely terrible in every way. Orbital for example has massive open spaces with tiny little packed areas that have no cover. Its utterly ridiculous. And again 4 was not much better. 24/7 Conquest on a chokepoint map, or tanks dominating on the chinese city map? It all sucked. And they never brought back the old maps that made the old scenarios fun. Look! Here's El Alamein and Battle of the Bulge. great! wheres the rest of it? Wheres Dragon Valley? Where's Quang Tri 1972, etc. Where's any of the older maps that they can port into the engine no problem?
If you play 2042 you'll get a Battlefield experience, it just won't meet the bar that Battlefield should be at, but V, 1, 4, and 3 didn't really either even with the advancements in visuals and some handy features that were needed like bipods and red dot magnifiers. The game desperately needs strategems and resource float to make the battle more than just "spawn in and rush objective".
