Battlefield Hardline: 5 Things We Want

Last week, EA announced Battlefield: Hardline on its blog, which is slated for a fall release. It's in development by Dead Spacecreator Visceral Games, marking the first time a Battlefield game will be developed by someone other than DICE. Besides the new developer, there is also a new premise: cops and robbers. Since the reveal came right before E3, all we have is an announcement with no details. Den of Geek has been sprinting ahead full speed with speculation and what we want out of this game, which I have chronicled for you here in a neat, non-sequential list of five wishes.

Don't Give Us Battlefield With Cops and Robbers Skins

Cops and robbers are indeed something new for the Battlefield series, but will ultimately feel like a missed opportunity if not handled correctly. Police don't operate on large expanses of war-torn battlefield, with explosions peppering the landscape left and right. There aren't tanks, mortars, or airstrikes to call in. In a sense, police and their adversaries have far fewer toys of destruction to play with, which makes combat much more intimate, tactical, and infantry-driven.

This is what makes me excited for Hardline - a game that has all of the realism of Battlefield, but in a much more up-close-and-personal setting that won't have me shooting at enemies far off in the distance, but right in front of me. There is also the matter of how cops operate - that is, they tend to go for arrests over kills. Incorporating that as an option, along with other cop-centric (and criminal centric) activities, would be great. Speaking of game modes...

Center The Game Modes Around the Cops and Robbers Aesthetic

Police aren't called to destroy a cache of weapons, capture territories, or plant bombs in enemy encampments. Police are called in for hostage situations, to disarm bombs, to capture drug smugglers, and various other small-scale operations. Hardline seems like a great opportunity to bring back game types that we haven't seen since games such as Counter-Strike and Rainbow Six were at their most popular. When was the last time a multilayer game had one team going in to save hostages while the other held them at gunpoint?

There could also be bank heists in the vein of PayDay, car chases through crowded urban areas taking place on different parts of the map, and even an Assault on Precinct 13 style "horde" mode where a small team of police must fight off waves of gang members that attack a police station for as many rounds as they can. Again - make a game about cops.

Center the Classes Around the Cops and Robbers Aesthetic

Battlefield's multiplayer has always been class-based, and there's no way that's going to change here. However, much like how cops aren't riding into battle in a tank and how robbers aren't trying to topple governments, their "troops" aren't handled the same way, either. Granted, there may be snipers and shotgun-toting point men, but what about dedicated medics? As far as I know, police forces aren't equipped with dedicated medics, and this is where things get interesting.

Imagine if the medics were actual EMT's - not trained in firearms combat, who must be escorted to a wounded player so that he may be revived? Imagine if the fire department got involved in a game type somehow? Police are, ultimately, civilians, and seeing them go into action with other civilian emergency services could create a multiplayer experience like none we have seen before - something totally unique and full of diversity.

Don't Make Every Game Mode About Shooting

Just like there are online shooters that have game modes outfitted for a smaller amount of players, Battlefield: Hardline could have some of these, as well, and yield some interesting results. Imagine a chase mode, where two officers must pursue a more maneuverable criminal and work as a team to catch him before he reaches an extraction point, helping each other over obstacles that the criminal can navigate with ease. Heck, throw in a backyard with the proverbial barking dog.

As I said before, there are also opportunities to involve other emergency responders, so having something take place with firemen or EMT services could be equally as cool and unique.

For God's Sake, Don't Get Lazy With The Single Player

To be fair, DICE didn't make a name for itself by making great single-player experiences, but for the love of God, their single player offerings can be outright boring and paltry compared to the buffet of quality on display in the multiplayer arena. However, with Visceral Games, who have cut their teeth on great single-player outings like Dead Space, at the helm this time, we could very well be in for a treat.

There are a ton of cop movies out there to draw inspiration from, such as End of Watch, S.W.A.T., and even Lethal Weapon. There is no reason they can't make something magical happen. This is also a great opportunity for them to make the first true police-oriented first-person shooter campaign in years, outside of the long-forgotten S.W.A.T. franchise. With enough character, story, and gameplay elements that really make you feel like a police officer, Hardline could have a campaign to remember.

What do you think? What are you expectations of Hardline? What would you add or subtract from our wishlist? Let us know in the comments section!

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