As expected, Electronic Arts officially confirmed Battlefield 4 last night by releasing a 17-minute-long gameplay trailer, which shows off the DICE’s brand new Frostbite 3 engine.
Battlefield 4 was confirmed for release on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this Fall, however, the demo that was shown in the trailer is running off a high-end PC build of the game. Neither DICE or Electronic Arts has confirmed that the military shooter will be released on the next generation Xbox and PlayStation 4, but it is a good bet that we will get just such an announcement after Microsoft officially debuts their next console.
Visually speaking, Battlefield 4 and the new Frostbite 3 engine are indeed very impressive, and should give you some idea as to what to expect from the next generation console versions. There is no doubt that the graphics, as shown in the trailer, are not going to be possible on the either the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.
With that said, it is clear that this upcoming next generation of games is going to have to do far more than simply provide graphical eye candy to truly wow players. The visual leap from the PS3/Xbox 360 to the PS4/Xbox 720 is not going to have anywhere near the “wow factor” that the last console transition had. Don’t get me wrong, Battlefield 4 looks fantastic in this demo, but it is nothing that is going to drop your jaw to the floor in amazement.
The trailer focuses on Battlefield 4‘s single-player campaign, and gives you a brief glimpse at the ending before going back in time to reveal the events leading up tragic conclusion. Gameplay wise, it looks like the shooter will feature large destructible environments (although it is unclear how much of the destruction is scripted), that are broken up with much smaller transition areas. Players will be able to issue commands to their squad, drive vehicles, equip at least three weapons at a time, and call in air support.
Battlefield 4 pre-orders, which include a Premium expansion pack, for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version have opened up at participating retailers for $59.99. If you have already forgotten all about the digital disaster that is SimCity, you can also opt for the $69.99 Origin pre-order that provides several bonus in-game digital items and access to the game’s multiplayer beta.
Check out Battlefield 4‘s first gameplay trailer and screenshots below, and make sure to let us know what you think of the reveal down in the comment section.
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Full press release on the next page.
