Battlefield Hardline

Battlefield Hardline has an amazing single player campaign, with some very unique ideas. Where it fails the most is when it quits trying to be different from past installments.

For a fan of the series, Battlefield: Hardline can be met with two reactions. Some see it as a series taken in a new direction, while others see it as a mere cops-and-robbers re-skin for Battlefield 4 (which, let's face it, was just a tweaked Battlefield 3). Ultimately, both of these things are true because despite the new thematic elements, the game plays much the same way

Battlefield Hardline offers a fun single-player experience. Arresting suspects could have used some extra polish, as it's way too easy to manipulate the AI to surrender. The multiplayer mode is quite fun as well, but it suffers from lack of content and for the fact that it plays out like a stripped down version of Battlefield 4. The game's heritage aside, Battlefield Hardline is by no means a poor effort. [May 2015]

Be a Lethal Weapon in single-player, enjoy a different take on multiplayer. Visceral gives you the best of both worlds. [May 2015, p.57]

It still has technical issues and the story may not be for everyone, but its multiplayer mode is a blast and, so far, isn't suffering from the many technical problems that affected past titles.

Hardline is a Battlefield game in every sense of the word. The campaign is still not worth anything near the asking price, it has some annoyances and it’s meant to be played with friends in a squad. Just like BF: Vietnam and BF: 2142, it does not reinvent the wheel, but it does enough unique things to be called its own, and if you’re looking for chaotic multiplayer fun, you can never go wrong with Battlefield Hardline.

As it always is with Battlefield, Hardline relies on multiplayer to push its rating and sales. But, in contrast to its predecessors, Hardline’s online battles are much more dynamic and more akin to Call of Duty’s shootouts. [May 2015, p.54]

If you play Hardline like you'd play Battlefield 4, in Conquest, it feels like Battlefield light without tanks or jets. The multiplayer offers a way more interesting gameplay, as the strong base gets a few fun new modes. The cops 'n robbers-thing Hardline does may have felt like a lighthearted experiment; it gets pretty clear that the theme fits perfectly with the compact action and that higher tempo, which makes this game more than just a snack.

It's fast and chaotic. Maybe too fast and chaotic. It needs some polishing, then there's potential to be one of the best multiplayer FPS games on the market. The single player campaign isn't that great, though.

A hard campaign (if you play on the hardest mode) and breakneck multiplayer are a good time, if often infuriating.

The singe player experience that Battlefield offers is not worth your time, but the online part is better. Thanks to a few modes that are unique to the series, plus the refined gunplay and small but awesome maps, Hardline is a lot more than just a sop for Battlefield 5.

Although the new setting in Battlefield: Hardline is nice thing, the game is in our opinion the worst in the series so far. Not being a real disaster, it doesn’t do a really great job in multiplayer and the single-player campaign has numerous flaws.

Battlefield Hardline mixes new ideas with elements of the EA DICE's series. Visceral Games and DICE have done a good job. However it's below the high expectations. The singleplayer story is interesting and it has a strong stealth component. The multiplayer adds heists and powerful modes, but not all of them at the same level.

By taking a slightly faster, more "Call of Duty" approach, Hardline might alienate the devoted Battlefield gamer. And on top of that, the campaign is quite disappointing. On the other hand the gameplay works and will offer some great FPS/ online hours of gaming.

It’s not your typical Battlefield, but if you don’t mind trading military uniform for a police badge, you can buy the game and enjoy long hours of fun playing cops and robbers online. The single player campaign is not worth your time. [05/2015, p.54]

It feels like just that: a lower-budget sideshow to the glitzy main event. [May 2015, p.108]

Battlefield: Hardline would have fared better if it didn't have to "lift" the heavy title of the Battlefield series. If you are looking for a fun pick-up-and-play multiplayer shooter, look no further. Hardline is a satisfying, over-the-top multiplayer experience. If, on the other hand, you are in for a Battlefield game, look back on previous Battlefield releases. Hardline is not Battlefield.

Hardline‘s release was smooth, and although it did feel like a modified BF4, it also plays like something novel and worthwhile all on its own.

Hardline is liable to satisfy Battlefield diehards for the next few months until something new comes along or new content is offered. For those sitting on the fence, the changes made to the Battlefield design are interesting but not enough to warrant paying full price just yet.

Battlefield Hardline should have restored the good name of the series, but it pays the piper for a production that needed more polish. The netcode for the multiplayer is OK and the battles are pretty fun, but everything here is pretty standard, and nothing really stands out.

Visceral have created a perfectly good functioning Battlefield game in Hardline. It shoots as good as the best of them, the car-chases are fun, and the small tweaks made to the core formula are very welcome. But a little refinement does not mask that this is a very similar game to what we bought in 2013; despite the strong efforts to make a variety of new game modes, you can’t shake the feeling of playing classic Battlefield.

However, it does do its absolute best, and in trying still manages to be a fairly enjoyable, if somewhat frustrated, production. At the very least, it’s “more Battlefield“, which is by no means a bad thing – yet – and at its highest points, it’s a bit of silly, Vice-inspired fun.

Battlefield Hardline tries to refresh the series, only half succeeding.

There are some bright spots in Battlefield: Hardline’s design, but they do not change the overall pointless of this game. If you’re thinking about playing it online, better splurge on the well-patched Battlefield 4 with all its expansions.

Quotation forthcoming.

Singleplayer is crap as usual, but multiplayer is not bad at all and also tries to innovate the series. Multiplayer in Hardline also accelerated, got smaller shape and put on a police uniform, which brings not only interesting modes for multiplayer and unrivaled environment, but unfortunately also unfinished game mechanics balancing between the mindless action and more tactical legacy of the series.

Uninteresting single player campaign and a bit of innovation in multiplayer is not enough to fulfill the high expectations of Battlefield fans.

While Hardline is tone deaf at times, mostly it is just deafening. Explosions and bombast are used not to distract from a troubling narrative as much as a stale one perfunctorily paced and reminiscent of network television emptiness.

While not as bad as many had feared it would be, Battlefield Hardline simply feels unnecessary and unless you're a diehard fan of the series, there's not much reason to pick it up.