Again, Second World War. But this is news already assimilated, and the blow has been absorbed for some time (from the moment of its announcement, to be precise). Therefore, one of the most popular FPS series of all time returns, returns with Battlefield V, always under the careful supervision of the boys of DICE. Is it worth returning to fight the Nazis in the second most violent armed confrontation on our planet? Let's find out together! Unlike its direct competitor, Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Battlefield V has decided not to betray lovers of single player mode, by giving them a story divided into three different chapters (and another, already announced, will arrive in days). Set in Crete, in Norway and France and inspired by real military operations carried out by allied troops on European territory, these are very different from each other, and each of them boasts a different title and protagonist.
A protagonist for every mission
"No Flag", For example, it tells the story of Billy Bridger, a young English boy who decides to enlist to avoid prison and ends up becoming part of a special forces corps, charged with carrying out dangerous sabotage missions, strictly beyond enemy lines. . In "Northern Lights"Instead, we witness almost powerless the tragic occupation of Norway by the Nazis, in the year 1943. In this case the protagonist is Solveig, called to sneak into a German base to free a scientist of particular importance for the outcome Of the war. in "Tiralleur“Finally, they take on the role of Cisse, a soldier who takes part in the Dragoon operation and who, in addition to the bullets, will also have to try to survive racist“ torture ”. These three chapters, which make up the entire Story mode, unfortunately only partially convince: the quality of the acting and some choices of the director, especially in concluding each chapter, leave a bit of a bitter taste in the mouth, relegating once again the mode in single-player to a mere "warm-up" (with some touching scenes and some exciting dialogue), waiting to be unleashed in the online battlefields. And now it's time to address the topic, in fact.
The (reasoned) Hell of online warfare
The great thing about Battlefield V is that once you start the game and take part in the first multiplayer gunfight, the usual feeling of the series developed by DICE is immediately perceived. Endless maps welcome furious (and even reasoned) fights Vs. 32 32, for the total "traditional" consisting of a maximum of 64 players per screen. This year the developers focused on offering aMore team-based combat experience than ever. Whether you face "Conquest" or "Team Deathmatch", or if you choose to kill (time) on "Breakthrough" or "Front Line", the innovation factor lies in a series of clever changes made to the game, which push the players to collaborate with a naturalness never seen before. The orders of the team leader, eg, they are now shown in a much easier to read way, in the chaos of battle, and the possibility of unlock interesting content extras (able to turn the tide of combat) act as an incentive to discourage you from always doing it alone and strictly your own way, acting alone. This year, DICE also introduced the “Large-scale operations” mode, where the battles are divided into 3 rounds, with alternating modalities, and which in the event of a tie provides a last and exciting round with permadeath and with the game map that, like a deadly noose, shrinks over time on the players' heads. The "Battle Royale“, Which in Battlefield V will be called Firestorm and which will be added in the next few days (and which, therefore, we cannot yet evaluate).
In the splendid scenarios reconstructed on the screen and offered in 8 maps (others will arrive in the coming weeks), you will therefore assist teams act on the battlefields in a more compact and reasoned way, because it is precisely the game that invites them to do so. In Battlefield V, every class is able to heal their teammate (even if the doctor, thanks to his knowledge and skills, allows a faster recovery). Although less convincing, we appreciated the developers' attempt to offer players the ability to build fortifications around areas of greatest interest, through the use of Barbed wire e sandbags. They convince us less because we believe that increasing the protection factor of a given territory requires a truly extreme collaboration capacity, designed exclusively for teams of players who already know each other and who certainly do not meet by chance, following a virtual launch of data managed by the matchmaking of the title (which by the way, as usual, is always very fast in finding matches). Finally, it is now possible to regenerate immediately next to a companion, a good choice that once again underlines the importance that the developers wanted to give to team play.
Renewal and "Progress"
As for the progression of one's virtual alter-ego, we find in Battlefield V one renewed graphics and finally easier to read, but without giving up the usual depth, typical of the Electronic Arts series. The classes are the usual ones that we have come to know over the years. To change, however, is the progression system linked to specializations: starting from level 8, in fact, every soldier will have access to one subclass, which will allow him to rely on new skills, to create the most personalized style of play possible, based on your tastes and abilities on the battlefield. For example, a sniper can decide to specialize in shooting from sidereal distances or, on the contrary, offer closer coverage, at the same time disseminating the area of ​​the clashes with respawn points.
Although some weapons, in our opinion, still need some adjustment (in terms of the amount of damage done to the unfortunate who are hit), the feeling of Battlefield V has remained intact when compared with the previous chapters. The guide of the means is easy to read while the ability of the game to take distances into account has little convinced us: apparently harmless weapons (when compared to sidereal distances) seem to do almost the same level of damage that we see being inflicted in close-range firefights. The ballistics of the bullets is convincing, and the "deadly arches" drawn by sniper's shots roam the field in a realistic way, falling where they should (provided they are able to transform the calculations made before opening fire into reality).
Fall apart… in style
On a technical level Battlefield V presents itself as an excellent First Person Shooter: excellent graphic cleaning of the maps, which as per tradition are exterminated, well designed and immersed in scenarios that are all different from each other, but all so convincing and fantastic to observe. On more than one occasion we have lost our lives for simply admiring the landscape that surrounded us. The sound effects are top notch, and with the use of a pair of headphones the immersion in battle reaches incredible levels. We want to forgive the title some graphic bugs too (pop-ups and bad-clipping should definitely be reduced), as Battlefield V can deliver the most complex and successful system of destruction of game environments. In this respect in particular and for the usual feeling in battle, characterized by a slow and reasoned pace on most occasions, the Battlefield series knows no comparison.
Battlefield V is undoubtedly among the best games in the series. The Story mode disappoints (in part) once again, confirming itself as a simple addition, something that is only useful to get carried away before facing the real hell, in the online multiplayer modes. The technical sector is of a high level, even if it needs some patches to eliminate (or at least reduce) some annoying graphic bugs. The online modes are successful, the typical battle feeling of the series is intact and the changes introduced to the progression system, and a greater propensity for team play, fully convince. Add to all this the award-winning choice of DICE, to make any future BFV DLC completely free (which will not cause the usual "split" between "standard" users and those who buy everything, always and in any case). Do you want a war to fight? This is your chance. Choose your weapon and go into battle!
