Battlefield: The Clone of Call of Duty

Introduction

"Hey guys, Jack here, and today I want to take you on a trip down memory lane. We're going to cover over a decade of PC Battlefield video games, most of which I played while growing up, and I'm sure that you did too. It's even possible some of you playing BF4 right now were not even born when the first Battlefield game launched back in 2002. Just think about that for a second. So, we're going to be looking at how the series changed, evolved, and how it progressed PC gaming. Let's start with the first game, Battlefield 1942."

Battlefield 1942

"The game was released on PC only in September 2002, and there was nothing else like it at the time. It was a big jump for DICE Stockholm, the developers of the game. A lot of their history before this game was in racing games. They made the Taka Touring Car Series of games as well as some rally games as well. Not only that but there wasn't another game at the time doing what they were attempting here. The concept of the game was to recreate historic battles, but what set it apart was it went about it based on World War II. 

It gave players the ability to pilot tanks, planes, and all the things that were previously only ever controlled by AI. Not anymore though, a whopping 64 players could experience that now for themselves in full control all on the same server. That sort of scale had just not been attempted before in any other game. You had the chance to play as either the Axis or the Allies, and then you had five choices of role that you could play as: Scout, Assault, Medic, Anti-Tank, and Engineer. This is something that would change many times over the coming years with practically every iteration of Battlefield. Conquest was the main game mode of BF 1942, and as it would turn out, the base of most of if not all future Battlefield titles. It was also a pretty simple idea: have lots of control points over the map, and each team fight over them to drain the enemy's resources. 

Combine that with the class system that lets players choose what type of role they want to be, and you end up with a dynamic game where each player is doing the thing that they enjoyed the most while still working as a team to win. Pretty much what Battlefield is all about. The game was made on the Refractor game engine after the developers of the engine, Refraction Games, merged with DICE in 2002. The company had used its engine previously to make their own game, Codename Eagle. This game would be the base from which future Battlefield games would be made. Fast forward two years and DICE releases their next game in the series, this time it's Battlefield Vietnam."

Battlefield Vietnam

"The game was released in March 2004 and was, of course, set during the Vietnam War. This one kept the control point-based gameplay from 1942, but it brought with it something vastly different with asymmetrical warfare. What that meant was that each team (in this case, the Americans or the Vietnamese) was given completely different kits and vehicles. Sure, in BF 1942, each team had its weapons and vehicles, but they each had faction planes, tanks, and rifles, but just their own country's variant of it. In BF Vietnam, however, the US had heavy vehicles like tanks, helicopters, and bomber planes, while the Vietnamese would get anti-vehicle launchers to combat vehicles, and they had a mobile spawn point aimed at replicating the vast tunnel network the Vietnamese used in that war. It helped to balance out the differences in kits while also trying to keep it relatable to real life. 

Vietnam also brought with it a lot of cool features thanks to some new upgrades to the Refractor game engine. Shooting out of vehicles, for example, became available when in the passenger seats. As well as that, it was the first game in the series to have a 3D map so players could see icons on the map like what control points were controlled by each team as well as friendly player locations. Can you imagine a Battlefield game now without a mini-map? It's just a standard thing that we take for granted, well it all started with Vietnam. It also had a feature that's not ever been seen since, airlifting of vehicles in Vietnam. The Huey transport had a winch which could airlift player vehicles while they were still inside, a feature that was removed from future Battlefield games after Vietnam."

Battlefield 2

"Battlefield 2 would follow, and this one was an absolute gem that paved the way for the series, a classic PC game. And if you didn't own this game on PC and you weren't playing it all of the time, you were doing it wrong. Despite being called Battlefield 2, it was, of course, the third game in the series, and for the first time, Battlefield would venture into modern-day combat. Released only a year after Battlefield Vietnam in June 2005, BF2 took place during a fictional war between China, Europe, the Middle East, Russia, and the United States. Tanks, armed vehicles, jets, and mobile anti-air were just some of the vehicles players could now use as well. BF2 built on the additions of BF Vietnam and added more new features that would once again become the staple of the Battlefield franchise. Firstly, squads were added. This was a system where players could group and work more effectively as a unit. 

Nowadays, when we think of a Battlefield game, we automatically think about squads of players, but when Battlefield 2 was released, this was an entirely new concept for the series. Each squad had a squad leader too who could give orders to the squads, such as attacking or defending a specific point. The game's commander could also direct squads as they saw fit. Another new feature for the franchise, BF2 brought the team play home. Commander was a system where one player per team would take on the role of directing the team to victory. It was an exclusive role that could only be played by one person, and while anyone could request to be the commander, priority would always be given to players of a higher rank. The commander would then have an overview of the entire battlefield and call artillery strikes, vehicles, and supply drops, as well as send orders to each squad to best control the game.

It worked great in BF2, and the commander was a really important team member. Although BF2 also supported full 64-player battles, it offered players a new option for how to play. It allowed us to use 16, 32, and 64-player battles, and if you played the smaller versions of the maps, it would shrink them down somewhat so you've got a tighter, more action-packed experience. Oh, and it was only when BF2 was released that sprinting was an option. BF 1942 and Vietnam had no ability for the player to sprint, just imagine that. 

BF2 was also added to the Battle Recorder system. A system that allowed the recording of gameplay from a server that the player could then go back and watch afterward. You could change camera angles as well as watch certain players, and it enabled the creativity of players to come to life, creating awesome videos and machinimas. It was a fantastic tool to have in a Battlefield game, but unfortunately, this is one of the last times we would see it as it was never added to any future Battlefield games. Stats and unlocks were also a massive addition in BF2. Players could earn ribbons, badges, and medals, all for doing in-game actions. Not only that, but players could rank up their accounts.

Ranking up would give you the option to unlock certain weapons that you wanted as well as giving you a nice visual representation of your rank. As well, of course, your entire gaming history is tracked too and you could easily see all your stats for time played, kills, deaths, kills with certain weapons, and much, much more. It kept players coming back for more, chasing medals and unlocks. Stats are a pretty normal thing right now in recent games. Of course, Battlelog has all the stats you'll ever need and a lot of games have adopted the same approach. Battlefield 2 was probably my favorite game so far in the series.

Battlefield 2142

"So up until now, we've had a game set in World War II, one in the Vietnam War, and one set in modern times, about time we head to the future, and that's exactly what happened with the next Battlefield game, 2142. 2142 launched a year after BF2 in October of 2006. It was set during a futuristic war between two military superpowers, the European Union and the Pan-Asian Coalition. Oh, and it also took place in a new Ice Age as well, with lots of snow in coming. It was also the first Battlefield game to be released after EA had fully acquired the DICE studio earlier in the month just before the game's release. After buying up company shares, Conquest was still the main game mode in 2142, although there would be several different variations on it where different teams would start with certain flags. It was the new game mode, though, that set 2142 apart from its predecessors. 

Titan Mode would see two teams trying to destroy the enemy team's Titan, which was a futuristic ship hovering in the sky, covered by an H shield. It was a battle of two parts: firstly, the teams would fight over the anti-missile silos on the ground, and by controlling them, you would then do damage to the enemy's Titan shields. Once the shields dropped, you've got another way to destroy the Titan by boarding it using assault pods from the APC vehicles that would launch players into the air and enable them to land on the Titan. When you were inside, four reactor consoles must be destroyed before then destroying the main reactor core. It was something completely fresh, and I think a lot of fans missed this game mode today, myself included. It did make a return of sorts with the Carrier Assault DLC in Battlefield 4, but it never quite lived up to the original's charm. 

BF2142 was the first Battlefield game to introduce the dog tag system, whereby if you knife an opponent, you gain a dog tag with their name on it. Amazingly, that was not a thing in BF2, but today it's almost a standard expected Battlefield thing. In terms of vehicles, they are still comparable to BF2 despite being in the future. The PAC tank, for example, was a hover tank, but it did at least resemble a modern-day tank. The air vehicles, however, were a lot more futuristic than the modern-day versions in BF2. Weapons also had a resemblance to modern ones but with futuristic elements to them. Just as a quick recap, we've had four Battlefield games so far: 1942, Vietnam, Battlefield 2, and then Battlefield 2142. All are released on PC and built on the Refractor engine versions 1 and two. BF and 2142, especially, would have extra content and DLC added to them in expansion packs over their lifetime."

Bad Company 2 

"But the next biggest change in the Battlefield series on PC would come with the next game, Bad Company 2. It was released in March 2010 and ran on a fully upgraded version of the Frostbite engine that looked gorgeous on PC at the time when 1920x 1080 was slowly becoming the PC resolution standard. It was incredibly well-received and critically acclaimed for its fun gameplay and massive destruction. The single-player continued the story of the original Bad Company game and kept all of the humor that made the first game so popular. And as I just mentioned, the destruction in multiplayer was incredible, paving the way for future titles and it enabled players to fully level a load of the buildings in many of the multiplayer maps, which was just awesome. 

Of course, the game had Conquest in it, it wouldn't be Battlefield without it, but it also introduced a very cool new game mode, Rush. In Rush, the play must attack or defend a set of MCOM stations until either the attackers run out of tickets or the MCOM stations are destroyed. It proved to be one of the most popular modes in the game, and as such, it was added to future Battlefield titles such as BF3 and BF4. New vehicles were also added like the U56 Blackhawk helicopter, quad bikes, and patrol boats. And on PC, the player count was increased to 32 players, adding to that frantic, crazy gameplay. Bad Company 2 was an excellent entry into the franchise and a game that myself and many others have very fond memories of."

Battlefield 3

"Battlefield 3 would be the next game, and this one would be a big one. It was only one year since the launch of Bad Company 2 but six years since its predecessor, Battlefield 2. BF3 was released in October 2011 and featured a full campaign story as well as the multiplayer aspect, bringing with it many advances to the series. The game was first shown off during a GDC press conference in March 2011 with single-player gameplay, but it wasn't until E3 later that year that PC multiplayer gameplay was first shown off. Players were blown away by how good the game looked thanks to the next iteration of the Frostbite engine 2.0. The engine was now extremely well-developed, and visually BF3 was a big step forward from the other games in the series, especially in regards to physics and player animations. At the time, it was easily the best-looking multiplayer game on PC, and even today, 5 years later, the graphics and effects still hold up. 

The game proved to be a fan favorite, a commercial success, and over time turned into a fantastic game packed full of content, game modes, and guns. Believe it or not, according to various stats websites, the game still has over 15,000 players daily. The maps were varied and exciting, with Damavand Peak, Grand Bazaar, and Caspian Border being some of my personal favorites. Gone was the massive-scale destruction of Bad Company, favored with more micro-destruction of certain elements and walls to try and maintain a balance. Some maps would also be extremely linear, for example, Operation Metro, and we all know how crazy that map can be on high-player accounts. BF3 brought with it some new additions as well. 

Most notably, the game was no longer launched from the client but instead using a brand new system that you loaded in your web browser called Battlelog. This one-point system was used to launch the game, find servers, join friends, and even view stats. It was an unusual choice at the time, but looking back, it did make the game unique and gave it a sort of social feel as you'd be constantly looking at what your friends were doing in the game, what stats they were getting, what servers they were playing on. Battlelog would stick around for the rest of the series until Battlefield V, where we'd see it replaced with a more traditional menu system. 

Assignments were also added in BF3, these were sort of like mini-challenges that would earn you new guns, sights, or equipment. The thing about these though is that most of them were extremely difficult to achieve, such as killing 10 people with a knife in a round, or roadkill 20 enemies with a jeep. Another cool feature of BF3 was the co-op mode. Players could take on missions with a friend, completing objectives and trying to earn high scores. It was pretty fun, but unfortunately, it didn't add much to the game. It was just sort of there. Also, BF3 introduced the Battle Packs system. These were little packs that you'd earn for completing certain objectives in the game or leveling up your account. Inside, you'd get a random selection of things like dog tags, weapon camos, or attachments for guns. It was a nice little addition that gave players something else to aim for other than just leveling up. After the success of BF3, it was only a matter of time before we'd see the next game in the series, Battlefield 4."

Battlefield 4

"Battlefield 4 was released just two years after BF3 in October 2013, and it was the first game to be released on the next generation of consoles as well as PC. It brought back a full campaign story mode like BF3, but it was the multiplayer where this game shone. Battlefield 4 brought back all the things that made BF3 so great and improved on them. The graphics were even better thanks to the latest iteration of the Frostbite engine, the destructibility was back, and better than ever, and the maps were varied and interesting. The game also added a new game mode, Obliteration, which was sort of like Rush but with one bomb in the center of the map that both teams had to fight over and then plant at one of the enemy's MCOM stations. The player count on PC was also increased to 64 players, making for even more chaotic gameplay. 

Commander mode also made a return from BF2, allowing one player per team to take on the role of directing the team to victory. It was a really fun game mode that added a lot of depth to the game. However, the game did launch with many issues, especially on PC. There were bugs, crashes, and server issues galore, which hurt the game's reputation. It wasn't until many months after launch that the game was in a state that most players were happy with. Despite the rocky start though, BF4 has turned into one of the most popular Battlefield games on PC, and according to various stats websites, it still has a very healthy player base. 

The game also saw the return of Battlelog, as well as a new feature called Levolution, which allowed certain maps to have dynamic events that would change the layout of the map. The most famous of these was on the map Siege of Shanghai, where players could destroy a skyscraper in the center of the map, changing the dynamics of the game. Overall, BF4 was a fantastic game and one that I still play to this day."

Conclusion

"So there you have it, over a decade of Battlefield games on PC. From the historic battles of BF 1942 to the futuristic warfare of BF 2142, to the modern combat of BF3 and BF4, the series has come a long way since its humble beginnings. With each new game, DICE has pushed the boundaries of what's possible in multiplayer gaming, and I can't wait to see what they have in store for us next."