Just a brief review, Xbox 360 platform.
Battlefield 4
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I got this game having not played any of the previous games. Let me rephrase that,
I played the BF3 campaign, but no multiplayer.
Graphically, the game looks like its running at 30fps. There's some pretty impressive weather
effects (like driving a gunboat across choppy seas while under fire) that make the game pretty
sweet.
Campaign is filled with "great" dialogue and loads of unnecessary harsh language. Your
character is "supposedly" the leader of Tombstone squad, but you spend the majority
of the game letting everyone do whatever the hell they want.
The game at times can also be described as a "follow the leader" simulator, (Where Mass Effect 1
was an elevator riding simulator) because you spend loads of time doing just that, following the
guys/gals in your squad.
The overall story involves some random General (I think, it was never very clearly spelled out) in China
who's... um... doing stuff... and... you... um... oh hell, you just have to go kill things in foreign lands.
Multiplayer is where the game shines though, with all sorts of cool toys such as Tanks, planes, choppers
and gunboats to drive and cause mayhem with.
I can see why BF3 was played so much online, as it's pretty fun overall.
But, let me get one thing straight: MATCHMAKING. FLAT. OUT. SUCKS.
But hey, why join a squad with your friends online when you can end up with a group of total strangers
who don't talk? The lack of the ability to have a party of people join the game together is pretty poor,
especially since, oh, pretty much EVERY multiplayer game in the last few years HAS this ability.
COD, HALO, Ghost Recon, etc, etc, etc.
And then there's the glitches. Now I KNOW that Aliens, Black Ops and even Halo have had week 1
game launch issues. But BF4 at times is profoundly broken. Geometry and textures flat out disappear.
Events that are supposed to occur to allow you to advance to the next part of the game... don't happen.
And then there's the old fan favorite... game crashing. I have NOT been forced to reboot my console this
many times with ANY other xbox game I've ever played.
One night I had the game crash 4 times in a couple hours just trying to enter a match.
I also had it crash choosing a map, and the best one, crashing right at the end of the game, so you get NO
credit for finishing the match. Fun!
Plus I had to restart campaign 3 times doe to mysterious crashes and save corruptions. yay! What fun!
In the end, BF4 is fun, when it works, but be prepared for issues until they get all the bugs fixed.
Graphics: * * * * */5
Stability: * */5
Campaign Story: * * */5
Toys (Guns, tanks, fun stuff): * * * * */5
75% average
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Call Of Duty: Ghosts
This game appears to run at a stunning 60fps. If that's not the case, then the graphics rendering engine is
pretty high end to give you the crisp, smooth visuals this game delivers.
Gameplay is pretty stable for week 1. No complaints really. The campaign is much more in depth
and the dialogue is decent as well. They introduce some new gameplay elements that at first I was all
"this sounds stupid," but in game it's actually pretty fun. The sprint and cover kind of sucks. Many times I'm
stuck behind "GI Slow" who won't get out of my way. Annoying.
There's a couple times when you get to drive vehicles such as Tanks. The Tanks in Ghosts are NOTHING
like those in BF4. They should have a rampant horse logo from Lamborghini on the front because they move
like supercharged lightning and turn on a dime. So while fun, it's pretty unrealistic.
The weapon selection is much more limited than in BF4, with many "classic" weapons missing.
Multiplayer is pretty much the same as previous games, carrying forward the Perk system. Weapons are unlocked using
"Squad points" rather than requiring you to be a certain level to unlock them. That way you can skip weapons you don't
want and get what you do.
They also introduce an "Alien Horde" style mode, which is tough, but fun. And killing aliens never gets old. Sorry Gareth.
Overall, except for lacking the vehicular combat of BF4, the game is pretty decent with an engaging story, and a campaign
ending that screams "SEQUEL."
Graphics: * * * * */5
Stability: * * * */5
Campaign Story: * * * * */5
Toys (Guns, tanks, fun stuff): * * */5
85% average