Activision and Infinity Ward created immense buzz when the team shared its first trailer for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and a surprise Modern Warfare Remastered Edition earlier this month. This week, EA and DICE announced that Battlefield 1, the latest and greatest shooter in its franchise, will take place in WWI.
Unlike Infinite Warfare's interstellar direction that brings them to space stations and colonies built over planets and asteroids, Battlefield 1 stays grounded with ground troops, horses, tanks, biplane fighters and Zeppelins. Despite bringing Battlefield back to a period that some may argue offers less imagination and freedom, EA promises that Battlefield 1 will deliver "variety, and not just shooting from a muddy trench."
"There's a common misconception that this was an era of muskets, but they were inventing weapons all the time," said lead game designer Danny Berlin via Polygon. "There is a huge amount of variety of weapons with a powerful and authentic feel. It's a fast and really cool experience, and any play-style you have, we'll cater for it."
"We wanted to create a physical space that is more personal and physical," said Berlin, who also added that the company had chosen to call the game Battlefield 1 because "we are going back to the dawn of all-out warfare. [World War I] is the genesis of modern warfare."
Battlefield 1 will bring players to the heart of the first world war, from the forests of France, to the deserts of Arabia and the Italian Alps. The map will change from claustrophobic city streets and villages to the vastness of the Sahara.
Additionally, developers at EA and DICE described Battlefield 1 as a unique crossover point between antiquated combat and modern technology. A new melee system has been designed to evolve hand-to-hand combat, which will include knives, mace, spades and "a very powerful" bayonet. Danny Berlin also describes the experience of coming face to face to the new inventions for warfare.
"We want to portray how scary it was for the soldiers to see these completely new [weapons]," Berlin said. "Vehicles are a very strong key for us. You'll have large heavy tanks, light tanks, armored trucks, different types of biplanes, like bombers that tie land and air combat together, but also scout planes that are key to air-to-air combat.
Meanwhile, Call of Duty continues to move its genre towards a more futuristic landscape with Infinite Warfare and it seems to be a recipe that's working for the studio, given that virtually every single title in the franchise is a massive sales success. That said, the latest reception following the announcement of Modern Warfare Remastered suggests that fans are demanding for a return to more familiar combat mechanics and time periods.
Will you choose Battlefield 1 or Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare? Let us know in the comment section below.
