Battle Field V What a turnaround

Nowadays in the world of video games, betas are pretty much fully representative of the final product. Battlefield V turned out to be an exception. Once I got into my first multiplayer match, things felt really different. But did it change for the better? Or did DICE track back on some good gameplay mechanics?

Fortunately, BFV has brought in some welcome changes to its formula. Remember the lack of recoil on the guns during the beta? Well, they have significantly increased recoil now which is a staple of the Battlefield series. The maps that were in the beta are two of the worst maps in the entire game. The progression system feels more rewarding in the sense that you get a lot of in-game currency as you keep playing. On the plus side, there are no microtransactions that allow you to purchase the aforementioned upgrades, so you don't have to worry about getting killed by noobs with insane limits on their parent's credit card.

The premise of the game is World War II and DICE has really nailed the atmosphere here, as usual. Their games are never short of flashy explosions, unbelievably good audio that tingle your aural senses, and lifelike lighting. Visually and audibly, this is one of the best games you can play right now. On the PC, if you have an NVIDIA RTX series graphics card, you can bump up the eye candy so that you can see your own reflection on the bullet heading towards you.

Battlefield V successfully recaptures that feeling of rolling down large swathes of war-torn land in tanks and airplanes. The gunplay is satisfying for the most part with some awkward balancing marring an almost perfect experience. The Medic class is equipped with SMGs that feel more like pea-shooters than actual weapons. The Support class LMGs and MMGs are shredding machines.

The singleplayer mode feels less tacked-on when compared to the one in BF1. Seriously, these stories are very well-fleshed out. It's the execution that hurts the whole thing. DICE are not exactly the pioneers of great FPS singleplayer modes and it shows here. While they have some great tales to tell, the bland and uninspiring mission design undermines everything.

Of course, I cannot but talk about the stark contrast to the singleplayer that is the multiplayer. The same emergent gameplay is still here. Describing one Battlefield V match will be like describing the most insanely directed WWII movie. I piloted a bomber over three points and got 15 kills from two bombing runs, I was promptly taken down by an enemy fighter but I spawned back on a tank, proceeded to blitz through all enemy fortifications and helped secure a crucial objective for my team. At the end of it all, the once proud town in objective A was completely flattened. These are the moments you play the games for.

Battlefield V was not devoid of controversy, however, as the developers initially wanted to add a lot of niche cosmetic items that broke the historical accuracy of the game. I'm happy to say that DICE has backtracked on a lot of those decisions so it's now more authentic.

BFV is definitely one of the best entries in the series. If you're a fan of Battlefield, this is a must-buy.

Shahrukh Ikhtear is a Management Trainee at Grameenphone and former sub-editor of SHOUT magazine. Send him business stuff or good music at fb.com/sr.ikhtear