Battlefield: Hardline ditches the sweeping warzones of modern military conflicts in favor of battles waged in the tighter confines of street-level crimefighting. But that’s not the only change with Dead Space studio Visceral Games at the helm; Hardline also features a significant emphasis on story, and this trailer that debuted at 2014’s Game Awards highlights that.
The story follows newly appointed detective Nick Mendoza as he toes the thin blue line in the mean streets of Miami. There’s equal focus on the cops and robbers play in what Visceral hopes will be a transformative take on Battlefield’s single player gameplay, with a shift away from corridor run-and-guns into more open, recon-and-tactics-focused spaces. The game’s levels also feature an episodic style of presentation, with “Previously on” and “Next time on” story bumpers to keep players engaged in the narrative.
Battlefield: Hardline hit a handful of bumps on its way to release, with the initially confirmed October 21, 2014 launch pushed into early 2015. The extra time appears to be worth it. Get a better sense of the new tools that factor into the story on the game’s official website. Battlefield: Hardline arrives for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360, and Xbox One consoles on March 17, 2015.
