Battlefield 4: A Shocking Turn of Events
Battlefield 4 should be the game that everyone is playing, talking, and thinking about. It is absolutely huge. On the Xbox One, PS4, and PC the game runs at a solid 60fps, boasts fully destructible environments, and supports 64 players online. That statement is partially correct. No one seems to want to stop talking about Battlefield 4. But, those people aren’t raving about their positive experiences and no-scope killing prowess. Battlefield 4 is a tale of heartbreak, sorrow, and pain.
Ever since Battlefield launched in October on last generation consoles and PC, all versions of that game have suffered a litany of issues. To make matters worse, the same day that Battlefield 4 was released on the Xbox One EA released an apology letter thanking fans for buying a game on that very day that EA knew was crippled by heinous server issues that affected nearly every aspect of the game such as game-type matchmaking, crashing, save corruption, and a one-shot kill glitch that would ensure that anyone attempting to have fun with Battlefield 4 would be welcomed with the loving embrace only a slap to the face or knee to your nether region can provide.
Patches have been released at a hurried pace in the weeks since the launch of Battlefield 4 for various platforms and it does indeed seem that the developer DICE is indeed concerned and committed to righting the wrongs present in Battlefield 4; however, all this does feel like little more than a thinly veiled mea culpa. Since the initial launch Battlefield 4, there have been two letters sent out to apologize for the current and continued state of Battlefield 4. The first apology included Double XP weekend and a gun skin, while also blaming fans for buying too many copies and trying to all play it at the same time. I am sorry, DICE. If that is the case, I can do you guys a solid and not make the same mistake next time. Any chance I could get a refund for the PS4 and Xbox One copies of the Battlefield 4 I bought? No?
Perhaps much of the blame shouldn’t be given to DICE, maybe EA’s server network should be given a thorough tongue wagging. It might feel like forever ago. But, it was only ten months ago that EA launched SimCity, a game that by all accounts was going to be a smokin’ banger of a game when it launched. Early impressions and previews of the game were universally positive. Press and fans alike were awaiting the return of the king of city builders. Alas SimCity, like other many games chained to a required online connection, couldn’t stand up to the task. Within hours of the launch of SimCity, servers were going haywire, players were being booted, saves were being corrupted, progress was being lost, and people were notably unhappy. So, we shouldn’t necessarily be too surprised that another game that uses the same network and was potentially more hotly anticipated would suffer much the same issues.
Dice has a website up that is tracking the current 21 most high priority game bugs and glitches. In the time since launch, they have continued to work to solve these bugs and update fans on the progress. But, the truth remains that Battlefield 4 is now nearly three months separated from it’s launch and many of the issues still exist. Without a Halo, Left 4 Dead, Borderlands, or the upcoming Titanfall to play at the time of this writing, I have resorted to going back to an old friend. I will see you guys online in Call of Duty: Ghosts. Good luck and Happy New Year!
