Battlefield Heroes
| Battlefield Heroes | |
|---|---|
| Battlefield Heroes logo | |
| Developer(s) | Digital Illusions CE |
| Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts |
| Series | Battlefield |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release | Summer 2008 |
| Genre(s) | Action[1], Cartoon-style shooter |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
Battlefield Heroes is a cartoon-style action game currently under development by Digital Illusions CE. The game features context-specific third- and first-person shooter perspectives.[3] Currently planned for release for Windows-based PCs in summer 2008, Heroes will be the first Battlefield game to be released under Electronic Arts' new "Play 4 Free" model, which will see the game released for free with revenue generated from advertising and micropayments.[4] Advertisements will appear on the website and the 'front-end' of the game although none will appear in-game, while micropayments may be made for additional items to customize the appearance of players' avatars without any gaming advantage.[5] The game is said to be placing less emphasis on skill and strategy, and will be less demanding on computer specifications than the previous games of the series to increase the audience base.[5] In addition, a system will be in place to match players of similar skill levels together for fair play.[6]
Gameplay
Battlefield Heroes features a modified conquest mode providing each team 50 tickets and 2 flags at the start of the round. Killing enemies will reduce tickets and holding more flags than the opposing army will grant a multiplier. It is possible to win by owning more flags than the enemy and by killing less of them. Matchmaking will also be a feature to keep players of the same level together. Players of each level will play with other players within a couple levels of their own. Developers of the game have talked about levels going as high as 40 or 50. The 2 armies are called the National Army and the Royal Army. The game is 3rd person only at this point, but senior producer Ben Cousins has stated if 1st person is really wanted it may be added in at a later date. Spawn times are 5 seconds allowing for less waiting and more action. Players do not pick spawn points since the game has an "Intelligent Spawn System" putting you close to the nearest battle. 2-3 maps will be available on release.[2]
The point system in Battlefield Heroes is being called Metagame (non official name), which allows characters to fight for a territorial positions during each match. The land gained is then recorded as a win for each army, and at the end of the week everything is added up and both armies are given money based on percentage and land conquered.[2]
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Like previous Battlefield games Battlefield Heroes also has a class system, but stripped down to 3 basic classes. Commando (light), Soldier (medium), and Gunner (heavy) are the available character options.[2]
Commando
The Commando class is fast moving, and specializes in its stealth tactics as well as backstabs, and sniping. The known weapons of the Commando are a sniper rifle and a knife. Although the sniper rifle does high damage, it does not have a lot of ammo and cannot one-hit kill an enemy.[7] The Commando is a spy type character and has low health compared to the other classes. Special abilities of this class are laying traps, and cloaking.[2]
Soldier
The Soldier, being the medium class is a good all around class and has the power to determine enemy’s location via a special ability called "See-the-Enemy". This ability outlines nearby opponents even if the enemy is behind a wall. This lasts for 10 seconds and then takes 30 seconds to recharge. The only known weapon the Soldier carries is the Submachine Gun. Other abilities the Soldier can have are incendiary rounds, health boost (heals allies around you), throw multiple grenades.[2]
Gunner
The Gunner is the heavy of the 3 classes, which means he is the slowest moving, but the best armed. He wields rapid-fire machine guns, rocket launchers, and flame throwers are a possibility for feature updates. Special features include the ability to shovel up a bunch of grenades and throw them back at enemies.[2]
Abilities
Abilities are special powers that each player gets when they level up. Known abilities at this time are Bomb Bouquet ability (non official name, allows 15 grenades to be thrown at a time), I Eat Grenades ability (throw back 7 grenades at once), Life-Points Boost, and Incendiary Ammo.[2]
Healing is by a 'blast heal', a soldier ability that heals the player and any friendlies nearby. You also have a bandage which restores less health and only works for your own character. Using the bandage when you weren't injured boosted your health over 100. There's no medic class and no ammo crates either. [8]
Achievement System
Achievements work by a mission system allowing you to choose a badge you want and you then go on a mission that will get you that badge. The more you play the game the more points you get and your level increases. The more points allow you to buy better clothing items, but nothing that will give you an advantage on the battlefield. [2]
Items
There will be two types of items: visual items and convenience items. Visual items allows customization of 15 different aspects of your character: Heads, faces, facial hair, helmets, jackets, boots, necks, chests, hands, waists, legs, and feet. Additional items that will be available for purchase are eye patches, badges, hats, boots, helmets, goggles, belts, and gloves.[2] Convenience items will allow gamers to gain more experience points than usual.[9]
Weapons
There is not much information in regards to additional weapons. However there have been mentions of the sticky bomb. These are known to be extremely effective against tanks.[7]
References
- ^ "BATTLEFIELD HEROES Page". GamePro. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Battlefield Heroes Features". Planet Battlefield. 2008-02-23. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ^ "Battlefield Heroes First-Person Plans". Blue's News. 2008-01-23. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- ^ Seth Schiesel (2008-01-21). "The Video Game May Be Free, but to Be a Winner Can Cost Money". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
- ^ a b "EA pushes ad-backed video games". BBC. 2008-01-21. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
- ^ "Battlefield Heroes Leads The Way For EA's New 'Play 4 Free' Business Model". Digital Illusions CE. 2008-01-21. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
- ^ a b "Weapons Page". ieatgrenades. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
- ^ "Battlefield Heroes Trailer Dissection Page". BFHeroes.org. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
- ^ "Items Page". ieatgrenades. Retrieved 2008-03-05.