Hands on with Battlefield 6 - Preview
After putting time into the Battlefield 6 beta, I was happy with that and content to wait for the games full release, but then Electronic Arts invited me to play some more multiplayer and more specifically on two new maps, well one new and one returning. The new map is Mirak Valley and the returning is one of my personal favourites, Operation Firestorm. So, how were they?
As with all these preview events, there are always things that go wrong and the night started off with the servers not quite ready for us, which I was taking as a sign that things might not go to plan. Thankfully it only took a few moments to sort out and I was ready to jump into Operation Firestorm, which first appeared back in Battlefield 3 and then in Battlefield 4 via the Second Assault expansion. But the developers knew what they were doing as the plan was to put us on Mirak Valley for a few games and then move to Operation Firestorm, well ok then. If you played the recent open beta, the Mirak Valley is more in line with the map Liberation Peak, it is set within and around a small town, which has fields all around it. The center of the map contains a few larger buildings, one under full construction and the other under repair and to the north of the village is a series of downed power lines, you know the massive ones.
The first game was mode was Conquest, the staple of the series and here there was a lot of back and forth within the map. My team were victorious in the end, but there was a lot of back and forth in who was leading. A lot of this came down, at least to me, to the field with the downed powerlines. This area had a lot of cover, but as it was a lot of twisted metal, that opened up a lot of space for people to shoot through. One of the control points on the map was centred around the construction in the middle and as it was a few floors up, and there were numerous ways to gain access to it, it often became a hot spot. The next game mode we played was Breakthrough, which is returning from the past few games, the objective for us was simple, push the enemy back, we did not succeed. Again, that field of twisted power lines was the anchor point for the battle, there were two control points that needed to be taken here and while we pushed hard, we did not succeed and the other team won. In fact, when we flipped sides and we were defending, the other team pushed through really quickly, it was a sad effort from my team.
But then came Operation Firestorm and was it a great time or what. I love this map so much and while it is Operation Firestorm, it has been touched up and adjusted to suit modern playstyles. In fact, I did spend a few minutes in a helicopter for the full purpose of seeing the map from above, and I can report that the buildings and towers are in the same spots, it is just the other things that are different. Now I would love to be able to report about all those changes, but a) I don’t recall where every container, pallet and pile of dirt was in the original and b) I suck at flying helicopters, so I quickly powerdived into the dirt. Giving up on my aerial dreams, a good call if I may say so, I then spent time boots on the ground, as they say. Honestly, this is what I wanted from Battlefield 6, a lot of it came down to my not having to learn a new map, but I was able to get into fights, some successful and some not, with each encounter feeling rewarding. I still made dumb decisions, like trying to climb the central tower when I know there were enemies around, but I had a great time still.
What surprised me about Operation Firestorm, was just how much I remembered, remember the map has not been around since Battlefield 4 and that was replaced in 2016 with Battlefield 1. The little pop-up town is still there, the central tower still spews fire into the air and the catwalks, both inside and out, are perfect for flanking folks. Sadly, while I love the map, it was not something that loved me as my team was not victorious this time, but I am ok with that. My love of Battlefield is not because I always win, or because I get more kills than anyone else, both of those are not true. No, my love of the series comes from the fun of running around on foot and then jumping into a vehicle for a while, before you are killed by some madman strafing you in a jet and then rinse and repeat.
I only spent a few hours with Battlefield 6, though I did spend a lot in the open beta and I can honestly say that I am stoked with how its shaping up. I enjoyed Battlefield 2042, but called out the maps as being too big and devoid of things to do and this is going back to basics. The only thing I want to see now is the campaign as the stories in past games have often been the highlights for me and I hope that carries on here. Both Mirak Valley and Operation Firestorm are great maps and with the former, I can see a lot of battles taking place on either side of the village. For the latter, long time fans will be happy to see it return and new players will come to understand why there are some maps that are just the best.
Battlefield 6 is set to release on October 10th for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. If you are looking to pick up the game for yourself, then check out our Bargain Guide for the game.
