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By Aaron Bayne // ´óÏó´«Ã½ The Social contributor // 18 November 2021

The Battlefield franchise has been soul searching for the best part of a decade – constantly aiming to top, or even match, the heights of entries like Battlefield 3 or Bad Company 2. It’s never quite managed it however, despite its attempts at both world wars, a modern war, and even a cops and robbers spin off.

Yet from the first utterance of a “next-gen Battlefield”, Battlefield 2042 has been on the minds of many, and has easily become the most ambitious Battlefield yet with what could be the turning point for the franchise.

Battlefield 2042 is a multiplayer only military shooter, with teams of up to 128 players on new-gen consoles facing off on enormous maps. That’s just one strand of 2042 though, and easily its most traditional. Completely scrapping its story campaign, players will now have the option to play through one of three modes within the game.

The first is your typical multiplayer dubbed All-Out Warfare, but this time stripped down to just Conquest and Breakthrough. These are classic Battlefield modes, but ones that fumble at times thanks to their own enormous scale. Conquest in particular can easily overwhelm you as you contemplate which direction you want to hike to get to the nearest capture point.

Thanks to the new elements to 2042 such as an ingenious Plus System, which allows you to customise your weapons on the fly, or the hero-like Specialists which each have their own unique abilities, 2042 doesn’t immediately feel like a Battlefield game.

Yet when bullets start flying you are reminded of why this is such a beloved franchise. Explosions, vehicles and car-flinging tornadoes make this a wild and intoxicating sandbox - even if it is spoiled at times by the occasional bug, or a desperate need to tone down assault vehicle availability.

Replacing manic 128-player action for slow-paced tension is Hazard Zone, the second pillar of 2042. Signalling the definitive end of EA’s failed battle royale Firestorm, Hazard Zone plays much more like Hunt: Showdown or Escape from Tarkov.

You’ll be extracting scattered data drives in squads of four, where only two extraction opportunities make for awkward and bullet-ridden helicopter seating arrangements. Compared to the grandiose of battle royale, Hazard Zone may seem disappointing to start, but it is surprisingly fun. Whether it will remain in the Battlefield zeitgeist is another conversation entirely.

Something that likely will hang around for a while, however, is Battlefield Portal. Portal is a community run mode, where players can go online and edit different game modes. It’s quite a robust and detailed system that can have you controlling everything from the player's running speed to the types of weapons they hold.

What’s even better is that it features maps, weapons, soldiers, and vehicles from previous Battlefield games including Bad Company 2 and Battlefield 3. This meant that I could immediately jump into a Battlefield 3 match in a graphically revamped classic map with 128 players, with the same controls and overall feel. I suspect that Portal will really come into its own when more players get their hands on 2042, but it has some serious potential to stand as its own service outside of the traditional Battlefield release.

Battlefield 2042 has to be given credit where credit is due. In a market filled with a constant barrage of more of the same, Battlefield 2042 feels moderately unique. It makes some meaningful changes to the Battlefield formula that returning fans like myself may have some issue adjusting to in the opening hours, but prove to be needed amidst this expanded experience. It holds onto those classic Battlefield moments, even if at times it feels like it needs some fine tuning.

Thanks to both Hazard Zone and Portal, however, Battlefield 2042 feels like the turning point for a franchise trying to modernise itself. It might be the next entry before we truly get there, but this is certainly a step in the right direction.