Battlefield 4 - PlayStation 4

I've been a fan and player of the Battlefield series since 1942. I took the console jump with the XBLA 1943, and this series has been my primary FPS of choice since Bad Company 2. If you are like me in this, or perhaps you are a gamer looking for something besides Call of Duty, I really have no idea why you won't love Battlefield 4.DISCLAIMER: Please be careful with the reviews that give this game a single star due to the server issues. EA has patched most of the problems away, and if you go on major forums like GameFAQs for this game you'll see most gamers are playing this just fine. Onto the meat...If you've never played Battlefield before and picked up this one, be prepared for a nerve-racking adrenaline rush. There are several game modes: 32 vs 32 Conquest (think King of the Hill on a massive scale; it's my favorite game mode), Rush, TDM, Domination (Smaller version of Conquest essentially), Obliteration, and more. The guns in this game play very realistically, so expect recoil, and a slew of vehicles like tanks, AA trucks, various boats, jets, and helicopters all with varying types within each category are on the battlefield depending on the game mode you desire. Whether you're an infantry-buff like me or love the feel of transporting your 'squad' (teams are divided into several squads of 5 for you to spawn in and interact with) across the game's sprawling, beautiful maps, there' something for everyone interested in this FPS-war game by DICE. Your heart will be pounding as tank shells whizz by while flying in a helicopter or you watch the skyscraper you were just at the top of crumble as you parachute down to an enemy-infested area.One of the most crucial keys to recognize is there are four classes to utilize: Assault, Engineer, Support, and Recon. Without going into too many details, each class carries a specific type of gun selection -- for instance Engineers use Carbines and smaller PDWs while a Support primarily uses LMGs -- as well as an ability like health packs and repairing tools. The overall idea is to use your abilities with your teammates in conjunction with a game mode's objective to blast your way to victory. That's right, folks: winning is just as important if not more than KDR. On top of this, the environment is destructible in almost every way, so think twice before camping lazily in that little warehouse in the corner of the map!With the basics out of the way, let me touch on the improvements many veterans may be interested in hearing about. First and foremost, the destruction... My goodness, the destruction! One thing I was immensely sad about in BF3 was the lack of destruction compared to Bad Company 2. While still not quite back to the ability of leveling everything and anything as in BC2, DICE has fortunately returned just how much you can destroy in this fourth installment. Massive structures won't be able to be damaged externally, but now you won't be disappointed with certain towers and buildings not being blown apart though they look like they should be. Engineers, you'll have a field day.Another major improvement is in the attachments for the guns (which, speaking of guns, are right on the money as they were IMO in BF3). As DICE has seen their game grow and have added in various perks and attachment options to compete with the options given in other FPS's, what would end up happening was regardless of the options gamers often ended up putting on the standard Suppressor/Silencer + Grip combo whenever possible. However, it seems DICE has really dived in deep here by having both a true pro and con with every attachment (This was done in BF3 though half-baked as mentioned before). Want to reduce your recoil on the first shot of your trigger an general muzzle climb? Well throw on an Angled Grip and a Muzzle Brake, but don't expect the MB to help out your gun's accuracy. Want to run in guns a-blazing without revealing yourself on the mini-map? A Tactical Laser light and a Suppressor will do the job, but you may end up having quite a bit of recoil. I think you get the idea; BF4 gives more meaning to attachments in a way that makes you analyze your guns more closely while appreciating your kit choices noticeably more.A definite change to the series is a feature called Battlepacks. Those who played Mass Effect 3's multiplayer will recall these from EA putting them in there, too. Essentially as you level up and rank up your weapons you will unlock these. These are 'treasure chests' that give you free camo colors, attachments, etc., once you open them. The items you get are randomized, and as you get higher in overall rank and complete advanced assignments you will unlock Silver and Gold Battlepacks which contain rarer items/attachments. To my knowledge you can't buy these with money in any way, so they are a nice incentive to keep on playing.One of the larger changes is the introduction of Commander slots in the massive Conquest mode. One player of each team fills this slot and has a bird's eye view of the map at all times. They have an array of abilities to use to assist the actual players on the ground, such as UAVs to reveal enemies, supply drops, cruise missiles, and more. A good Commander can change the tides of battle, constantly revealing enemies and alerting individual squads to a part of the map where a crucial engagement or objective is occurring. So important is this role that you have to be ranked level 10 or higher to play it, and if a Commander is doing a lackluster job their team can boot him out of the slot. What's neat is if you have a tablet, you can go on the BF4 Commander app and join a game for the sole purpose of playing Commander. You don't even have to have the game on at home; play this wherever you have a good connection. Multitaskers and RTS fans will really enjoy this.Other than these improvements, the game just overall feels more smooth and tight than before However, I'd guess that 1080p and 60fps would do that, as well as just the overall nuts and bolts of improved audio and different alerts/noises. This game looks so much better on PS4 than it did on my Xbox 360, and it's insane how the game keeps up its smoothness when in those 32 vs 32 matches. As usual, DICE has really killed it with the maps, and if you're a fan of Rush you'll really like the sequences that completely change some maps as Attackers destroy the consecutive A and B points. Paracel Storm is crazy!What I highly recommend you to NOT do is buy this game for Single Player. This is a Multiplayer game to the point that it surprises me DICE doesn't just do away with SP. It' s not that the campaign is horrible, just don't expect the level of plot and character development you could find in a shooter like Killzone instead (not to mention its lack of longevity). I'm serious, though; if you don't play Multiplayer you are wasting $60.TL;DR - this game is even more epic than its predecessors with better attachments, destruction, and added features compared to past installments. The game looks amazing as expected, but PC players migrating to console may not be quite as swept away.

Well I'm finally writing a review for this game as it's nearing the last DLC pack. I've owned this game on PS3 and PS4 and in the beginning when playing this on PS3 it was more of a 3 start rating for me. I think the game was just too powerful for my older generation hardware and that's why the experience wasn't that good. Also, there were a plethora of bugs that EA/DICE continually released patches for and it seemed as soon as they fixed something it broke again.I finally bit the bullet to get a PlayStation 4 and this game is one of the things that made me love PS4. I can't even describe the intensity of graphic detail of playing this on PS4 but it is AMAZING. Literally, as I was playing the single player campaign on my PS4, I said "Oh so this is what it was supposed to look like" outloud! Also, multi-player is even more awesome and I love the fact that I can play Conquest large which can have 64 players at one time. It's amazing to me how smoothly the game plays knowing that there are 64 people playing on the server. Whatever EA/DICE did on they're back-end...keep doing it! If only we could get other FPS franchises that are just as big in name to follow suit, it may make the world of FPS multi-player a little better.I also enjoy the fact that this game has tons of levels in the multi-player's ranking so there's always something else to earn and unlock. Of course there are the shortcut packs to unlock everything for a small fee, but I'm one of the players that likes to earn things as I go. I think if I used one of the unlocks it would be too much at one time to handle because there are so many weapons, attachments, camos, other devices, etc. it can get confusing. With this game I have learned my lesson that if they say it was really meant for the next-generation hardware they're right. Also they just released the fall patch for the game which made hit detection a ton better. Not to say it was bad before but there were situations where you can see you're aiming at someone but nothing is hitting them as you're shooting. That patch made me enjoying sniping again because it seemed I got more targets I aimed for than losing them. I haven't even dove into all of the vehicles you can use, drive, etc.If you're a Call of Duty fan , or FPS fan in general and like games where it takes a whole team effort to win...give this a try!

(15 May update) Still running smooth, the peeps with problems might have crappy internet conn. I have mine hard-wired vs wifi. Also, to the peeps that try to fly the helos--go to the test range first. Nothing worse than respawning into one and then crashing because the pilot can't fly low-level.First, to all of the trolls--go back to WOW world. Amazon shouldn't let peeps that haven't even purchased the game to submit reviews. The game is expensive=purchase price+ 49.99 to unlock all the maps. It's playable without the maps but you will be limited to which servers you will be able to enter.Second, to all who claim there are glitches and lag--not sure what you internet speed is but I haven't experienced any. There have been some questionable kills from enemies that appear to have been behind something, but it doesn't happen all of the time.Third, the campaign is short but fun and slightly challenging.Fourth, Multi-player, graphics are outstanding and detailed. Prepare to get killed a lot when starting out. Most players already have most/all of the weps+mods maxed out so you will be outgunned. Good news is that there are so many other players on your team (31) that you do have a chance. The outside maps are huge and yes, there are camper snipers that go to the edges of the map but the helos/vehicles take them out most of the time. One thing I miss is the sound of a building when the is starting to collapse. When you can hear the metal beems twisting and giving way. You can still take out buildings but not all of them :(Overall, if you have a good internet conn it is worth getting.