BATTLEFIELD HARDLINE SINGLEPLAYER: GADGETS OF THE LAW

Hey!

These are exciting times. The launch of the latest chapter in the Battlefield franchise is imminent and we couldn’t be more thrilled for you to try out the whole game next month. The Visceral team has been hard at work the last couple of months making sure Battlefield Hardline is as polished and fun as possible - and your feedback has been invaluable in this process.

Last week our man Zach took you through some of the cool gadgets and weapons you’ll encounter in Hardline’s frenetic multiplayer suite, and I’m here to cover the other half of the package: the campaign. With a compelling cops and criminals setting, Battlefield Hardline singleplayer is an FPS experience unlike any you’ve ever played. 

A big part of the unique experience is the tools at your disposal, enabling you to solve crimes the way you want to. While I’m just going to cover a few of them, there are a bunch of different weapons, gadgets, and techniques you can use to bring criminals to justice.

FREEZE!

The most powerful weapon at your disposal? The law. Flash your badge at criminals, order them to “FREEZE!”, and you have the opportunity to diffuse the situation without firing a shot. If you can keep the showdown from escalating by training your gun on the suspects (and making sure their buddies won’t notice), you can arrest and cuff ‘em without anyone getting hurt. Not only is this the right thing to do but you’ll unlock gear faster by avoiding casualties – especially if you manage to take a warrant alive. If you have a partner with you they’ll have your back in that moment and try to take out anyone who tries to threaten you with deadly force. 

50,000 Volts of Justice

Sometimes it’s going to be tough persuading bad guys to drop their pieces and reach for the sky. But even in those cases you’ll want to diffuse the situation without the loss of life. Enter the Stun Gun. This electric pistol delivers 50,000 volts to the targets and subdues them instantaneously. While not as fast and final as using a lethal ballistic, it’ll allow you to keep the body count low and your metagame rewards for minimizing fatalities high.

Scan and Plan

The Scanner is a very useful police surveillance tool that allows you to survey a nearby location and retrieve a bunch of helpful intel. When an enemy is seen in the Scanner it will be “tagged”, allowing you to see their current location in the area at all times. You can use the Scanner to analyze the faces of warrants in order to claim a huge cash payout for taking them down alive. Also, scan for nearby alarm boxes and wiring to their speakers. This allows you to dismantle the components and keep your enemies from triggering the alarm. 

Last but not least, this handy gizmo lets you scan for clues in the environment which will award you more points to spend later in the metagame for gear. The Scanner will be your most important tool as you observe the crime scene and form a plan for how you want to tackle what’s ahead.

From Sports Cars to Tanks

Beyond gadgets there will be a bunch of vehicles to play around with, from police issued sports cars to military tanks procured by less than scrupulous means. True to our differentiator of speed, sometimes you’ll find yourself in a high speed chase with bad guys as your tear through city streets in your police issued squad car. Other times you’ll find yourself in control of an airboat in the everglades, sprinting between locations to unravel a Miami drug trade mystery.

Those are just a few of the many options you’ll have in Battlefield Hardline. Just like in classic Battlefield games there’ll be dozens of great weapons for you to choose from to outfit your particular style. However, the majority of the campaign can also be accomplished by diffusing escalating tensions or finding ways to avoid confrontation all together. The choice is yours.

Scott Warner
Design Director
@scottfeed