Battlefield Play4Free

Battlefield Play4Free
Battlefield Play4Free cover art
Developer(s)	EA Digital Illusions CE Easy Studios
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts
Series	Battlefield
Engine	Refractor 2 Engine
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Release date(s)	November 30, 2010 (Closed Beta)[1] April 4, 2011 (Open Beta)[2]
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Multiplayer
Distribution	Download

Battlefield Play4Free (often abbreviated BFP4F) is a first-person shooter video game developed by EA Digital Illusions CE and Easy Studios and published by EA. Based on the Battlefield series, the game features a modern warfare battlefield setting. Play4Free is built on a modified version of Battlefield 2‍ '​s game engine,^[3] with improvements such as high resolution artwork and post-processing effects. The game is also less demanding on computer specifications, similar to Battlefield Heroes.^[4]

As the game's title suggests, the game is available to players for free online, under Electronic Arts' "Play4Free" model. Play4Free uses a similar micropayment store system similar to that in Battlefield Heroes. Battlefield Play4Free was announced on November 5, 2010. The game's open beta testing phase began on April 4.^[4][5] Closed beta codes originally started being distributed via email on November 30, 2010. The game was released as an open beta on April 4, 2011.

Gameplay

Battlefield Play4Free screenshot showing an American engineer with a PP-2000 submachine gun.

Battlefield Play4Free features content from both Battlefield 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Battlefield includes two gameplay modes, Assault and Rush. The game has a leveling system, in-game shop, and gameplay customization which is quite similar to that of Battlefield Heroes. Battlefield Play4Free currently features eight maps from Battlefield 2^[6] and supports up to 32-player servers^[6] for online battles. Players are randomly chosen to play as soldiers from either the Russian Ground Forces or the United States Marine Corps.

Classes

Battlefield Play4Free features a class system, which is similar to the class systems of previous Battlefield games. The player can choose between Assault, Medic, Engineer, and Recon.^[7] The Assault class is armed with an assault rifle and an "Ammo Box," which can be used to resupply the player and teammates with more ammunition. Medics have a light machine gun and are able to heal themselves and other players with a "Medic Box" as well as being able to revive other players with a defibrillator. Engineer class soldiers are equipped with an RPG-7, a submachine gun, and a repair tool that can be used to fix teammates' vehicles. Lastly, the Recon class utilizes a sniper rifle, motion sensor, and M18 Claymore mines. The four classes also have the ability to wield a shotgun and a tracer dart gun, which is not class-specific. This class system has been used in Battlefield: Bad Company 2.^[6]

Updates

Easy Studios, the developer of Battlefield Play4Free, performs updates to the game commonly. The first major update took place on January 29, 2011, when Easy Studios launched Oman.^[8] Then, the developers released Sharqi Peninsula on April 4, 2011, the same day that the game went to open beta.^[9] On June 9, 2011, Basra, the fourth map, was released. Later, Dragon Valley was released on August 10, 2011. Besides new maps, Easy Studios has added various game elements such as motion blur due to the new, modified Refractor game engine.

On October 25, 2011, "Tier 3" training was released to include an array of new skill options for all four classes. On December 1, 2011, weapon customization^[10] was added to Battlefield Play4Free, thus allowing players to specifically customize their weapons with attachments such as holographic sights, different barrels, assorted stocks, and different types of magazines. Nineteen days later, on December 20, 2011, EAsy Studios released the sixth map, Dalian, which was remade from Battlefield 2. Also, in the same update, Easy Studios replaced all "Legacy" weapons with reclassified weapons, which are denoted as "+3." On 23 October 2012, EAsy Studios Released "Rush" game mode. This mode places players in one of two roles: either an attack or defense. The game plays out across multiple stages where destroyable MCOM stations are the focal point. There are two MCOMs at each stage, labeled A and B, both of which must be destroyed in order for the attackers to continue forward. The game ends when either all of the MCOMs are destroyed or the attackers are eliminated by means of depletion of their tickets. This game mode was first used in Battlefield: Bad Company 2. The expanded Sharqi Peninsula map was the first map to get the rush treatment. Karkand rush and Dalian rush are also now online.

In October 2013, the devs at EAsy Studios began an effort to balance the vast number of weapons currently in the game, several of which were felt to be unbalanced or "overpowered" when compared to other weapons within each respective class as well as on the whole. As of November 2013, the re-balancing has been mostly completed and implemented; however, continued evaluation of weapons and attachments are still ongoing on the PTE.

Reception

The game received an score of 68% from 11 reviews on Metacritic and 67.75% from 8 reviews on GameRankings. On a typical day there is a volume of more than 8-10 thousand people playing globally.

Closure

On April 15, 2015, Easy Studios announced that on July 14, 2015 they would be closing Battlefield Play4Free and turning off services for the game.^[14] This is also happening to Battlefield Heroes, Need for Speed: World, and FIFA World on the same day.

References

External links

• Official website

Battlefield Main series 1942 The Road to Rome Secret Weapons of WWII 2 additional content 3 downloadable content 4 downloadable content Spin-offs Vietnam 2: Modern Combat 2142 Northern Strike 1943 Hardline Bad Company series Bad Company Bad Company 2 Vietnam Free-to-play Heroes Online Play4Free Book • Category