As leaked earlier this week, the beta release date of Battlefield Hardline is indeed, February 3.
Following the starting date announcement, Electronic Arts have also released details on available game modes and supported game platforms.
The Hardline beta will run for five days, starting on Tuesday February 3 and finishing on Sunday February 8, running across all regions where the game will launch on PC (Origin), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Unfortunately for those in Japan with Xbox consoles, the beta will not be available.
Four multiplayer game modes will be playable in total:
- ‘Conquest’- Our traditional and well-loved 64-player point capture mode returns (max 24 players for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3)
- ‘Hotwire’- is a brand new game mode coming to the Battlefield series where cops chase robbers at high speeds through large environments, driving fast cars and flying large helicopters, in a 32-player battleground.
- ‘Heist’ again, is brand new to Battlefield. Essentially, it is a typical PayDay 2 bank robbery where robbers attempt to open a safe and escape with as much cash as possible. The cops on the other hand have the job of preventing the heist and the robbers’ escape.
- ‘Blood Money’ is an objective based game mode where robbers attempt to steal from a cache of cop-protected vaults of money (Not available in the Beta).
In addition to these game modes, ‘Hacker’ mode will also be brand new to the series. Similar to being a Commander in Battlefield 4, Hacker allows players to take control over security cameras to spot enemies and watch over objective points. Sounds like fun, right? Yep! Thankfully, Hacker will be part of all game modes available in the Beta.
Out of the nine multiplayer maps (and inevitable DLC maps), the beta will allow us to play three of them, each showing off each individual game mode:
- Downtown (Los Angeles)- is a busy city centre environment with cars, big buildings and large streets. Riot police have shut down the city center and are ready for large gunfights. Downtown will host Hotwire so we can race around the city in high speed chases.
- Dust Bowl is described as a small desert town, known for trafficking large quantities of meth and it is soon to be raided by the top police forces. The map will be playable in Hotwire and conquest.
- Finally, ‘Bank Job’ is a high security bank in the middle of the city, where players will get to play the Heist game mode, breaking into the bank and invading the main vault.
Downtown features a rather large crane which I hope can fall down and destroy lots of things snipers can shoot from.
Not sure what I'm more excited for, the burgers at the diner or that inviting road on the right of the frame.
The Hardline Beta trailer teased gameplay of some of the new toys that we can get to play with soon. Those include the grapple hook, crossbow zipline, laser trip mines and the T62 Stun Gun.
The single player campaign follows Nick Mendoza a Cuban member of the vice squad who has the job of breaking up a large drug ring in the streets of Miami with the assistance of his partner, Kai. The campaign doesn't just stay Los Angeles, instead players find themselves from around the Florida Keys to the savage Everglades. Seven additional missions outside of the campaign go above the main story which includes players to using scanners to find out more about a target, finding valuable intel and arresting criminals.
For PC users, the beta can be pre-loaded on February 2 via Origin from 10AM PST (6PM GMT). The download will be 10-11GB for PC, PS4 and Xbox One whereas for Xbox 360 and PS3, just shy of 4GB.
Upon launch, the PC release of the game will cost £49.90 from Origin, with the Digital Deluxe edition costing £59.90. Similarly to most digital deluxe editions from Origin, the deluxe edition of Hardline will come with XP boosts, weapon skins, weapon attachments and Gold Battlepacks upon launch.
What are your thoughts on the game, and what excites you the most about Battlefield Hardline? Let us know in the comments!