Battlefield Heroes Redux

Well folks, I seriously think that the ice is starting to thaw in my brain. That strong dislike for DICE for the BF2-shafting and 2142 debockle. This unrest permeated all that DICE and EA could brainstorm. So my first impressions of BF Heroes was that of a lackluster reception. That was before. Now, after seeing this gem on the official site, I see in a different light. Lets roll down to the basics here.

Battlefield Heroes is a free-to-play 3rd person action game from Swedish developer, Digital Illusions CE. This is the latest iteration of the Battlefield Series. Using a cartoon-like art style, similar to TF2, BFH looks to break ground with its free-to-play browser based game play. The game is slated to run on older machines, thus widening the market for gamers. As seen from the video above, character customization is going to be a big part of the game. Character customization and persistent character data are many of the MMO features DICE has incorporated into their shooters to make gaming addicting.

I think what DICE is trying to do here is bring a little levity to the gaming scene. If you have played an online Battlefield game in the last 4 years, you probably know that by the end of the map that the game has degraded into a redneck beer drinking 4x4 rally with jets and tanks. I think DICE wants to capture the best part of the "stunts" and goofing off element to make the game's cartoony graphics to really bring out the action.

What I liked about TF2 is the fact that the characters have life. Each class has a unique personality, and that quirkiness is used to bring a levity to the game while playing. No matter how awesome or shiteous you are playing, a character will always say something that catches you off guard and make you laugh. Online matches turn into cursing 12-year old homophobic racist shout-offs, it would be nice to see a change with a little less seriousness in games.

All in all, I'm most definately wanting to play this game. I mean after all, its free.