Battlefield 2042 Early Access/Beta PC review by amp_ZA

Oooooof the mighty Battlefield returns after 3 years, this time in the form of 2042 after the release of Battlefield 5. The hype is real and we as fans do expect something fresh and the absolute best from what is suppose to be ‘the’ next gen shooter from EA, DICE, the Frostbite engine and everybody else involved with this title, and believe me there is a lot.

So from the 6th to the 10th of October 2021 I had the privilege to play Battlefield 2042 Beta with many of the Amped2Play members and really put the game to the test and get a good feel for what the aim for the title is and what we can expect for the future. Probably for me what I was trying to figure out was, did they really spend 3 years developing this, can it be true? So guys let’s take this from the start and decide if the Beta really felt like the next gen shooter….

After a massive struggle to log in I eventually got into the game I was struck with this green blueish look of 2042 and the menu sound that makes you feel like aaaah, the calmness, finally here it is, but 128player chaos is just a play button away, finally I am in what so many people waited for so long.

Being me I always find myself in the options menu first, bumped up that graphics settings real good on 1440p, checked out the sound and key bindings which were all your usual standard to the Battlefield franchise. Once in the main menu again you were faced with 3 options, ALL OUT WARFARE, which is your conquest and breakthrough modes we all know. HAZARD ZONE, this is the one I am really interested in but will talk about later. And then PORTAL, create you own battlefield and modes. The only mode playable at the time of Beta was ALL OUT WARFARE. Click on that mode and bang this operator comes on with the most beautiful detail, really well done. And then you hit the PLAY button and the 128player icon comes up again and omw that feels good but at that time could not help to think about how is this really going to run…. ? How long am I going to wait for a match ? And what if there is no local servers …. ? And bang in a few seconds you found a match, and load into a map called ORBITAL, the only map available for Beta btw.

Loads up really quick and once in the first thing that struck me was that I remembered that the game is crossplay. Also one of the reasons why you get into matches super fast. Then that massive map pops up… and omw it is massive. I could choose from 4 different operators which on game launch according to devs should be 10. Each operator with their own advantages like sentry guns, syringe healing guns etc. and could also choose from a few guns not customizable in the menu but rather on the run in game while in battle.

After playing for a while and getting the hang of the 2042 game I could not help but feel that I really get this Bad Company 2, BF 3 and BF4 vibe together but also a dash of Call of Duty Black Ops in there especially with the enemy hit sound effect and the new sliding mechanics of your character which to me felt really really fresh and was immediately in love with the game. The in game gun customizing mechanics to me also is a breath of fresh air , something very different and makes you approach the Battlefield in a whole new way. Everything you fit or remove from your weapon actually makes a massive difference to how the weapon reacts, it really does make a big difference. Combine this with now the sectors you capture have two sub sectors to capture before you actually own the full sector and the fact that there now is AI enemy soldiers to battle against also and you already have a much different Battlefield experience overall.

The more I played the more it felt like literally that whole map is destructible, looked to me like everything can be blown to pieces. Apart from that, the weather effects of 2042 is not just the best I have seen in a Battlefield game but if not the best in a multiplayer game, by far. There was one time me and Camo was in a Attack Heli and you could feel when the weather really got bad and effects your aim and how you control the heli. Brings me to another point, vehicles feel fresh and revamped, nothing special but would like to see what the game has to offer on release day.

All and all the game play feels super solid, ran a solid 80 fps high settings 1440p on a RTX 3070. The Frostbite engine like always never disappoints and then the servers, my word does the servers feel good. Got local servers basically on every match I played and with a map size and that amount of players I did not expect the servers to be that solid. From my side well done on the engine and servers.

Just to touch on the gunplay again. I could not help to feel that you have to be an experienced gamer to handle the recoil on some of that weapons. Made me feel like the pubg days !!! And that to me is another good fact about 2042 also…. There is a lot more good things to say about 2042 but I think those are the points that stood out for me, things I enjoyed the most.

Now !!! The Bugs !!! Yes it is a Battlefield game, and yes it is a Beta but there was some serious concerning bugs that stood out for me which made me a tiny bit uncomfortable at times but I’m a big boy and does understand that this is a Beta, but this is also a AAA title developed by the best in the business for 3 years as they say… And this made me think about the whole 3 year thing but yeah let’s stop there you get my point… This brings me to more questions, concerning questions….

Questions……

1. Is the maps to big ? I constantly found myself running around without my squad, no vehicles close by, felt like a running simulator at times like many players said.
2. What is the master plan behind the AI, how skilled can they be or are they just going to be a server filler ?
3. Hazard Zone game mode. This has me really excited. What is this all about ? Battle Royale ? Free to Play mode ? Tarkov mode ? Just a hype ?
4. How good is the specialists really going to be ? Is it really going to affect the gameplay on the battlefield and fit into one another as a team ?
5. How far will weapon customizing go ? How many weapons will there be on launch day ?
6. And then the most important… Will there be another delay for the launch date ?

There we go guys !!!! This is how I saw the Beta after 10 hours of gameplay and reaching level 15 I think. I am still very excited about Battlefield 2042, there is just to much great things to say about this game and it can get only 3x better on launch day with the bugs fixed and all the content in the game !!!

I can not wait to get in a heli with my friends on launch day !!!!

Thumbs up… Had fun with this Beta 8/10 !!!!!