Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

As Battlefield 4 comes to its natural conclusion, the prospect of a new dawn in the series starts to creak its door open.

To show that the publishing company, DICE, care about the Battlefield players and the franchise, this DLC (Down Loadable Content) takes place before Battlefield 2142 as a prequel. Fans of the genre may find themselves wondering how a new DLC will link with a game that was made nearly nine years ago, however as the makers did not go into too much detail on how the war in 2142 started, there is a tremendous scope for a back-story to be enjoyed, and after all DICE do like their surprises.

In this DLC, players can expect many verities of gameplay from close quarters to long range engagements. This is shown in four maps set in different locations of the wintery depths of Russia and its Federal state Siberia.

Operation Whiteout: welcomes players to the whiteout zone, this map has the most snow featured in one map from all Battlefield Four DLC maps. The plan is entirely made from snow and ice, with only a few man made buildings in sight. Along with this main map is the new hover tank called HT 95 MKV. However the maps Levolution is similar to the Gulf Of Oman map from the Second Assault DLC, as this features a massive blizzard that will shorten visibility to near zero, this will make it very tricky for snipers to take their targets out.

Hammerhead: this map has a look to it like Operation Whiteout and the subsequent Hanger 21. The map itself is based around a submarine base in which contains two of the flags inside thus giving close intense battles for the players to delve into. Levolution has a part to play in this particular section, as the ice of the lake is easy to break with either a rocket launcher or even the explosive C4.

Giants of Karelia: The first thing that should be known in this section is that this map is the only one of the four that is not in a snowy environment. However this does not mean that it will lack anything as this map offers a surprise like no other, as the battlefield players get a look at the actual factory where the walkers of 2142 are being made.

Hanger 21: is the main map of the DLC as it is the factory that’s making the titans and walkers that are in Battlefield 2142. This map is based on a giant hill but luckily they thought of a new way to get there…pod launchers, this is a quicker way from getting to the hanger and back without dealing with all the force of the other team.

This DLC will be the best of all the Battlefield 4 add on’s as all the others were affected by the netcode and the many glitches that came with the game. So if DICE would have done the patch before the first DLC came out which was China rising, then all the subsequent DLCs would have been breath taking but that is not meant to be.

So the question that may appear on player’s lips is did Battlefield 4 live up to its name or is this the start of the fall of a great series?

Connor D. Hall