Battlefield Heroes Comments by Jim Rossignol

Six sounds pretty low for a game that's free and (sounds like) fun. What gives? What did I miss?

I haven't had a chance to play this yet (currently sat in a coffee shop on a netbook), but this review mirrors the opinions of my friends who have experienced it -a sort of cautious recommendation followed by several "buts". Still, free is a price I can certainly afford.

The site is refusing to wiork at the mo, so I can't even try it out for meself. And on the first rainy day of my holidays, too.

This is definitely a game you describe as "alright like".

Because it's, you know, "alright like".

as a fairly long player through its beta stages and mildly addicted :P this is a game tht is great fun. and 100% worth playing because of this.

at first i was confused by the score because i love this game but hes right. time will tell true score of this game. and its evolution is unclear which does make you question its long term staying power.

the next few months will be massive for BFH for addressing the "but" issues and how they will keep this game fresh.

but the plus side is tht despite officially leaving beta stage the community still constantly imputing to improve this addictive game

I think the review gets it broadly right: it's a really enjoyable game with problems. However, if DICE handles the game properly it could very well be worthy of an eight-out-of-ten in the future. That's my experience with it, anyway.

Good in short bursts

I was in the 2nd beta briefly, but after a couple of sessions I never went back - it just doesn't feel like a shooter to me. Just trundle around for an eternity, accomplishing little.

To be honest, I'd be happy if they just sorted out the connection issues first before anything else. (Sometimes, wearing certain types of clothing prevents you from playing the game, despite it working previously)

Also, not too sure about the balance in some of the maps. Some of them often seem skewed in either the nationals or royals favour.

Still, I'm having fun atm, and the continuous stream of missions to accomplish seem fun enough to keep me interested for the time being.

I played the beta, and I hated every second.

I'd say I hated 16 out of the 17 minutes I played it.

The good part was buying a funny hat.

I enjoyed the beta, looked forward to the release but stopped playing as soon as I realised that it would cost over 23 quid to permanantly replicate my outfit from the beta. Without the silly outfits, it really does lose a lot of charm.

I rather like this game, been playing it a fair bit the last week. Know the maps by hand, and would actually pay to get access to a few new ones.

Technical issues are my main gripes with battlefield heroes. Some times the lag gets very bad, but that probably has to do with the server software, not the connection per see. There's no server meny, allowing players to choose what kind of server they want to connect to, what the ping is like et ceterea. This seems very odd to me, for an online only game.

The microtransactoions stuff is just plain weird, as it is notpossible to by anything truly useful with BattleFunds, the in-game currency that you can buy jusing real money. So I cant see how they will make money on this.

The game does, however, whet my appetite for "real" battlefields; and I am looking forward to Battlefield 1943 in a few weeks. And Battlefield 3, of course, whenever that is done. So Battlefield Heroes does work rather well as a "brand leveraging device" or whatever they call it.

A brave move by EA and DICE, and if nothing else I hope they learn for possible future iterations. Skewing the balance in favour of the snipers sounds horrible though - always the fastest way to ruin an online shooter.

I tried getting this to work on W7 x64 the other day, but didn't get anywhere.
Are they supplying an .exe for this, or is it strictly launched via browser?

Would have given it a 7 myself.

But totally agree that time will tell, if they release more maps and content this could be around for a long time as it's alot of fun, here hoping.

@ mcwildcard

This is working fine my my PC-
Windows 7 x64 Build 7100
AMD X2 5400+ @3000MHz
6GB DDR2 800MHz
Geforce 8800GT 1GB

What browser are you using?

And yeah this game feels very soulless, that's my biggest complaint about it. There doesn't seem to be enough incentive to play, and as someone mentioned EA are trying to charge nearly the price of a full retail game just to customise your character (probably the only reason for the 3rd person viewpoint). If it wasn't free I'd say steer well clear, but as it is I'll just say play it and see, you'll probably soon get bored.

Quake Live is a much better browser game, and Tiger Woods online looks set to follow too.

Battlefield 3 now please DICE... want to see them follow up on the comments that they may use "elements" of Mirror's Edge in the character movement for this.

This looks kinda shitty from other website postings too.

When is Battlefield 1943 going to be reviewed?

That's released this week on both XBLA and PSN. Right?

Not sure I'd agree wholly with the review. A 6 seems quite low. Having played it a good bit over the weekend I've found that it's a very enjoyable game. Personally I'd rate it a 7 or 8. As for the review itself, the reviewer notes on at least three or four occasions that there are only 3 maps in the game. Maybe he was playing an old version, but there are definitely 4 in the current release. Admittedly it's not much of a difference, and more maps will be needed in future, but it should be noted. Other than that it's not a bad review at all.

I played for a while in the beta but it just never really felt very Battlefield to me and most of all I didn't enjoy it much. Considering how many hundreds of hours I've spent playing the PC games (and BFBC on the 360) I thought I'd love it too.

Perhaps I'll get around to using my freebie codes all beta users got but to be honest I'm not sure I'll bother.

I have to say that i found it to be an incredibly shallow experience compared to what's come before.

I realise it's free, but for virtually no money you could be happily chipping through BF2.

@Triggerhappytel

To be honest, the higher levels you go up, the harder it is to play as the sniper. Sniper bullets leave trails that others can follow, and the accuracy of the long range weapons available to other characters sometimes mean that it's all to easy to get taken down from a distance yourself.

I personally feel the game's slightly in favour of Gunners myself, but that could just be because I'm playing commando alot.

The main problem with the game is snipers, they don't need to be in the game, with that class removed the game would instantly become better for it.

I don't think it's a particularly accurate review - I'd love to know how long the reviewer played this game.

Examples:

There are 4 maps, not 3.
It's far, far easier to play (at all distances) as a soldier than commando.
The whole criticism about seasoned players vs 'noobs' is stupid, since matches are constructed around the level of the players. Seasoned vs seasoned, noob vs noob.
Invisibility doesn't work very well? Well, not on level 1, no. Again, how long did the reviewer play for?

6/10 for a free game that's (IMO) at the very least fun, is ridiculous. I predict word-eating within two months.

i'm nodding in agreement to most BF'ers here. Makes me wonder who they wrote this game for.. A Bf'er on holiday stuck in an internet cafe?

I tried this last week and found the way the game launches from a browser window very clumsy. In order to play it you have to open up your browser, log into the website then launch the game from there. Needlessly complicated in my opinion since you cannot just launch straight into the game from a desktop shortcut. Why not have the game launch as a normal executable (like every other PC game) and have a web page from within there? Can't be that difficult to do on a PC surely?

Once V-Sync and AA were applied the game looked OK and ran extremely well but it's such a basic game and there are so few maps that I couldn't stomach more than 15 minutes of it. Nice that's it free and everything but not for me at all.

I'm really enjoying this game, I admit it can feel limited after bigger more expensive multiplayer games. I'm sure EA and Dice will add more content overtime. The launch system is messed up though it could just be an exe file.

This and Quake Live will tide people over until their next wanted game comes out. A 6 out of 10 isn't bad really, for zero cost.

I'll keep playing it here and there until BF1943, DICE wins either way.

Such a hard game to review. It's clearly not aimed at existing Battlefield players. Yet whoever is assigned to review it would almost certainly have experience with previous (better) Battlefield games. The reaction from hardened shooter fans is utterly predictable - I could have written those responses from the look of a screenshot. What I'd like to know is whether or not this appeals to somebody who's never played a shooter before.

The thing about BF2 or COD4, which are arguably 'better' (although not more fun IMO) is that if a new player joins now, they don't have a hope - everybody is gaming the game. People know EVERYTHING there is to know about those games.

This game at least tries to address those problems by, A being newer, and B having a system that separates the hardcore from the new folk.

I play a load shooters, and I honestly find BH to be the most fun at the moment.

While I was annoyed by snipers in the beginning, that simply is not much of an issue anymore. It is a matter of using the terrain wisely, and to jump and zig-zag like a little dex monkey of course. It's quite easy to learn their tricks and counter them; such as using foilage and buildings for cover. They can easily be picked off from a distance with a simple sub-machine gun, and it's lost of fun to sneak up on them and mess them up in various ways. In run and gun duels, they are Some times they try to go for knife kills; then it becomes a circular kiting dance. My favourite is to run snipers over in a car, while they're staring into their scope. Miip, miip!

Altitude (http://www.altitudegame.com/) is better. And also 2D.

I'd have to agree with the review - it's quite a fun game in small doses, but its also rather shallow and monotonous - and the constant sniping gets very annoying.

Then again I guess I'd say the same thing about BF games in general... and at least this one's free ;)

@championadam

I got BF2 a month ago and within a couple of games could get into the top half of the leaderboards as a medic. BF2 really isn't all that hard to pick up, aside from flying the choppers. Screw grenade spam though!

Been playing this now since it was launched (got into the beta but never had time to play) and 5-6 is about right for me. I've been playing every day since the release and I'm already getting bored. It desperatly needs more maps.

It's fun in very small doses. I definitely hate the fact that I can't switch between roles with my main character. I selected a gunner and am now up to level .... 9 I think and it feels odd tyhat I have to start at level 1 with a gunner and a scout isntead of just being able to switch my main char.

Nah, more looking forward to Battlefield 1943 this week on the Xbox.

6!?!?! That's an utterly mean score!! I think with a lot more content and a tad more variety it could be a 9, but as it is, possibly 7 ... and a half. But you have to admit its charming!

Wanted to like this, but had so many problems trying to connect.

And yeah, agreed, not being able to switch classes is a downer.

Quake LIVE however, is awesome.

Unlike Cadburys Heroes, this bite sized game has nothing in common with it's namesake, the Battlefield series. But who cares because BF1943 is out tomorrow, woohoo :D

sniper rifles are this games downfall.

Yeah, it's defo a 15-minute-blasts game. In those 15 mins, it can be very entertaining. Had a funny incident yesterday - driving a jeep, 3 enemies hooning towards me in another jeep. I crashed straight into them, killing all four of us - seemed like a reasonable payoff. ;-)

Could not be more wrong.

It’s a great game, the Only problem is the server matching. some times the matching sticks you unfairly into a server with people who are ridiculously over powered. then you get spawn camping and so on.

Having leveled two characters up, a soldier to 11 and a gunner to 8, I have to say it’s been an excellent experience for the most part. It’s not sniper dominated. if you stand in the middle of open areas and don’t keep your head down then Yes it is..

If you play the game on it’s terms and not looking for another battlefield game, then it’s great. On the topic of not being able to change class and not getting valor points quickly, it sounds like you dident use the mission system.

You choose your character, pick the look, choose the weapon and ability load out then choose the Mission you want to achieve in that session’s play.

The missions are freaking genius. you choose them external to going into the game. this means you have to learn to work your character as best as you can. once I committed to finding good tactics the game became very rewarding, Far more rewarding then tf2 ever was. Evey battle I fight, every mission I complete means I’ve actually achieved something.

Instead of griping about “Why would they remove something so basic” think about why they would want you not to have it. the review does tend to read like you came in expecting one battlefield game and are slowly talking your self into accepting the fact that this isn’t it.

Just to add some context to this, I’me a big tf2 fan, I’ve never played mmo’s before. So leveling in multi player is new to me. I played soldier for a while and didn’t thing the game was very good till I took and evening to learn the other classes and the design sensibilities became apparent.

Comparing this to my last gaming experience with the ridiculous All Aspect Warfare, this game is wonderful for encouraging group dynamics and has Fantastic level design. But most importantly you all ways have something to do, somewhere to go and some way to evade being shot.

Educating people to stay together and share abilities like the gunner’s speed, the soldiers heal and combat vision. can be tough on a server when no one speaks your language. But enough losses through striving for individual achievement teaches people to bunch up quite fast I’ve found. Walking up to someone and demonstrating your ability, and how they can share theres is the best way to teach people how to act in the best interest of the missions

Lastly, Exactly what is wrong with looking gay?
The characters are distinctive and cartoony to be sure, but I managed to make a reasonable faximily of a para with the free money I got from pc gamer this month. I found it quite easy to look distinctive and like a popper soldier.

A regimental hat, a cigar, a coat and trousers make…
http://www.crazydogaudiotheatre.com/jame...

Here is my gunner. The gunner has only one purchased Item, the helmet hanging off his belt. The rest are purchased with valor points, the more you level up the more clothes become available to you.
http://www.crazydogaudiotheatre.com/jame...

The missions are not much more than what we've got in many other games and mainly are "get x kills in vehicle", "get infantry kills in 1 game" etc. The fact that I cannot choose new missions without having to jump out of a game is again a odd decision as it sucks having to leave the occasinal good server just to choose new "missions" and hoping there's room left when you go back (if you made it a favourite server).

And I fail to see what the missions have to do with not changing class. It still sucks and it's annoying not even being able to change your weapons/load depending on maps. "Should I go with the grenade or the sticky bomb?". On a map without vehicles the sticky bomb is quite useless but on other maps great. True, I can select only to play on certain types of maps but why do I have to choose?

It's minor annoyances but all together it at least affect my enjoyment of the game (and I'm a real Battlefield fan, played all games to death).

As I ran into a stupid bug tonight (my main char no longer can play as he is "kicked by server (1)". A new char can play though so I started a gunner to level him up. Ran into issues with lots of lag, connection problems and opposing teams who was consisting of nothing but snipers. Occasionally it was fun again but for the most part it was frustrating.

My main gripe though still is that they need to start getting new content out. The maps are getting stale already (IMHO of course).

The only game I play nowadays is BF2 to prevent myself to fall asleep at the sofa after work, I've got the boosterpack but never understood the online unlock/download? of SF and Euroforce or whatever the names were. I'm having great fun by making my own "missions" like terrorising tanks in the close quarter areas as a special op, other times i like to do team work as a naive medic/ammo pez machine or in a tank raiding CPs with a pack of other engineers. I almost never play the same class for long stretches because each round is so different.

BF2 still offers me a mix of good chuckles, irritation and a feeling of once in a while dominating a round. BF heroes sounds like a BF2 turned Team Fortress which I thought was too repetitive and monotone. I gave TF maybe 20hours or so in total, just wasn't my style, but it was ok in short bursts.

At least you can get a game, unlike 1943 on the 360. Ah well, glad I just downloaded the demo - will give this it a miss on what I have seen so far.

I think they've improved the servers on 1943, had no problems getting games last night.