Battlefield 1. Courtesy Electronic Arts
Battlefield 1. Courtesy Electronic Arts

Game review: Battlefield 1 takes its ambiguity and builds a surprisingly effective narrative around it



Battlefield 1

Electronic Arts

PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC

Four stars

Why doesn’t the First World War get more attention in ­popular media? Perhaps ­because it is complicated.

Sure, we all know it started when some archduke got assassinated – but most non-history majors would be hard put to explain why this event subsequently plunged the world into conflict. There are no black-and-white good guys and villains, just a lot of mayhem that led to 17 million deaths.

Battlefield 1 takes that ambiguity and builds a surprisingly effective narrative around it. The latest war game from Electronic Arts' Sweden-based Dice studio offers few rah-rah moments of triumph – most of the time, you are just relieved to make it out alive.

Dice has taken a savvy approach to the story: rather than following an unlucky grunt through an unlikely gauntlet of the war’s most renowned engagements, you get an anthology featuring different characters in each location.

You begin as a member of the Harlem Hellfighters, hopelessly trying to stave off a relentless German invasion in French territory. After that, you take the roles of a tank driver in France, a British fighter pilot, a desperate Italian soldier in the Alps and a wily old Australian veteran in Gallipoli.

The final story ventures into the Middle East, where you are a Bedouin fighter in Lawrence of Arabia’s guerrilla campaign against the Ottoman Empire.

The anthology approach gives DICE a chance to show off its flair with gorgeously rendered landscapes, as well its skill in building a variety of weapons and vehicles that feel like they have genuine weight. This is the 1910s, so you are stuck with sluggish rifles, clunky grenades and a temperamental tank that tends to get stuck in mud.

As a result, Battlefield 1 feels much different from most contemporary war games. Unlike, say, Gears of War 4, you can't just run screaming into the fight and expect to make it out alive. Most scenarios demand a tactical approach – you must find a way to quietly eliminate enemies one at a time before breaking out the heavy weapons. It is the rare war game in which I have felt compelled to retry scenarios to look for more subtle ways to complete missions.

There’s a full suite of online multiplayer contests, highlighted by Dice’s signature Conquest mode, in which up to 64 soldiers fight over a sprawling wasteland. There is also the new Operations mode, a tug-of-war between offensive and defensive troops that grows increasingly tense as you move from map to map.

From Call of Duty to Halo and countless others, the market for war video games is saturated. Battlefield 1 is the first in a while that feels like it has some fresh ideas – and one of the few I would recommend to people who do not normally care for the genre.

artslife@thenational.ae

Brief scores:

Toss: Northern Warriors, elected to field first

Bengal Tigers 130-1 (10 ov)

Roy 60 not out, Rutherford 47 not out

Northern Warriors 94-7 (10 ov)

Simmons 44; Yamin 4-4

The biog

Name: Ayisha Abdulrahman Gareb

Age: 57

From: Kalba

Occupation: Mukrema, though she washes bodies without charge

Favourite things to do: Visiting patients at the hospital and give them the support they need.
Role model: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood.

 

Voices: How A Great Singer Can Change Your Life
Nick Coleman
Jonathan Cape

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

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Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

PROVISIONAL FIXTURE LIST

Premier League

Wednesday, June 17 (Kick-offs uae times) Aston Villa v Sheffield United 9pm; Manchester City v Arsenal 11pm 

Friday, June 19 Norwich v Southampton 9pm; Tottenham v Manchester United 11pm  

Saturday, June 20 Watford v Leicester 3.30pm; Brighton v Arsenal 6pm; West Ham v Wolves 8.30pm; Bournemouth v Crystal Palace 10.45pm 

Sunday, June 21 Newcastle v Sheffield United 2pm; Aston Villa v Chelsea 7.30pm; Everton v Liverpool 10pm 

Monday, June 22 Manchester City v Burnley 11pm (Sky)

Tuesday, June 23 Southampton v Arsenal 9pm; Tottenham v West Ham 11.15pm 

Wednesday, June 24 Manchester United v Sheffield United 9pm; Newcastle v Aston Villa 9pm; Norwich v Everton 9pm; Liverpool v Crystal Palace 11.15pm

Thursday, June 25 Burnley v Watford 9pm; Leicester v Brighton 9pm; Chelsea v Manchester City 11.15pm; Wolves v Bournemouth 11.15pm

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Tuesday June 30 Brighton vs Manchester United 9pm; Sheffield United vs Tottenham 11.15pm 

Wednesday July 1 Bournemouth vs Newcastle 9pm; Everton vs Leicester 9pm; West Ham vs Chelsea 11.15pm

Thursday July 2 Arsenal vs Norwich 9pm; Manchester City vs Liverpool 11.15pm

 

The Uefa Awards winners

Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)

Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League

Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)

Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)

Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona

Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier

Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman

The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August

 

Group A

Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar

 

Group B

UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia

Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Rating: 2/5
 
THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

The specs

  Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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