Musings on the Battlefield: Aesthetics in Gaming, CHAIN LINK ADDICTION, and What's With SHIELDMAN?

Aesthetics. Look it up. Aesthetics are EVERYTHING to an FPS. Sure, back when all you had was DUKE NUKEM and BARNEY skins, the aesthetics (there’s that word again) may not have been great, but they weren’t bad.

Fast-forward twenty years (Jesus has it been that long?) and look what the gaming world has brought us: BIOSHOCK INFINITE, DESTINY, COD: GHOSTS (I should write a post about my thoughts on GHOSTS, and my disappointments), and BATTLEFIELD: DRAGON’S TEETH.

destructoid.com

Not bad for twenty+ years of software development. Like film, we are breaking new visual ground in gaming. The realism aside, it’s the breathtaking views that have been constructed, the entire AESTHETIC, that should finally have the old-guard artistic authorities take the blinders from their eyes and admit that THESE GAMES ARE WORKS OF ART JUST LIKE FILM.

digitaltrends.com

The snapshots you see are evidence that, though only MARGINALLY more realistic in their reproduction of things like biomechanics and the sensual aspects that make it possible for us to differentiate between a Halloween mask and a human face, these environments have transcended the drive towards realism and gone on to CREATE A HYPER-REALISM in ART and VIDEO that IMHO can be likened to GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM of the 20^th century.

It all goes back to aesthetics. Look it up.

Aesthetics

CHAIN LINK, or as I like to call it, 10 TIMES THE FUN BUT HALF THE POINTS, is a nifty little update to the traditional CONQUEST mode. In fact, let’s just call it what it is, CONQUEST ON METH (I figure they got science teachers making the stuff on TV these days so I must be in safe company).

@WarZoneSecure

Somehow they made CONQUEST FASTER without reducing the size of the maps or number of targets. And yet, it still feels really crowded, especially at the individual targets. 

Oh yeah, and let’s all welcome back Mr. and Mrs. Spawn Camping…we have… MISSED YOU.

Yep, the campers are back with a vengeance. But do not despair. The game is way too fast for one team to hold any position forever.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THE GAME IS ‘TOO FAST’?”

I can’t explain it and it would be futile to try. You have to play it. It’s similar to DOMINATION, but less like DEATHMATCH. LOL. Ok, that’s as nerdy as I am EVER going to get on this blog. The point is that you have to play it to understand what I mean by a “FASTER” version of CONQUEST.

If your team or YOU are competent, you should be able to take back a couple of positions. You’re still GOING TO LOSE. There are clans that have ALREADY become VERY FAMILIAR with the mode and maps, and they will tear your team to ribbons. I say that with a knowing smile on my face.

So far, I have only completed the mode in DRAGON’S TEETH and I like it, A LOT… of course there’s that problem with the points…THERE AREN’T ANY!

It’s the first time I feel like I am doing this for DICE’s amusement more than my own. Even with ASSAULT fully kitted, it’s hard to come by points if you are losing. That’s not like the old CONQUEST at ALL.

Winning isn’t necessarily a point rack either, though it is better.

AND DRAGON’S TEETH IS STILL GLITCHY. Just take a look at the pic. Twice my tank was stuck on the railing in SUNKEN DRAGON. STUCK ON THE RAILING.

I don't know. It's just "stuck".

And what is with that SHIELD (see title pic above)?

They should call that the WEAKEST LINK (sorry it was just sitting there and I had to). I actually saw some player get killed by SHIELDMAN. I had to get on my Bluetooth and tell the team, “JUST JUMP AROUND HIM AND CUT HIS THROAT.”

It’s that easy.

Every time I see them coming I head straight for their direction so I can TAKE THEIR TAGS.

There’s other minor issues that I have with the DLC, like that machine-gun R/C (hate that thing), but ALL IN ALL IT IS STILL WORTH THE PRICE OF ADMISSION, if only to see how the Battlefield is evolving.

Next post I will share some tips on how to be a more successful vehicle driver: TANKS and JEEPS and BOATS. Until then, TAKE THAT BULLDOG AND MAKE IT SMOKE! And come find me at PSN>JOHNDAVIDFLORES