I still remember when Battlefield 4 came out. There were some things I really loved about the fourth installment in the epic Battlefield franchise, but I didn’t dig into it as much as I did Battlefield 3. Of course, both pale in comparison to Bad Company 2, but that’s neither here nor there.
Two years have passed since EA’s big first-person shooter came out, and fans were surprised with a healthy injection of free DLC last week. Named Night Operations, this small chunk of DLC is exactly as it sounds; Battlefield 4 at night. Night Operations comes with one map, in varying sizes and variations for the variety of modes, but the simple flip of a lightswitch drastically changes gameplay across the board.
Keep in mind, I have not played Battlefield 4 seriously in two years. I spent most of my time playing on the Playstation 3, but dabbled in it earlier this year when it was thrown into the vault for EA Access members. Like most people, I play well when I am playing with the curve, but when I take a small (or in this case, large, quite large) break from the scene, my re-entry is not a pretty one. So keep that in mind as you read on.
The map introduced is Zavod: Graveyard Shift. Of course, the lights are out and everything is incredibly dark. Without a flashlight accessory on my gun, I was very timid, especially since I was dipping my toes into the game for the first time. I figured, “Hey, new game mode and map, this should be fine.” I crouched and tip-toed through my first match. I will admit, the darkness was a welcome change that tweaked the thrill factor up a little. I spent quite a bit of time playing the smaller, infantry based modes like Gunmaster, Team Deathmatch, and Domination since that is my prefered game style. The new map and it’s variations play really well in the dark environment, and the darkness adds that brilliant layer of tension.
I really wish this had been included in the base game, or at least within the first six months or so when Battlefield 4 still had some popularity, because it really is a stroke of genius. I went back and forth between the Night Operations playlist and various others, and the Night Operations just felt more, well, fun. It was that simple change of lighting that added a spark of excitement as I crept through the northern building of Zavod: Graveyard Shift looking for whomever shot my squadmate. I also wish they made this change to a few other maps, to really broaden this playlist.
The only caveat is that two years into a serious shooter, and it gets downright frustrating as either a newcomer, or someone who has been away for awhile. Especially for the latter, because I used to be decent back in my day (not to sound like a grandpa there).
While this is a great free addition to the game, it feels like it is more of a “thank you” to players who are still playing regularly. For people like me, Night Operations is a lot of fun, but as often as I got worked in the other modes of play, it won’t keep me playing Battlefield 4.
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