Metascore

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critics What's this?

User Score

Overwhelming dislike- based on 169 Ratings

  • Summary: Battlefield Play4Free is a next-generation online multiplayer FPS combining the very best of the Battlefield series.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 11
  2. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. 90
    Very atmospheric first person shooter you can enjoy the best in small doses. Hardly anything to criticize because it is free and promises long-term entertainment. [Issue#204]
  2. Oct 20, 2011
    75
    Overall, we liked Battlefield Play4Free. The formula of quick, full-on combat makes this a game you can pick up and play when you have a spare 15 minutes or so.
  3. Oct 20, 2011
    70
    Even with some technical problems, a quite serious problem with cheaters and some connection issues, there is potential in Battlefield Play4Free, which offers a great relationship quality-price -that is, a very decent shooter for no money at all, which is a pretty good deal.
  4. Oct 20, 2011
    70
    Sink in some moolah or you'll struggle. [July 2011, p.93]

See all 11 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 95
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 95
  3. Negative: 88 out of 95
  1. Those who like to have Battlefield Experience of multiplayer. This is good way to have it. It is free and does need a gaming computer to play.If you have a good internet connection you should be fine. But I find some of the special weapons overpriced but it OK. Expand
  2. I think that most of the reviewers were reviewing the morals of EA, rather than the game itself. I have to give credit where credit is due- the game itself is good. The graphics are a bit lacking, but there are a lot of weapons with decent variety, the weapons are well balanced (with some notable, but not game-breaking exceptions), the maps are varied, and the vehicles are really fun once you learn them. The main thing people dislike is that on December 20th, EA nerfed a lot of overpowered premium guns to put them more on par with the F2P weapons. From my standpoint as a player who has invested (probably too much) money into this game, I didn't really notice the changes to my guns that much and I read the EA TOS where they clearly state that the game is in beta and even premium weapons are subject to balance changes. Honestly, it was either balance the game by nerfing the premium weapons, or drive away all the frustrated free players. Beyond that, I think that EA has for the most part responded to complaints of the community on the game's glaring issues: the USAS (1 shot kill capable and 4 shots per second in a 12 round magazine), the boosted Mortar Strike (basically 3-10 free kills every time it went off cooldown) along with other broken aspects of gameplay were fixed, and they release interesting new content daily. In terms of the game being Pay2Win as opposed to Free2Play, the new attachment system definitely makes it lean towards Pay2Play. The attachments essentially bring the nerfed premium guns I mentioned before nearly up to their pre-nerf levels, for a rather large price. However, I have to admit that the attachments (Scope, Stock, Barrel, Magazine, and Camo) definitely add a level of variety and customization that the game did not previously have. For example, you can take your semi automatic M110 sniper rifle and optimize it for long range, with a powerful scope, high damage, and range increasing attachments, or you can attach a no-zoom red dot sight and recoil reduction attachments and run around having a good time at close to medium range. I would also like to point out that when EA first released scoped weapons as separate weapons, many people who had already purchased non-scoped permanent version begged EA to release an attachment system, and EA responded to the community and voila! Going back to P2W vs F2P, it's true that in terms of general weapons, a player with deep pockets will have an advantage. And yet the default guns are fine, and a skilled player can curbstomp the full attachments premium weapons player just by aiming better, without even spending any money, in-game or IRL. Without attachments, all the other weapons are more about variety than power. Not only that, but you can get ridiculous kill/death ratios on the order of 60-5 or more without spending a cent or using a weapon with attachments because there aren't really any premium upgrades to vehicles, and this is one place where I think the game really shines. The vehicles in this game are very well done. The ground based vehicles are mostly about brute strength and armor; they are meant to take hits and will take hits. They don't require much know-how to drive, and can be defeated by a few well placed RPG's or can turn the game around for the driver's teammates. The air vehicles have a much steeper learning curve and new players will crash a lot unless they practice on empty servers, and the air vehicles can also be destroyed very quickly, especially by APC's. However the risk is rewarded by much more devastating weapons than ground vehicles, and they are quite maneuverable so that if you know what you are doing you can avoid damage in many situations. However, I wouldn't call them overpowered because AA emplacements and APC's can very quickly destroy air vehicles as long as your team knows to use these to their advantage. My main point here is that without paying a cent you can stick to vehicle maps, and with enough skill, top the charts every game. In conclusion, I would say that the game is surprisingly balanced considering EA's money-grabbing agenda. The engine and graphics are below par but if you get used to them they don't subtract from the gameplay, nonetheless those are in my opinion the game's biggest cons. I really enjoy the variety of weapons and attachments, and for awhile I myself played entirely Free2Play and I still enjoyed that experience. One thing is for certain though- just because you are F2P doesn't mean you can't do well at this game, but throw enough money at it and it's depth and customization are increased tenfold without making you an unstoppable killing machine. I suggest ignoring most of these pointless rage spam reviews and giving the game a try- it definitely has it's flaws but even for 20 bucks you can buy a bunch of permanent guns and have a good time. Expand
  3. Good game but what the developers did to the game is terrible. I like it when it was simple. No boosters. No tier 3. Just 2 buyable weapons and 1 special. That was awesome. Expand
  4. Do not waste any money! They will take away the premium content you paid for, for the sake of "balance"... BOOSTERS are killing the game, NOT Legacy Attachments! Expand

See all 95 User Reviews