Battlefield 1 Campaign


Battlefield 1 has a claim on being the 1) shortest and 2) hardest campaigns I have ever played.  I do not love the difficulty of some of these missions and the repetitions of stealth/fetch/hold the base/run for your damn life - it is jarring and actually NOT THAT FUN.  I hated a majority of the missions because the shooting mechanics are a little stilted and the enemies are legitimately able to crowd you and take you out instantly.  You go from Rambo to dust in seconds.  I hate to say that I legitimately had to stop playing and coordinate insane battle plans in my head before proceeding and I have to say that my greatest campaign successes were often based on dumb luck ("you can't hit me here!  How can I not get hit here?  Fuck you game!  I hope I don't get shot.  Why is this so damn hard?").  This is not a fun campaign unfortunately.  I wanted to explore the WWI landscape and the game really gave a full and exhausting experience.

It is not all bad, here is what is great...THE STORY.

Battlefield 1 is beautiful, interesting and different dare I say.  "Friends in High Places" which has us follow the story of an English gambler/pilot is by far my favorite one and the plane combat and dog-fighting is stellar.  We leave on a note that (spoilers) the story itself, told by our lying protagonist/anti-hero/Han Solo/gambler...may have been made up to make the man a legend instead of a swine - now THIS is fantastic.  I have never seen that in a video game.

I think the approach of having various "War Stories" was a very cool idea and it is important to note that "Lawrence of Arabia" is the inspiration for one of them, a film very near to my family's heart.

1. Through Mud and Blood - Through Mud and Blood is a tank-themed scenario taking the player through armored warfare in Europe.

Over the Top
Fog of War
Breakdown
Steel on Steel

2. Friends in High Places - Friends in high places is an air-combat-themed scenario

Test Flight
Total War
Fall From Grace
Forte Et Fidele

3. Avanti Savoia - Set in the high mountains, players take the role of an Italian commando at war with Austrian and Hungarian forces

O LA Vittoria
O Tutti Accoppati

4. The Runner - Storming a beachhead in the Ottoman Empire

Cape Helles
The Runner (Mission)
Be Safe

5. Nothing Is Written - A guerrilla warrior battles Ottoman forces in the deserts of Arabia

Hidden in Plain Sight
Young Men's Work
Hear the Desert