This image has been leaked from a spanish battlelog moderator.

Based on the image we have:

• 4 new maps, (Taklamakan, Altai Range, Guilin Peaks and Dragon Pass)
• 5 new weapons
• new vehicles and new high-tech military equipment (Bomber and a SUAV, a smaller hand-held UAV)
• 10 new assignments
• 2 weeks early access is given to all Premium members

A new reason to rank up!

Also, China rising’s trophy list has been leaked along with news of  the return of Air Superiority mode and quad bikes.

Trophy list: 

• Mini Kimikaze (SILVER)
  Kill an enemy with the SUAV
• New Superpower (SILVER)
  Complete all China Rising Assignments
• Fledging (BRONZE)
  Play a round of Air Superiority
• 2 Wheels (BRONZE)
  Get a kill with the Dirtbike
• Death From Above (BRONZE)
  Get a kill with the bomber

We still don’t know if the DLC list is official but Battlefield 4 China Rising is set at a December 3 launch date for Premium members and two weeks later for non-Premium members.

Here we are, waiting for the next generation of consoles to come into our hands, or at the very least, discuss the many topics that can be started over them. And if Battlefield 4 is anything to go by, I can say the timing for a new generation couldn’t be better.

To kick off, I’m picking arguably the most improved aspect of Battlefield 4: the campaign. Believe it or not, this 7 hour long trip is more than just a very good tutorial mode for the franchise’s main subject, multiplayer. DICE looks like they learned from Battlefield 3′s mistakes, and proceeded to fix them with the sequel, or at least tried to. Enter Tombstone Squad, what starts as a 4-man team of Marines on a top priority mission that goes awry. I appreciated the new direction the story took; unlike Battlefield 3, I can say this time it felt like being a soldier and not just a spectator that happens to hold a gun. You’ll visit many different locales, from the intimidating city of Shanghai to a huge warship, and from prison slums to a snowy mountain. Every level is connected, making the story feel like a chain, something Battlefield 3′s campaign structure failed to achieve. In general, you’ll encounter everything (hence “perfect training for multiplayer”): you’ll drive a tank, a boat and you can play around with a ton of weapons and attachments. Speaking of which, a new game-changing feature (for the campaign) is the inclusion of weapon crates across the map. Interacting with them lets you change your loadout completely; two weapons, and two equipment pieces. For example, for the biggest part of the campaign’s length, I rolled around with a carbine or assault rifle, a sniper rifle or a shotgun, and whatever equipment the mission asked for: from rocket launchers to C4.

What starts off as an interesting story for a military shooter with some twists, though, quickly stumbles on its own weight. After certain events, you’re appointed the leader of Tombstone Squad, and can order around your squad (which is very handy in enemy-heavy situations). But even then, you’ll encounter no shortage of “hey, open this door” while the supposed lower ranking members just sit on their asses and order around their leader. But at least, they’re not dead weight. Performing actions such as killing or ordering your squad for a kill and them successfully pulling it off awards you mission points. There’s three medals to be won through point accumulation for each mission, and they grant you new weapons for use in the campaign. Furthermore, you can search around the map for collectables, which unlock goodies like exclusive dog tags that can be used in multiplayer. I’m now wearing a Shakespeare dog tag alongside the Hellenic flag, which is titled “Good Play”. It’s almost as awful as my puns, so I loved it. Overall, it’s a very enjoyable rollercoaster ride, and serves its purpose well.

And with that said, we’re now getting to the meat of the Battlefield series: multiplayer. Ditching the unsuccessful co-op mode of Battlefield 3, you can only play competitively now in a slew of modes. A new, slicker and streamlined menu allows for easy and quick navigation, even in the server browser with its many filter options. Pick one of the seven modes, old and new, and start the battle. Whether you pick classics like Rush or Conquest, or new modes like Obliteration and Defuse, the fundamentals are the same. Battlefield always revolved around team play, so having the highest kill count can easily get you on the bottom of the scoreboard if no objective points were awarded. To spice up the formula, DICE introduces Levolution — as you might understand, this combines “level” and “evolution”. How does this translate into the game? In every map, there’s at least one building or point in the map where you can destroy it (given enough firepower) and completely change the course of the match. The most famous instance of Levolution hails from the beta map “Siege of Shanghai”, where the players can demolish a skyscraper that houses one of the objectives at its top. When it’s one with the ground, obviously the objective has become neutral again, and is in a completely different spot — adapt and you can win. This can completely alter the flow of a battle, and change the tides to your favor (or the enemy’s). Sadly, it’s not always as “wowtastic” in every map, and given the amount of time and firepower it needs, it’s a bit of a letdown when you don’t get something spectacular. Nevertheless, let’s not forget it’s debuting here, and DICE can further refine it in DLC maps and subsequent games based on feedback.

Another feature that debuts in Battlefield 4 are the Battlepacks. Earned through levelling up and through paying real money, they come in three tiers (Bronze, Silver, Gold) and unlock different stuff each; in the vein of Mass Effect 3. Having purchased the Deluxe Edition, I was entitled to three Gold packs, which unlocked camouflage patterns, attachments and dog tags, as well as timed XP boosts; nothing huge. If this is any indication of the nature of the unlocks, I don’t think they will prove to be harming the game’s delicate balance. After all, everyone has access to them through simply levelling, so “pay to win” claims hold no water anyway.

The other half of Battlefield’s multiplayer DNA is the class and progression system. Actions like suppressing the enemy or healing and providing ammo to your teammates earn you points, apart from FPS staples like killing and assisting kills. These work your XP bar up, and with each level (general soldier level or class-specific level), you earn new attachments, perks and weapons. It’s amazing how much stuff there is to combine in Battlefield 4; guns, multiple attachments, player skills, camouflage, dog tags — there’s no shortage of rewards in this progression system. The four classes — Assault, Engineer, Support and Recon — are very versatile and can accommodate various playstyles. For example, the Recon class is not limited to long range sniper rifles anymore, and can equip shorter range weapons to complement its gadgets, the stuff that defines each class. You can get up and close for recon using your Recon tools, and are no longer restricted to fighting with a sniper rifle against a shotgun, should the occasion arise. There’s also the fact that knife attacks from the front allow the opponent to counter-attack, whereas backstabs net you the usual dog tags as a reward. And speaking of guns, I will need some of your opinions: I believe the gun sounds are the most fantastic a Battlefield game has had so far, and might I say, some of the most impressive sounds in any FPS. Would you agree?

What defines Battlefield, though, is vehicular combat combined with infantry battles. In the course of one minute, you can literally fly a jet, jump off and parachute to the ground, ride an ATV, reach and swap it for a tank, and invade the enemy objective. It will bring some smiles to the faces of seasoned players to hear that aerial combat is now more balanced out. Given that each class has access to weapons that can, given enough effort and support, bring down a helicopter, spawn camping with a chopper is no longer viable unless your team hands down allows it. Refined controls allow for better control of vehicles and foot soldiers, and I can say I adopted DICE’s new control scheme and haven’t looked back since. Having the “Spot” ability set to the R2/RB, for example, allows for much fluider spotting as opposed to the old scheme where the button was set to “Select”, and wanted me to let go of the left analog stick. The new, more convenient scheme lets you pull off Battlefield classic crazy stunts better than ever before, chaining the actions that lead to parachuting through a window or dropping to the ground to deploy your bipod for quick suppression more easily.

The re-introduction of Commander Mode allows tablet users to jump in the battle and aid their teammates, should they prove effective enough, as it all depends on trust, relationships and team coordination. As a Commander, you can perform feats like sending in UAV’s, which can prove invaluable. How the Commander handles the flow of the battle from above earns or loses the trust of their teammates, and can allow them to kick the Commander off his seat. And as far as new modes go, Obliteration involves bringing a bomb to the enemy’s objectives and defending it until detonation, and repeating this step three times. Defuse is, basically, a 5 vs 5 Counter-Strike mode, where everyone has one life and attackers defend a bomb the defenders have to… Defuse. Domination is Conquest bar vehicles, which adds an interesting twist to the usual Battlefield formula, though for me, Battlefield means vehicles and infantry. Lastly, a Test Range is also in place, a much requested addition that allows you to experiment with weapons, attachments and vehicles without having your teammates pray to God when you try to fly a helicopter, for example. But still, from my experience so far, some people neglect it and proceed to learn how to do basic things like driving during ranked matches.

However, it’s not all rainbows and roses. New modes like Obliteration are not always at home in every map, since most of them feel like they’re designed around signature modes Conquest and Rush. Plus, it’s disappointing that current generation consoles can only handle 24 players at most and in some modes only, and thus the maps feel awkwardly big at times. Couple that with many graphical shortcomings and glitches, and the overall graphic quality, and you know that PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360′s age shows very much. By all means, though, Battlefield 4 is not an ugly game. But keeping in mind that PlayStation 4 and Xbox One can accomodate up 64 players max in the corresponding modes, you understand where the need to upgrade stems for. Aliasing is also an issue, with textures sometimes looking not much different than Battlefield 3′s, even though the Frostbite engine running Battlefield 4 is an upgrade.

Conclusion

So, summing up: the campaign is a step up from the previous game, but nothing spectacular, although still great training for the multiplayer part, which also includes a training mode for the first time. Maps and modes are great, old and new, but they don’t always match up so good. Tons of stuff to be earned through levelling up, and Battlepacks can make it easier for dedicated players. But technical shortcomings on the consoles’ side, while not breaking the experience, it doesn’t allow it to shine through.

Does this all mean the game is bad on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360? Hell no, it’s probably in the top three Battlefield games ever released, combining aspects from nearly every Battlefield game to date. But if you’re going for it, and want to get the most out of it, you might want to do so on a PC or next-gen. Keep in mind, upgrading your Battlefield 4 game from a PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One version (respectively) will cost you $10, so you can just as well buy it for your current-gen console and upgrade once you get your hands on the next-gen console of the same family. And if you like shooting games in general or just Battlefield, you will want to play this series’ love letter sooner or later.

Deluxe Edition: Buying the bigger Battlefield 4 edition will net you access to the China Rising expansion pack that will release soon, three Gold Battlepacks, and a neat steelbook. For just $10 more, if you’re not the type of gamer that spends tons of money on games each week like I am, I can’t see why you wouldn’t want to go for it. If you’re lucky, you might even get some good stuff through the three Battlepacks.

Videogamer got confirmation from an EA UK spokesperson about Second Assault, the second Battlefield 4 expansion pack, launching first on Xbox One at the console’s release (November 22).

The expansion includes updated Battlefield 3 maps, running on the beautiful, updated Frostbite engine. For our impressions on the beta, you can head here and share the excitement.

So here we are, a day after Battlefield 4 beta has been made open for Medal of Honor: Warfighter owners, pre-orders and Premium owners 3 days before everyone else. I’ve played a ton of it, and since I know it’s a much anticipated game for a lot of our Games Thirst people and that not everyone got in early, I’ll give you some of my impressions and experiences with the game so far.

More dynamic than ever

Imagine this: playing Conquest, an objective is based at the top of a skyscraper. Strategic helicopter fights are a must, and you have to defend the position with everything you’ve got, since elevators are the only other way up there. Unless you got some big guns. And bring the skyscraper down. And the objective is now placed among the debris, while a huge wave of dust has covered everything and your vision is now not as clear. Done picturing it? Now, go make it a reality in Battlefield 4.

Seriously, if people were disappointed with DICE’s Battlefield 3 beta map choice (Operation Metro), then they’ll be pissing their pants in joy this time around. This feature alone promises so much for the future. You can now shape the battlefield to your own needs, and tactics can change on the fly; if the skyscraper goes down, for example, your “air superiority” squad must now change. The helicopter should drop marksmen off at the top of a nearby building and let them snipe people from afar, while ground troops take the flag. In how many maps, and in which ways, will this be available? I’m intrigued to find out.

More fluid than ever

After capturing objective B at the aforementioned skyscraper, my work there is done. My teammates are setting up their defences, and me and a squadmate have to move on to objective C, which is based inside a mall on the ground. We look at each other, organize through our mics, and jump off the building. After some air time, we open our parachutes, and land on the top of the mall’s glass roof. We quickly hide, exchange ammo and health packs (which are now not area-of-effect, but single-use pick-ups), and sit atop the glass roof, capturing the objective. An enemy notices us, shoots the glass, and we’re now dropped into the mall and disorganized. I quickly shoot for suppression, sprint and vault over objects while reloading, when suddenly another enemy appears in front of me. Luckily, he has his back turned to me out of confusion, and I don’t miss the chance to stab him, and then my reload continues from where it left off — perfect.

Meanwhile, my squadmate has wiped the floor with the previous enemy, and we’re now kings of of two objectives. He says over the mic that turning on and off your laser sight in the enemy’s face is disorienting them, and it’s just at the press of a button (PS3 version, PC’s had this). This, my friends, is nothing more than a typical Battlefield 4 scenario. You can do crazy stuff like this and much more, you just need to think of it, have an ideal chance to perform it, and off you go. There’s also stuff like diving when in water, or using your pistol when swimming; the new tactics you can come up with are endless. Imagine a full-on assault from underwater, just how great would that be?

More small details than ever

So, my team only has to get objective A now, which is located in the metro and is accessible from a station at the west. It’s underground, so the enemies might as well bunker in there and not allow anything in; simple enough. That’s when we have to come up with something to make them lose their calm. So we think, could this fancy concrete art-thing over the metro’s glass roof be destroyed? It’s worth a try.

And off we are to board a M1 Abrams, and I serve as the gunner (just like I did back in the army days!). We cross the bridge that connects the map’s two parts, and there’s retractable/detractable short bollards to prevent vehicles from coming over. I get out, lower them for our tank, then raise them back up to at least steal some time if the enemy brings vehicles over (the amount of people I saw not knowing what to do was astonishing — granted, I didn’t know at first, but curiosity got the best of me and I explored around and found that a switch does the trick). Now we had the big guns at the ready, so we fired our missiles, while some ground troops fired their RPG’s. The result was the big beautiful thing over the metro going under, into the metro, and raising dust and all hell with it. We swiftly jumped in through the now-open roof, stormed the enemies, and claimed objective A.

Elevators and street bollards were usable in this map, and it makes me think, what other objects are usable in other maps? It’s a complete game-changer if you use it right; for example, setting an awesome, air-only team to fight the enemy’s helicopter seals of air entrance to objective B, and having a team cover the elevators is a death sentence for the enemies that try the only way up.

New small stuff that make a difference

As previously mentioned, health and ammo packs are single-use pick-ups. That changes a lot; camping is not as fluid and viable anymore. Another small in context, big in action change is that every starting gun (at least) comes with an optic. Mind you, it might be a weak one; but still comes with one. Iron sights are not my thing in Battlefield (AEK-971 was the only gun I could aim with its iron sights), and this certainly is a welcome change. The support’s gun (my class of choice) also sports a dual-scope, changed at the press of a button. Subtlety is evidently a prominent feature in Battlefield 4, and one pulled off greatly.

In other news, there’s country dog tags, there’s a truckload of dog tags in general, the menus are easier to navigate and respond faster, and inviting friends over/seeing how a friend does is easy and non-detracting from the experience. For example, a friend of mine was playing yesterday, and I already was in a match. When he got in a match, a small pop-up opened at the top right corner to notify me, and I didn’t even mind it.

Graphically, there were some pop-ins, mainly in textures, but it’s a beta. If they transfer over to the retail game, I’ll surely complain then, but for now, I won’t.  The dust cloud is also a great addition, one you won’t understand unless you experience. The power of the cloud (huehuehue)! Improved and more colorful than Battlefield 3, and may I say, cleaner. The screen isn’t cluttered, even when a lot is going on at once (at least on this map, Siege of Shanghai), or when massive destruction takes place (which is more detailed, by the way). Matchmaking is almost instant, server browser is there from the get-go for consoles. There’s so much work put in there… it shows from the moment you pick up the controller/mouse-keyboard.

And this is, my friends, my day one experience of the Battlefield 4 beta. I’m looking forward to more of you coming in, as it’s absolutely something that mustn’t be missed. We’ll post more stuff as the days go by, and we’re preparing for a huge Games Thirst Battlefield 4 beta meet-up! So, until I see you by my side, I’ll go kill some people and blow buildings up

Pre-load is now available for everyone in the Exclusive #bf4beta. Download now to be among the first to fight on Oct 1.

— Origin (@OriginInsider) September 30, 2013

And with this tweet, a wave of Battlefield players are now on their way to pre-load the beta in anticipation for tomorrow’s opening. Take advantage of it, go get it now, and be ready to join the fight from the first minute.

Previously, we told you what game modes to expect in the beta and game overall, and that we’ll be having fun with you on our side once it launches. Will you join us, soldier?

The sole GPU provider for next-gen consoles, AMD, just pulled the curtain on the “Mantle”, a technology that is designed to squeeze every bit of power out of their new Radeon R9 and R7 lines of graphics cards.

Built on the four pillars of Unified Gaming Strategy (console, cloud, content, client), Mantle is realized through them. AMD commented that games like Battlefield 4 will be  “empowered with the ability to speak the native language of the Graphics Core Next architecture, presenting a deeper level of hardware optimization no other graphics card manufacturer can match.”

Replacing Microsoft’s DirectX 11 with a custom answer to it, that offers direct access to the GPU features and performance, Mantle also helps game developers in making games that run on both GCN-powered PC’s and consoles.

Digital Foundry revealed Battlefield 4 will be the first Mantle-powered game, but will do so from December onwards, through an update.

A few good weeks before its October 29th release, Battlefield 4′s beta will commence on October 1st, EA revealed in a blog post. The beta will be available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC four weeks before it officially launches.

It’s also been confirmed that Battlefield 4 will be available on each of the next generation consoles’ launch.

It’s that time of the week again, when we all have time to kill in gaming. Games Thirst focuses on the gamers, the audience, and thus, me and Ernice thought such meet-ups in various games. This week, we’re having a Battlefield 3 (Playstation 3) meet-up, and you’re all invited! In around 6 hours from now (meaning around 17:00 US time, 20:00 UK time), we want you to be on my and Ernice’s side while we rock the boat.

So, you up? Let us know in the comments below, and we’ll invite you once we’re online!

Speaking to German website GameStar, Firor details that players will purchase the game, which comes with 30 days free, after which they’ll pay a monthly fee of $14.99/€12.99/£8.99.

He said: “The Elder Scrolls games are all about allowing the player to go where they want, be who they want, and do what they want. We feel that putting pay gates between the player and content at any point in game ruins that feeling of freedom, and just having one small monthly fee for 100% access to the game fits the IP and the game much better than a system where you have to pay for features and access as you play. The Elder Scrolls Online was designed and developed to be a premium experience: hundreds of hours of gameplay, tons of depth and features, professional customer support – and a commitment to have ongoing content at regular intervals after launch. This type of experience is best paired with a one-time fee per month, as opposed to many smaller payments that would probably add up to more than $14.99/month any way.”

EA, Activision, Ubisoft and Warner Bros. are already signed up for this deal, so you can expect games like LEGO Marvel Heroes, a possible Arkham Origins next-gen versions and more to follow suit later on.

“We’ve heard reports that players would like their stats and progression to transfer from current to next-gen in #BF4. We’re investigating.”

iOS and Android tablets will also be getting a free Commander Mode app.

“There is a free stand-alone Commander Mode app that you can download to play the game on your tablet. Commander Mode will only support iOS tablet devices including the iPad as well as Android tablets such as the Google Nexus.”

And the last bit of news is that the Premium service will be making a return with the fourth core series’ entry.

“Yes. There will be a premium version of Battlefield 4,” reads a Tweet. “We’ll share more info on a future date.”