One Minute Reviews: Battlefield V

If 1 minute is too much to ask (you monster) scroll to the bottom for the final verdict!

Tsk. You kids think you're real soldiers? You were barely dipping your toes in war with Vietnam, and you were downright coddled with your war games in West Virginia. No, ladies and gentlemen, I cut my teeth pretending to fight in a real war, a proper war, the sequel you've all heard about; World War II!

World War II is the setting of "Battlefield V," is what I'm saying.

When I was a kid most FPS games went through a phase of needing to be set in the '40's and that's where we first got the Battlefield. It's weird in a fun way to see Battlefield return to it's roots. This game has had almost no fanfare from EA, and I cannot figure out why. It may not be an exceptional improvement of "Battlefield 1," but it doesn't need to be, because "Battlefield 1" was a solid game.

The single player campaign is short but very well put together, as we've come to expect from these games. A small change they've made is a challenge system, which encourages replaying levels to get unique melee weapons and other rewards. It's good to see them put a bit more effort into the single player experience, because for me that is and always shall be the main appeal of a video game.

On the multiplayer front things are also much the same. I personally noticed things running a bit smoother than with "Battlefield 1," but that may be equally a result of the lobbies not seeming to be as full.

Essentially, the biggest change between games that you will notice is the setting. There is a reason WWII was the go-to setting for an FPS game in the '90's, and it shines here. The balance of effectiveness between weapons and vehicles is perfect, encouraging the player to switch between weapons and strategies as situations evolve.

On the downside, there are some bizarre design choices. There's no gentle way to say this, so I'll be frank; you can look at your own butt. If you look behind you when you are crawling, you can see your hind quarters, sometimes in positions that mean you are either playing as a former yoga instructor or your spine has snapped. What benefit there could possibly be to coding that in I cannot fathom, but it's there.

Additionally there is a tendency for some objects to clip through each other in otherwise polished levels, making the levels look clean in the same way a teenager's room is clean with a suspiciously lumpy carpet.

Finally, the stories were all intriguing. They once again took an approach where you play as several protagonists, seeing many sides of the war, and it was once again an absolute delight. I'm all for taking risks, but I can also appreciate a second helping of something delicious. Look, it's lunch; this is going to quickly become all food analogies.

Final verdict: