Battlefield 2142 Feature Preview - Infantry Classes, Weapons, and Unlocks

As the developers at DICE like to note, a major reason why the Battlefield games are so popular is because they blend large-scale infantry combat with vehicle combat. In other words, you can run around a virtual battlefield with up to 64 players, or you can jump in a jeep, a tank, a helicopter, a plane, and more. In an earlier preview, we covered the new vehicles that will appear in Battlefield 2142, the next game in the series. It goes without saying that Battlefield 2142 will also build on the many infantry-specific successes that were introduced in Battlefield 2.

In Battlefield games you select which class of infantry you want to fight as and that dictates what sort of weapons and abilities you have on the battlefield. So if you want to kill tanks, you choose the antitank class, which gives you a bazooka or an antitank missile. With that in mind, it might seem that Battlefield 2142's four infantry classes are a step down from Battlefield 2's seven classes. However, as we learned on our recent visit to DICE's offices, these new classes are actually much more versatile and customizable than anything seen in Battlefield 2. The idea was to meld complementary classes to create stronger ones.

Since the assault class is on the front line where the action is the heaviest, it made sense to make it so it can provide medical support, as well. So the medic and assault classes have effectively been combined in Battlefield 2142, and this new assault class can unlock the health pack and defibrillator kit. Speaking of which, the health pack works quite a bit differently in Battlefield 2142 than in previous games. Now, you only get a single health pack, which you can throw onto the ground. This won't instantly heal anyone who picks it up, but rather it creates a healing radius that's similar to the supply crates in Battlefield 2. You must now get up next to a health kit and wait while it heals you.

The new recon class in Battlefield 2142 blends the sniper and special ops classes that fans of Battlefield 2 are familiar with. So the recon class not only takes out enemies at far range, but also blows things up at close range. The new engineer class adds the old antitank class, so you'll be able to blow up as well as repair vehicles. Meanwhile, the support class is the odd class out, since Battlefield 2 only had seven classes, but the job still remains the same. Support players will be able to lay down large amounts of fire, as well as resupply allies with the ammo kit. As an added bonus, the support class can unlock a shotgun to make them really deadly up close.

One of the great successes of Battlefield 2 was the introduction of squad-based gameplay. You could join a squad of up to six players and communicate with one another over real-time voice chat. You could also work together, thanks to the tools the game gave you, such as the ability for squad members to spawn on the squad leader's location. This meant that you could get into the action instantly, without having to hoof it from some rear base to the front line. Yet, large portions of the Battlefield 2 player base still don't play in squads, so DICE is introducing lots of little carrots to get players to squad up.

One of these is the idea of field upgrades, which will be ways for squads to get rewarded for good play. If your squad works together and you accomplish objectives, you may unlock a field upgrade, which gives you access to unlocks that you might not regularly have access to. The longer you work together as a squad, the more temporary unlocks you can get. This may help you out in a fight, and it's also a great way to experiment with different unlocks, which might finally help put an end to the countless "which unlock should I choose?" threads on the various Battlefield message boards.

Another carrot is taking the idea of the networked battlefield that today's military is working on and projecting it into the future. Squad members will be data-linked to one another. If you spot an enemy unit, others in your squad will be able to see it as well in the form of an icon on their screens. You don't even need to report its presence, like you have to do in Battlefield 2. Just put the reticule on the target and targeting information pops up, which is transmitted to the rest of the squad. So, for example, if you spot a tank heading toward an intersection where your fellow squad members are, they'll know that it's approaching and can prepare an ambush, perhaps by using the new tracking mines that will pop up when a vehicle approaches and automatically home in it.

Speaking of weapons, since the game is set approximately 150 years in the future, the designers didn't want to alienate players with too much exotic weaponry. Many of the weapons in the game are essentially futuristic versions of today's arsenal. You'll have pistols, assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, and more, though they may have some cool new features that you aren't used to. For instance, the rocket launcher has a special detonation mode where you can dial in a range for it to explode. So if someone is hiding behind a wall 20 meters from you, you can set the rocket to explode at 22 meters and fire it over the wall. This lets you hit targets behind cover or around corners. Yet the most basic weapon will likely be one of the most popular, since it gives you a special reward. If you can knife someone, you'll be rewarded with his dog tags as a war trophy. And since Battlefield 2142 will keep track of all your statistics, including your knife kills, you'll have a record of everyone that you've knifed.

While there are only four classes, there's actually a lot more versatility in how you can customize your character. The game will feature approximately 40 unlocks, which is basically another way to reward players. The more points that you accumulate by playing (like in Battlefield 2, you'll gain points for kills, teamwork, and accomplishing objectives), the more unlocks that you'll have. The unlock system was very popular in Battlefield 2, and it has been beefed up quite a bit in this game. Now you'll also be able to unlock equipment, such as the active camo device that can make you invisible, as well as special abilities. Meanwhile, squad leaders will be able to unlock and use sentry guns, which can guard a particular location, as well as a gun droid that hovers over the squad's position and provides extra firepower.

All these improvements should help make infantry combat much more intense than before, particularly when battling on board the floating aircraft carriers known as the Titans in the new Titan mode. In this mode, since your job is to destroy the other enemy's Titan while protecting your own, you'll have to ditch your vehicles behind some point and slug it out in the narrow corridors of a Titan. Not surprisingly, one of the inspirations for this mode was the opening stormtrooper assault seen in the original Star Wars. But even if you're fighting in the rest of the Battlefield, these new improvements and enhancements seem very cool and intuitive. We'll find out how well they pan out when Battlefield 2142 ships later this year.