Do yourself a favour and play this game. Heart-pumping and beautiful album-as-videogame about getting over breakups. Each level samples a different game design in unique and zany ways. I especially love the 'Inside' and 'Parallel Universes' levels, the latter for a brilliant overlaying of 3 levels at the same time that changes with each beat of the music.

The pre-release week was rough. After that though I've really enjoyed BF2042. I love how easy it is to drop in, play a few rounds, drop out. The operators are at first a strange addition but as you play you'll find ones you like to use. I enjoy the guy who hacks machines. I think the sense of scale really adds dimension to the conquest maps, 64x64 feels like a full-on war.

I've only played a few rounds of Portal but every one I've loved. BF1942 conquest feels as it did, complete with the memorable BF1942 theme blaring to close out rounds -- the conversion of the tanks and guns to modern Frostbite engine is top notch. I've enjoyed VIP Fiesta too.

The only mode I don't care for is Hazard Zone, which feels like it rewards people who simply grind out the mode with more attachments, or those who are simply 'good' with a sniper and scope to pick the plebs off who lack any attachments on their rifles. And once you die you lose all your progress. Just not fun.

Yes, about half the features of previous Battlefields are missing, but I feel with BF2042 the series is trying something completely new, taking the games in a direction I at first resisted with everyone, but as I played more and more of conquest, jumping in for a few hours to blow off some steam after work, I came to appreciate the ease at which DICE has simplified yet also spread out its systems across 128 players. You're another little worker drone in the army, with your few gadgets, relying on the 63 other teammates, but also you're contributing to the cohesive whole. The ziplines and all add a ton to levels as well, verticality and an ease of movement, especially when you're running the grappling hook guy or Sundance. Each operator has a specific mode of play, contingent on the way the battles are turning, and I like how you can switch on respawn to quickly change either to defend a point from tanks, or clear out troops to take a point with what's needed from any given operator. There's just more ways to play than the straight standard four classes. I do wish the wingsuit was given to everyone, and Sundance fitted with something else. So even I have a suggestions for improvements.

The one thing I pine for is a scoreboard, to show at least when we require AA to take out helicopters, or more bazookas for tanks. There are also a few things that need balancing, such as the PP SMG with a sniper scope (what even is that but I picked one up off a dead guy and yeah, the gun build is nuts).

The worst of what reviewers are saying, unfortunately who played during the prerelease 12 days or whatever (dumb as hell move EA), got hit with horrible hit reg, optimisation, and vehicle spam. I can say without a doubt I would've thumbed this game all the way down had that state continued after launch. But day one patched the majority of those elements for me, and the hovercraft spam disappeared, and kills I was getting felt realistic to how I aimed, so I got to enjoy what DICE was trying to achieve and have fun. Perhaps also my specs (GTX 2080 Super and a i7-8700K) were ones DICE tested properly. I may be lucky in that regard where others are not. I know my mate could barely run the game on GTX 1080.

Honestly, if EA wants to pull that next time, call it early access or something all over the screen, like an extended test period for servers. Don't be hyping the prerelease period as early play of the full game that's on launch, because all you did was expose every reviewer and Battlefield fan who preordered to a subpar build of the game, resulting in the mess of scores.

Ultimately I thumb this up, with those caveats. Yes this review might seem mixed, but I think the game is worth more than the sum of its parts.

As an addendum:

BF2042 only has to go up, provided EA gives the game the same breathing room it afforded BF4 for its similarly messy launch. I don't think games should be released in states where they need 6-12 added months to be feature complete. That isn't the fault of the developers, or this game. That's the result of poor executive planning, poor leadership, and catering to shareholders when they set release dates. EA yet again. And while I don't like the management, I do like the games. Sure I could boycott...but will this change anything? Battlefront II changed because there was enough noise made, not from how many silently boycotted. I trust that people who want to see the change with how games like this are released, will make sure their voices are heard. Myself included, as I've made plain here.