Over the weekend, Battlefield 2042 had its first Open Beta weekend. Players everywhere got to experience the massive multiplayer shooter for the first time, with those who pre-ordered getting a few extra days of fun. The beta featured a single mode (CONQUEST) on one map (ORBITAL) where two giant teams face off and fight to control different positions.

I was able to get a few rounds in on Friday and Saturday. What I’ve learned over many years is that Battlefield’s giant 64+ player modes are always way too big for me. In the Beta there were up to 128 players in CONQUEST. It’s crazy to think they can fit that many players on one map. My problem has always been that the maps are just way too large for me. I end up running across acres of land before finally getting sniped out by someone on the other team.

I have always appreciated Battlefield’s vehicles and their means of transportation for these giant maps though. I was able to ride in a plane, control the cannon on a chopper, drive ATVs, Army SUVs, pickup trucks and more. It’s also fun to be able to parachute from anywhere, including tall buildings.

The shooting in Battlefield, movement, sliding and mechanics have always been great. I would like to try out some smaller maps in Battlefield 2042 though. In Star Wars Battlefront (I & II) there were (Battlefield-style) big team online battles, but I have mostly stuck with the smaller battles and air combat.

Extreme Weather

What I was most excited for in Battlefield 2042 was the insane weather patterns. On Thursday, before I had access to the Beta I checked out some Battlefield 2042 streams on Twitch and I got to watch Bruce Greene run into an insane tornado. I really wanted to do something like that in the Beta, but never had the chance.

The game trailer featured crazy tornadoes and extreme weather. There was one cool thing I got to do. I was driving an army SUV and saw an enemy tank ahead. I sped up and jumped out slamming my SUV right into the tank. It didn’t really do any major damage, but it looked pretty cool. If only I had a rocket launcher at the time I could have finished the job, instead the tank blew me up and continued with its day.

Battlefield vs Call of Duty

Battlefield and Call of Duty have been the two big military shooters for the past two decades (I played tons of Call of Duty back in college). I don’t know if there’s a big Xbox vs PlayStation (or Sega vs Nintendo)-type rivalry between the two, though. I’ve always enjoyed both games.

I just feel I’ve always been better at Call of Duty games. Today, I’m not any good at either, but back then I was always in the middle or top of my team in Call of Duty online matches. Year after year, I would buy the latest entry, beat the campaign and move onto online multiplayer for the rest of the year.

I later got into some of the Battlefield spin-off games: Hardline and Bad Company. I later played some Battlefield I and Battlefield V. Lately, my relationship with Call of Duty has been deleting and reinstalling Warzone every few months.

Decision

I enjoyed seeing what Battlefield 2042 looks and feels like — right now. I hope there are other Betas that will show off more of the Geo-storm weather and smaller online game modes. I’m sort of bummed that there is no campaign, because that’s usually what I buy these games for. The multiplayer has always been an added bonus.

They definitely could have put together a really cool future world campaign for this one, but instead they are going strictly multiplayer. I will continue to test out the game in  other betas and any other open pregame events. I don’t see myself buying Battlefield 2042 as of now. That could change though.