Where's the Xbox One or PS4 Battlefield 4 Review?

I wrote reviews for Battlefield 4 for PC and current-gen consoles this week, but we haven't published Xbox One or PlayStation 4 reviews on IGN quite yet. Due to various circumstances, we’ll be holding the next-gen reviews until closer to or shortly after the next-gen consoles launch. Look for the PS4 review around November 15, and the Xbox One review near November 22. Let me tell you a little bit about why we’re waiting.

IGN is adamant about playing all review games in conditions that allow us to be thorough and confident in our criticism. On PC and current-gen consoles, I was able to play many hours of both the single-player and multiplayer, to the point where I was satisfied. That was not the case with Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions, which were either not made fully available (Xbox One) or in a pre-launch state that did not allow me to experience Battlefield 4 in a way that felt comparable to what you will play when they launch, including frequent crashes and connectivity problems (PS4). To give a recommendation based on those conditions feels unfair to both the game and our readers, considering the platforms have yet to launch. So we're waiting until we can play this thing in the wild. These are problems we expect will be a non-issue when the next-gen machines launch, but better safe than sorry.



However, I can give you some impressions based on my time with the PlayStation 4 multiplayer and single-player. Purely from a gameplay perspective, I can say with confidence that Battlefield 4 on PlayStation 4 and PC are equally excellent. The two are visually comparable, with minor detail differences if you’re really trying to pick it apart. The single-player and multiplayer look beautiful, and DualShock 4 is the best thing to happen to PlayStation in terms of first-person shooters. The analog sticks give you much more room for precise movements than the PS3's DualShock 3, whose sticks I've always felt are a bit clumsy. With aim/fire moved back to the redesigned L2/R2, you’re now pulling a trigger rather than pushing a button. It just feels more natural than hooking my index fingers over the PS3 controller’s bumpers. I’ll probably use this controller to play PC games for the foreseeable future.

Playing with 64 players on consoles is something else. I’m used to that on PC, especially with Battlefield, but I prefer playing on a couch, on PSN or Xbox Live, and using a game pad. Battlefield 4 on PS4 really is the best of those worlds. The scale of the PlayStation 3 version’s maps is fine – as I mention in the review, they sacrifice space and scale without significantly damaging the gameplay – but the addition of 40 more players, additional control points, and vehicles really shows you what you’ve been missing if you’ve been playing Battlefield on consoles all these years.

Until such time as we can get a real, representative experience with the next-gen versions, I hope you enjoy the PC review or Xbox 360/PS3 review. If you have questions, I'm happy to answer them in the comments here, so fire away!