Bad boys, bad boys! Whatchu gonna do when they come for you?

It's no secret I like the Battlefield games (more or less) and when I heard you wouldn't be in the military in Hardline but play a cop in a world of crooked law and order my thoughts went to "... What?" The complete change of theme totally threw me off guard and I wasn't sure how I'd wind up liking the gameplay... Then one day I got it at GameStop and decided to take a chance...

"Hellooo! Car 54, where are you?!"
-Officer Nick Mendoza

Online-wise I can't say much of the game as my internet data cap's not too great and I don't wanna pay monthly fees just to play laggy games my network would drop me from anyways. Storywise, however, you play Nick Mendova; a cop ready to make a difference in Miami's world of law and order. Nick quickly discovers the line between cop and criminal is a blurry one, corruption goes to the top and Nick (being true blue to his police duties) is set up by his partners and after doing hard time, he's broken out of captivity and is given a chance at revenge. What's a cop who's no longer a cop and is betrayed by cops got to lose? So half of the game is essentially Nick as a police officer, sneaking around, getting evidence, busting perps, and the other half is Nick on the run from the cops and pretty much doing the same thing... Sneaking around, getting evidence, arresting perps... So you'd think "Nick's still a good guy and proves his innocence in the end" right? Nope! I won't give away the ending but it's kinda the opposite of the rest of the game as far as I'm concerned.

"Save me... I'll pay you back by selling you down the river, ummmm...
I mean treat you to coffee and doughnuts!"
-Officer Khai

The gameplay's pretty fun though does a repetitive with all the sneaking around, scanning evidence, and arresting perps to unlock new weapons. I do feel and wish that the single player's gameplay drastically changed once Nick was on the run, but it's the same thing with the occasional driving levels. Not really as diverse as some other Battlefield games I played but it's still fun. I like how they tried to make this like a police TV show where every level begins with a "previously on Hardline" message showing you the events that led up to your current situation, nice touch (especically if you take extended periods of breaks from your saved games) but unfortunately nothing I haven't seen before.

So what's the verdict on Hardline? Well, kudos to the developers trying to branch out and try out the cops and criminals thing rather than the now-redundant war simulator kinda First Person Shooter but I feel they dropped the ball with the gameplay. I realize lone cops going into drug dens and such have to play things smart to bust their perps but it takes a lot of action out of the First Person Shooter genre. If I wanna play a whole game of sneaking around, I already got Alien: Isolation! I would've liked to see more diversity in the gameplay, maybe more open areas to drive in a more open world kinda GTA-styled city, but then again that's already Grand Theft Auto 5. I think the game it's good and fun for what it is and (aside from that ending that left me empty and ask for a redo or at least a sequel to finish the job) it shows the developers put a lot of effort into making this game. Battlefield Hardline gets 4 out of 5 cold cases where the evidence fades away and mysteriously disappears. Now if only EA will take the hint and let us go back and awesomely fight the law in Road Rash again...

"Haha... This is the life. Now gimme a rival racer to beat up! Seriously, why couldn't this be like Easter Egg missions in the game... *sigh* I miss the Road Rash splendor and glory..."
-Mad Wolf