Everyone has been speculating how DICE intends to give interactive, high-octane life to the comparatively primitive brutality of World War I with Battlefield 1. A slew of new details on the game dropped at Gamescom 2016 and players were finally given a chance to try it out. Fortunately, for those of us that couldn’t make the trip to Cologne, Germany, we’ll get our chance as well when the Battlefield 1 Open Beta arrives at the end of this August.
Some of the features that got a break down during EA’s Battlefield 1 segment at Gamescom were horses, trains, and elite classes. Horses are exclusive to the cavalry class. They give players a medium range rifle, saber, and, of course, a highly mobile living vehicle. Players can take advantage of the cavalry unit in order to run down players on foot and strafe tanks and destroy them with high explosives on the run.
Trains are a moving fortress of guns, cannons, and armor that can be called in to run through the battlefield and leave a massive swath of destruction. It features six different seats, several ground cannons, and an anti-air gun, making it a devastating threat as soon as it’s active.
Finally, we got a little info on elite classes in the game. These are classes that work sort of like Hero unlocks in Star Wars: Battlefront in that they are infantry classes that feature a unique and significant threat compared to the regular fodder. We’ve already seen glimpses of the Flame Trooper running flamethrowers that melt infantry like butter. They’re armed with flame resistant gear and gas masks that protect them from quite a few means of WWI warfare. Sentry Elites are walking tanks: soldiers covered in armor that are protected from conventional gunfire and are armed with a infantry shredding heavy machine gun. Finally, there’s the Tank Hunter, armed with an anti-armor rifle as tall as a man. These dangerous soldiers are capable of hammering armored vehicles from a distance and ruining them in one fell swoop.
Those who are interested in getting their own taste of all of these things and more will be able to get in on the action with the Open Beta starting on Xbox One, PS4, and PC via Origin starting on the 31st of August. In order to get in on the action, you need to go to the Battlefield Insider page and register by August 21. Battlefield 1 comes to Xbox One, PS4, and PC on October 21, 2016. Get a look at the pulse-pounding trailer that dropped at Gamescom below!
