Battlefield 4: Naval Strike trailer is all about the war boats

Boats aren't traditionally seen as the sexiest of war machines, which may be why DICE are working overtime to bring the bombast. If you're a student of FPS teaser trailers, you'll recognise the tricks. There are missiles, explosions, shouty men, and the bit where the music goes "werrrrrRRROMP", then goes completely silent, and then goes "werrrrrRRROMP" again.

Naval Strike will add four new maps, and will introduce Carrier Assault , based on Battlefield 2142's Titan mode. It's also the last pack to be created by the main branch of DICE, with the two remaining DLC updates in development at DICE LA .

There was a time when I'd have bought into the controlled chaos DICE are showing with this trailer, but - in regards to previous maps, at least - I don't think Battlefield 4 has the focus to pull it off. It seems a long time since even Bad Company 2, a game I spent hundreds of hours with, and its ability to cleverly funnel players into specific objectives. Subsequent battlefields have felt bigger, both in scope and in their ability to overwhelm. Inevitably, it's matches feel scrappier, but also more dispassionate.

Hopefully Carrier Assault can recapture some of the spirit of the Battlefields of old. We'll find out on either March 25th, for Premium members, or April 8th for general purchase.

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.