Battlefield Hardline going back into beta soon

Last year, Battlefield Hardline was announced and promptly fired into beta—then almost as promptly delayed to this year. I had concerns about it: here's a cops and robbers version of Battlefield, but it still felt a bit like soldiers and soldiers and some cars. I'd expected something asymmetrical, something that played up the idea of a limited number of criminals taking on a larger police force. And that's not very Battlefield-ey, so I get why the two sides are symmetrical, but even so it was missing something to make it a crime flick and not a war flick. I don't know how much has been taken back to the drawing board, but we'll have another chance to see if and how Hardline has changed soon.

It sounds like the beta's primary goal is to test stability before launch, which makes sense given Hardline's March 17th release date, though I also imagine balancing tweaks may come of it. Balancing is never really done, is it? Whatever comes of it, I am pleased that it sounds like we'll get to play lots of it.

"To be frank, we want you to play this beta to death," reads the press release. "We need you to. This test is only going to make the game stronger, and help us take a look at ways we can ensure we deliver the most stable launch you deserve."

Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the '80s and '90s, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on early PCs. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now, and PS1 classic Bushido Blade (that's right: he had Bleem!). Tyler joined PC Gamer in 2011, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.