Battlefield 4

"Prepare 4 Battle"

- Battlefield 4 tagline

Battlefield 4 is the thirteenth installment in the Battlefield Series and is currently being developed by DICE. It is the sequel to Battlefield 3 and will be available for current and next-generation consoles. The game was announced by Frank Gibeau, President of Electronic Arts. Battlefield 4 was revealed accidentally as a pre-order listing discovered on the Origin Client.

Plot
The story, according to the Battlefield website, follows American VIPs' evacuation from Shanghai and an American squad struggling to make their way back home. In the 17-minute gameplay trailer released on March 26, 2013, the player is seen engaging Russian special operators, confirming Russia's return as a faction. In addition, China is confirmed as another faction, as, at the trailer's end, an unidentified caller can be heard going toward the east coast of China.

The trailer reveal showcased a campaign mission called "Fishing in Baku," Baku being the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, which lies on the Caspian Sea's coast.

Factions

 * Unown branch of the United States Armed Forces
 * People's Liberation Army

Spectator Mode
A new feature for the Frostbite Engine is a Spectator Mode. It features the ability to view all players in first- or third-person, or roam the map with a free camera. There is also a "Table Top" view mode, which is essentially a map with every unit spotted.

Commander
Commander Mode returns from Battlfield 2, having one Commander for each squad. The Commander is placed in an overhead view mode and has the ability to call in flag specific resources that are gained or lost depending on who has control of the flag.

Micellaneous

 * 64 players support on next-gen consoles
 * Runs on 60 frames per second
 * Knife Takedown counter
 * Five man squads

Beta
It was revealed that those who pre-ordered Medal of Honor: Warfighter would gain exclusive access to the Battlefield 4 Beta. DICE later announced that those who had pre-ordered the Battlefield Digital Deluxe edition, or were Battlefield Premium members, would also have access to the beta. It has been confirmed to be made available in the Fall of 2013, but if it will eventually become an open beta has yet to be announced.

Second Assault
On June 10th, 2013, DICE unveiled Battlefield 4: Second Assault during the Microsoft Press Conference at E3 2013. It was announced that it would be the first expansion pack to be released for Battlefield 4 and would do so first on the Xbox One.

China Rising
On May 21st, 2012, DICE unveiled Battlefield 4: China Rising on a Battlelog post and stated that it would include four new maps on the Chinese mainland, new vehicles, and high-tech equipment. It was stated to be rewarded to players who pre-ordered the game at no extra cost.

Digital Deluxe Edition
EA announced on its website that the Digital Deluxe Edition is available for pre-order on Origin.

Trivia

 * Battlefield 4 has been confirmed to be set in 2020, but will maintain a modern day atmosphere. The current confirmed factions are Russia, China, and the United States. It is also to be set in and around China, as well as other parts of Asia.
 * The pictures in the title image show the city of Shanghai and a Chinese J-20 fighter jet.
 * On March 18, 2013, a seven second teaser was posted, depicting Type 98 tank treads beginning to move, as well as a date (March 27, 2013), which was then confirmed on the website to be when another part of Battlefield 4 was revealed. This was only available to logged-in Origin users, however.
 * On March 21, 2013, a fifteen second teaser was posted, depicting some kind of ship turbine. Additionally, an image featuring a burning aircraft carrier was revealed in the Battlefield 4 official website.
 * Battlefield 4 is being developed for next-gen consoles (PlayStation 4 and Xbox One), and is being scaled down to be compatible for the current generation consoles (Playstation 3 and Xbox 360).
 * The key art was leaked in a supposed Battlefield 4 trailer before it was officially released.
 * Battlefield 4 is the first game in the series to include gore, as evidenced by the player using his combat knife, through a quick-time event, to cut off an NPC's leg in the gameplay trailer to save him from an exploding UH-1Y Venom.
 * This is probably a non-optional choice, as the downed helicopter explodes right after the player finishes cutting the limb off.
 * The female soldier, Hanna, was seen at the end of the 17 minute gameplay trailer released on March 27, 2013, alongside what appeared to be an American soldier in the background.
 * In the description, it mentions new intense, water-based vehicle combat. Attendees of the March 26 screening events have mentioned jet skis and naval craft being included.
 * The Russian special operative soldiers in the 17 minute gameplay trailer appear to based on the Russian Army multiplayer characters from Battlefield 3. This may simply be a placeholder for future character models.
 * The US soldier on the cover art holds what appears to be a Mk14 EBR.
 * There is now an animation for countering a Knife Takedown attack.

Soundtrack
On March 24, 2013, a song in Battlefield 4 titled "Hanna's Theme", composed by Johan Skugge & Jukka Rintamaki, was leaked. Both composers had worked on Battlefield 3's soundtrack.