The Battlefield 1 single-player trailer is out, and it is a suitably dramatic thing, running through the trenches of France and Belgium to the deserts of Egypt, the cold waters of the North Sea, and even a sunrise over the great city of London.
The focus on BF1 has so far been on its multiplayer, which is Battlefield's traditional strength, but EA is clearly determined to do something with the single-player campaign too. And even though there isn't really a coherent narrative thread that stitches this new trailer together (beyond the “fight for what's right” motif that usually drives these things), I think that's OK. I mean, you get to fly upside-down in an airplane over trenches filled with surprised Germans! What else could you ask for?
(I don't know if you'll actually get to do that, but it sure looks cool.)
EA said the Battlefield 1 campaign is made up of “War Stories,” which it described as an "anthology format" focusing on “personal stories focusing on different protagonists with unique backgrounds and skills.” One such character is a British tank driver who must earn the trust of his crewmates while discovering his talent for war; another is an Arab rebel who serves as the “right-hand” of the famed Lawrence of Arabia.
I don't know if I'd go so far as to call the trailer “good,” but it certainly looks promising, and I'm heartened by EA's apparent commitment to making a worthwhile single-player experience. I have to think that there's hidden significance to that encounter at the very end, too; there's a hint of "Christmas truce" to it, and you don't put something like that at the very end of a trailer, hidden behind the logo, without a reason. Which will become clear soon enough: Battlefield 1 comes out on October 21. Find out what we think of what we've seen so far in our hands-on preview.
