Back at Gamescom in Cologne, I was given a chance to test the new Battlefield 1 competitive mode dubbed Incursions, and I even recorded a full match for your perusal (and entertainment).
Incursions is a very focused mode played on small maps, pitching five players against five players. There is only one vehicle per team, and it can certainly turn the tide if it’s not tackled properly.
Instead of the usual classes from the standard game, each player can choose a kit among eight (Trench Surgeon, AT Assault, Battle Mechanic, Control Leader, Mortar Support, Shock Assault, Proximity Recon and Raid Leader), and must make his equipment and role count to achieve victory.
Given the limited number of players and the smaller maps, there is very little wandering (at least if you’re not bad like me), and a lot of firing, and every kill and death counts.
The map I tested was a smaller version of Giant’s Shadow, and it was really difficult to walk around for more than a few seconds without being spotted and attacked, which certainly created a lot of adrenaline. Interestingly, static cannons are also placed rather strategically, and I see them becoming quite useful against infantry and vehicles when in the hands of someone who knows what he’s doing.
Ultimately the new mode proved to be a lot of fun, and the balance wasn’t too bad, considering that the build was an alpha version and things are probably going to change a lot before the mode is released and start to trickle in the hands of the pros.
Incidentally, this isn’t the only new content coming to Battlefield 1, as the new DLC expansion In The Name of the Tsar will release on September 19th.
Now, let’s get to the gameplay, that you can enjoy below. If you have followed DualShockers from a long time (or if you have read the headline), you probably know that I am far from a pro at multiplayer shooters. It’s not that I don’t like them. I actually do. I’m just bad at them. To be more precise, I really suck. For some reason, a few of them (like Destiny) end up clicking with me, but I’m a’m a complete disaster at everything else, and that includes the rather technical gameplay of Battlefield 1.
Add to that the fact that I was severely sleep deprived (as I always am in trade-show environments), and that almost everyone else among the nine people sitting around me was either a developer or wore an ESL shirt, and you get an idea of what you’re about to see.
I ended up putting some epic Battlefield 1 music on the video (to cover my screams of pain and anguish, obviously), but I should probably have dropped The Benny Hill Show soundtrack on the footage. You can easily consider this the perfect example of what happens when a noob that can’t hit the wall of a giant barn from inside steps into a competitive environment where he’s way out of his depth.
Enjoy the video, and feel free to point and laugh. I won’t even ask for mercy in the comments, because I don’t deserve any. That being said, I should give a shoutout to my teammates, who managed to win despite playing with an handicap (which would be yours truly).