For more than a decade, EA’s Battlefield series has been on the cutting-edge of multiplayer first-person shooters for the PC. However, with the new Medal of Honor titles failing to set the world on fire, the franchise has now taken the role of Call of Duty competitor on consoles starting with 2011’s Battlefield 3. The series returns this fall with Battlefield 4($19.00 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) launching alongside the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 owners can already pick up Battlefield 4, but to see all of the new enhancements of the upgraded Frostbite 3 engine, they’ll want to hold out for the next-gen versions, or buy it on PC. Developed by EA’s DICE team, Battlefield 4 is just the first of many upcoming next-gen EA games to take advantage of the engine including the new Need for Speed, Dragon Age, and Star Wars: Battlefront games.

While past Battlefield games have gone from World War II to Vietnam to 100 years into the future, Battlefield 4 shares the modern warfare setting of Battlefield 3 and the Battlefield: Bad Company console-centric subseries. In the campaign, players run and gun their way across the globe to prevent a rogue Chinese general from overthrowing the government, allying with the Russians, and starting a war with the United States. Battlefield 2142 fans will also notice the return of the “command mode” giving players broader strategic controls.

Multiplayer has always been Battlefield’s major selling point. While current-gen players only have access to 24-player matches, next-gen and PC versions of Battlefield 4 feature the full, massive, 64-player online multiplayer experience. As for the differences between the next-gen editions, the PS4($799.95 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) version has a slight edge running at a higher native resolution of 1,600-by-900 pixels compared to the Xbox One’s 1,280 by 720.

Similar Products

4.5

Outstanding

Microsoft Xbox One

$200.00

See It

at eBay

(Opens in a new window)

Read Our Microsoft Xbox One Review

Call of Duty: Ghosts (PlayStation 3)

$11.99

See It

at Amazon

(Opens in a new window)

Read Our Call of Duty: Ghosts (PlayStation 3) Review

Battlefield 4 launches on Nov. 15 for the PlayStation 4 and on Nov. 22 for the Xbox One($200.00 at eBay)(Opens in a new window). The PS3, 360, and PC versions are available now.