Battlefield Hardline Videos Preview Single-Player Campaign, Hostage Rescue

Two new videos have surfaced for the upcoming Battlefield Hardline, featuring the game's hostage rescue mode as well as 12 whole minutes of the game's single-player mode, which looks far better than I had anticipated for a game like this.

The two trailers come courtesy of GamerSyde, which is an awesome alternative to GameTrailers and YouTube given that they enable gamers to view content at up to 1080p at 60 frames per second. With that said, there's not much to say about the hostage rescue trailer because it's standard-fare Battlefield gameplay. It comes across as an arcade version of Rainbow Six.

The more interesting features were all on display in the single-player video, which sports 12 minutes of gameplay from the campaign mode, featuring two of the main characters being captured and having to fight their way out of captivity. The most shocking thing about the gameplay footage is that it's ripe with stealth mechanics and, shockingly, options. Check it out below.

I'm actually quite impressed with the video above. The single-player looks miles better than any of the multiplayer footage that has been released for the game.

The slowed down pace and better stealth elements really add a ton variance to the game so it doesn't come across like just another Call of Duty clone. In fact, the portion where the player has to apprehend the guys in the compound reminded me a heck of lot of Far Cry 3. That's not a bad thing.

Being able to also hold up NPCs and get them to drop their weapons is a pretty cool feature... it's only been around since the Reservoir Dogs game from way back when. It's nice to see it fleshed out and expanded to new generation games. Being able to get guys – who you get the jump on – to drop their guns and surrender seems like a long-overdue feature that's been missing from one too many action games these days.

My only minor gripe is with all the stuff highlighted on the player's HUD from the interactive options on the map. It adds an unnecessary easy-mode to the game being able to see where the guys are and what can be blown up or triggered via some sort of interactive event. Nevertheless, I imagine on the harder difficulty settings those highlights will be less pronounced.

Battlefield Hardline has been delayed from a fall release to a early February, 2015 release window. If the delay means a more refined multiplayer that ties-in better with the very respectable looking single-player mode then I can't see anything wrong with that.