Back during E3, Activision and Infinity Ward were showing off Call of Duty: Ghosts‘ graphics, touting motion-captured dogs and a few new graphical techniques. It was EA and DICE, however, that stole the show with Battlefield 4’s obviously next-gen graphics. A sinking aircraft carrier has never looked so good.
Of course, Battlefield 4 isn’t likely to look like that on a PlayStation 4 or an Xbox One. Only gamers with a nicely-appointed gaming PC will be able to run the game and have it look that shiny. That doesn’t mean that next-gen consoles won’t look good, though.
DICE today released a video touting the new game engine behind Battlefield 4, the Frostbite 3 engine. In particular, the developers are most focused on more “dynamic” and “living” environments, though the capability to interact with the game through supplemental devices (such as tablets) is also mentioned. The highly-destructible environments seen in Battlefield 4 are also a big emphasis, with a good example being the collapse of a skyscraper as seen in one recent multiplayer trailer.
Even those who aren’t fans of modern military shooters should take a look at the video, reminding themselves throughout that this is the same engine being used to develop Dragon Age: Inquisition and the new Star Wars: Battlefront game.