What To Do Before EA Delists Battlefield Hardline On May 22

Battlefield Hardline is one of the most unique entries in the franchise, as it’s not about a war. Instead, it features cops going on drug busts around Miami and L.A. It was released roughly a decade ago by this point, and it was never remastered or ported to modern consoles like the PS5. Since it is backwards compatible, there was seemingly no need for EA to do anything.

However, EA recently announced that Battlefield Hardline would be delisted on PSN and the Xbox Store on May 22, making it impossible to buy on PS4 or Xbox One. After that, the online services will cease to function on June 22, making it another casualty in a long line of delisted games. Time is ticking for new fans to buy the game or for old fans to play the multiplayer modes. Let’s go through why this matters and what newbies and fans should do going forward.

Buy The Game

Or Get It Through Game Pass ASAP

Right now, Battlefield Hardline is not that expensive on any of the major digital platforms. It regularly goes on sale, which makes sense given that it is over a decade old, having been released in 2015. The normal cost on most platforms where it is available is about $20. The great thing about the Xbox store is that if players have Xbox Game Pass, then they automatically have EA+, which grants them access to a boatload of games to download for free. Battlefield Hardline is one of those games, so if players are looking for the best platform to check it out on without it costing a penny, Xbox Game Pass is it.

Xbox Game Pass is a great way to play a lot of shooters, so this isn’t that surprising. This version does not come with any of the DLC for multiplayer, but since that is shutting down on consoles anyway, it would be a waste to invest in it. It even seems silly to buy the DLC with the PC version because even though EA hasn’t said it is shutting it down, that could change at any moment. Now, getting it through EA+ will not secure a digital copy forever, as access to the license can disappear. Fans have to decide if they want to own it digitally or if they just want to play it as a curiosity.

Invest In A Hard Copy Before Prices Skyrocket

Never Know When It Will Come In Handy

If fans played the game in 2015, loved it, but just never purchased it somehow, then there is a better way to continue loving it forever. They should buy a physical copy of the game for PS4 or Xbox One. As part of one of EA’s premier franchises, a lot of copies of Battlefield Hardline were printed, so finding one in the wild should not be that hard. Online on platforms like Amazon, the game is floating around $20, like the digital versions. No matter what, it shouldn’t be that hard or expensive to buy a physical copy, and there are reasons why this is better than digital. Also, since the hard copies will be the only way players can buy the game on the PS4 and Xbox One, physical copies could skyrocket in value.

While the online multiplayer is shutting down in June, servers cannot bar players from enjoying the single-player game. This is true digitally as well, but stores have removed access to re-downloading the game if it gets delisted in some rare cases. For example, it is not a game specifically, but those who downloaded the demo of P.T. can play it if they have a digital download on their PS4 currently. However, they cannot re-download it from the store. The point is, there is a reason why a lot of video game fans still cling to physical editions and why they get upset when the cartridge or the disc isn’t actually stored fully in the box. Thankfully, Battlefield Hardline is already done, not including patches, but that’s a whole other story.

Play Through The Campaign Using Stealth

Try To Be Non-Lethal

Purchasing aside, let’s get to the meat of this subject: the game itself. As detective Nicholas Mendoza, players will go on missions with their partner to stop various drug busts or militant gangs across areas of Miami and L.A. Instead of most Battlefield games, Battlefield Hardline is not just a first-person shooter that tells players to shoot enemies to “win” the day. They can approach most missions in an open-ended way, at least when it comes to taking criminals down. Players can engage Battlefield Hardline like a stealth game, non-lethally taking down criminals by sneaking up and knocking them out, flashing their badge, and then handcuffing them or tasing them to knock them out.

By incapacitating enemies, players will earn points that will accrue and unlock new gear to equip. In each mission, some high-profile criminals will unlock even more bonuses if players take them down non-lethally at least, and there is a scanner so players can recognize faces from their warrant list. Players can even use bullet casings to lure enemies away from each other to pick them off one by one, and there is a radar system on the map to indicate cones of vision. Battlefield Hardline may not be Splinter Cell or Metal Gear, but it is a decent stealth game, and the non-lethal options, especially in a game about cops, are very much appreciated, and players should try to play it this way at first.

Read the full article on GameRant

This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.