The Battlefield 4 campaign has often been overlooked by traditional BF gamers who are more focused on the multiplayer aspects. Even at E3, Electronic Arts had a 64-station platform setup for live multiplayer matches right in their E3 booth. Yet while BF4 multiplayer has gotten all the attention, we’ve sat by waiting for more Battlefield 4 campaign details, as that’s frankly what our staff is most looking forward to. Today, EA sent along single-player information that’s exactly what we’ve been looking for.
In the Battlefield 4 campaign, players will take on the role of Sgt. Daniel Recker, a member of an elite group of soldiers known as “Tombstone Squad.” Sgt. Recker and his squad are on an intel-gathering mission from a defecting Russian General in Azerbaijan when their squad is discovered. After escaping to the USS Valkyrie, it’s discovered that the intelligence retrieved from that mission confirms the military’s previous suspicions: Admiral Chang is planning a coup in China that, if successful, would be supported by the Russians and could lead to another world war.
Under normal circumstances, such a coup wouldn’t lead to a world war. But the circumstances in which the Battlefield 4 campaign unfold are anything but normal. The United States has been implicated in the assassination of Jin JiĆ©, the future leader and voice for peace in China. After canceling elections, Admiral Chang has declared martial law in Shanghai, where Sgt. Recker and the Tombstone squad have been sent to extract a group of U.S. VIPs. With Russian and U.S. naval forces assembling off the coast of China, the tension escalates dramatically.
With that as a backdrop, Tombstone finds the VIPs and learns that one of them is CIA field operative Laszlo W. Kovic. Interestingly, Kovic has what EA calls “a mysterious individual” for whom the Chinese military has been franticly searching. Together with Kovic, Sgt. Recker and Tombstone squad fight their way out of Shanghai and back to the Valkyrie as countless civilians flee the city, many of which are brought aboard the Valkyrie as refugees.
With communications dead, the Valkyrie sets course for Singapore to rendezvous with the USS Titan and the 7th US carrier group at their last known position. As Tombstone reaches Singapore, they’re shocked to find a horrific scene of fire and mayhem. The flagship is sunk and its fleet is eradicated, and from this point on nothing is certain.
Presumably, this setting is the backdrop for the scenes that were highlighted in the Battlefield 4 campaign gameplay footage we shared with you during E3. The Battlefield 4 single-player demo took place on a level called “Angry Sea.”
We hope to bring you many more Battlefield 4 campaign details in the weeks and months ahead, and also information about its multiplayer elements. We’ll be sure to avoid spoilers; since we’re big fans of campaigns and plot points ourselves, we know spoilers suck.