Battlefield 4: Differences Between Next-Gen and Current-Gen Versions

For many people, making the leap from the current generation of consoles to the next generation has left their holiday wallets a little thin. After paying for consoles, controllers, online memberships and the necessary peripherals, there’s little cash left over for one of the most important components — games. If you’re not quite sure where to drop your hard earned cash, have a look at what you can expect from Battlefield 4 in the next generation.

Visuals 

The biggest visual difference that players will notice when playing Battlefield 4 on the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One is the frame rate. Opposed to the 30 frames per second on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, BF4 now runs at a very smooth 60 frames per second. What this means to you as a player is far more detail. Dust, rain and snow can now be clearly made out, rather than the blur that you’re used to on the current generation. The increased detail isn’t just in effects, it’s in everything the game has to offer. The ground, the walls and even the texture of your weapon looks different. The overall experience will seem quite smooth. PC players with high performance machines may not be impressed, but if you’re upgrading from the PS3 or Xbox 360, the difference is night and day.

Game Play 

Remember the days of roaming around Operation Firestorm in BF3 looking for someone to shoot? Those days are gone. With the increased capabilities of the next generation consoles, players can now enjoy the 64-player Conquest Large game mode. That’s a whopping 40 extra players in each game. The intensity of this is comparable to some of the epic Rush battles you were used to. In addition to just the player counts, you can expect additional objectives and vehicles which completely alter the strategy of the game. Oh, and the bump in player count doesn’t just apply to Conquest, but also several of the game modes. 

Upgrade Costs and Experience

If you purchased a physical copy of Battlefield 4 on the PS3 or Xbox 360, you most likely have the option to upgrade. At a cost of only $10, this is well worth it. As a bonus to those who purchased the PS4, you should have gotten a $10 gift certificate to the PlayStation Store, making your cost zero. If you didn’t get Battlefield 4 on the current generation, keep your eyes peeled for holiday deals that might snag you a sweet discount. If you have to purchase the game at full price for your next generation console, it’s still well worth your money.

For those who played on the current generation and took the $10 upgrade, the transition was flawless. The first time you log on with your PS4 or Xbox One, you’ll be prompted to move your stats over to your new console. It’s a one time event, and allows you to pick up right where you left off, rather than starting from scratch. Even though you will have to download a digital copy of BF4 from the PS Store, you still need to keep that current-gen disc. It must be in the system to play. As a final transition tip, leave lots of time for the digital download; the PS4 version was over 33.9 GB. 

For more information on Battlefield 4 across all platforms, check out Prima’s eGuide.