With Battlefield 2042 rounding out its first year of content with the launch of Season 3: Escalation, the franchise has been around for over 20 years. There have been many other first-person shooter games that have taken inspiration from the series, and now Battlefield 2042 could benefit greatly if it added a game mode inspired by Invasion in this year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
Recent Battlefield games have struggled to keep up with modern trends like cosmetics and battle passes, but Battlefield 2042's latest season brings with it a new map, Specialist, weapons, vehicles, a Battle Pass, and various gameplay changes that add value to its live service. The game was also just added to Xbox Game Pass and the base tier of EA Play, so now more people than ever are able to jump in and play. While many updates have been made to Battlefield 2042, issues with scale and balance that have plagued the game since launch that could be resolved using one of Modern Warfare 2's most ambitious modes.
Battlefield 2042's Strength Comes From its Sandbox
Modern Warfare 2 added several modes to its paid multiplayer component, including Prisoner Rescue, Third Person Moshpit, and Invasion. Invasion is essentially Team Deathmatch tug-of-war on a large map with infantry and vehicle combat, which would fit perfectly into Battlefield 2042's sandbox.
The main differentiator between Invasion and the other large-scale Ground War mode or Battlefield's signature Conquest is that AI bots will spawn into the map for each side, contributing to the battle. The AI is not difficult to fight and serves as little more than cannon fodder, but because of this, Invasion's PvEvP dynamic appeals to multiple gameplay styles. It strikes a solid balance between casual and skilled play.
While Modern Warfare 2 would benefit from adding Battlefield's Squad Spawn feature, its Invasion mode could help Battlefield 2042 in several ways. Firstly, AI would provide less threatening enemies for lower-skilled players to still obtain that sense of accomplishment earned by getting kills. Secondly, it gives advanced players a mode to play more casually while offering enough PvP action to satisfy their needs. Adding AI to Battlefield 2042 would also help fill in the empty space throughout its maps, allowing players to spend more time shooting than running.
When it was announced that Battlefield 2042 would feature 128-player online multiplayer, many were skeptical how this could impact performance and gameplay. At launch, performance issues were abundant, yet most of them have been resolved. Still, many players feel one of the game's biggest problems is the size of the maps and how empty they can feel. Although Battlefield's developer DICE has been steadily releasing updates to map design to improve the flow of gameplay, players will often feel a sense of isolation due to their size.
Battlefield's large maps, vehicle combat, teamwork, and epic "Battlefield Moments" are typically what set the series apart from other FPS games. However, most fans would agree the franchise has struggled to recapture the highs set by titles like Bad Company 2 and Battlefield 3. Call of Duty may be putting more of an emphasis on vehicles and larger maps, but Battlefield 2042's sandbox could be enhanced with AI to add to its diverse array of vehicular combat and squad mechanics. In turn, this could improve the flow of gameplay and add to its strong sense of teamwork.
Battlefield 2042 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
