Stop. Any review you previously read about Battlefield 4 was flat-out wrong. Wrong, we tell you. That's because any short review based on near-gold code or just a few hours or even a day's worth of play can't be complete.

Immense fun; beautiful graphics and water effects

Enough bugs to qualify for a Starship Troopers sequel

When it comes to evaluating any title in the Battlefield franchise, it's important to remember that the only reason anyone plays campaign mode is to unlock new weapons in multiplayer. Despite great voice acting by Michael K.

Destructible environments; Realistic weather effects; Up to 64 players in online multiplayer modes; Detailed and realistic graphics and sound create a visceral, dramatic experience

Short single player campaign mode; Some multiplayer maps aren't fun due to the poor placement of cover and capture points

is an excellent multiplayer game that makes the most of its ambitions, proving once again that destruction is a valuable strategic addition to competitive combat, which reaches its full potential with two killer Commanders are bringing out the best in their squads.

Incredible map design; Dynamic environments; Rewarding Commander Mode

Mode/map mismatches; Mediocre single-player

Battlefield has always been about spectacle, not of the horrors of war but of the sheer awesomeness of the scale of destruction that can be unleashed at the press of a button. You're wafted along on what EA hopes will be the ride of your life, blowing up a building here, sinking a carrier there,...

An audio-visual extravaganza; Spectacular set-pieces; Commander mode

Buggy; Dull campaign

Sequels in movie franchise tend to sometimes go really downhill by the time the number "4"-often "IV" in movie titles-rolls around. With video games sometimes "4" can be pretty good, and in the case of the ever-popular Battlefield series the fourth time is the charm.

Commander Mode is back; new maps, new modes, more BF fun

Campaign mode is serious dud; plan on buying a new computer

After the really impressive Battlefield 3, the team at DICE is back with Battlefield 4, an evolution of the previous title running on a new and improved engine – Frostbite 3. With the promise of even better multiplayer mechanics and a single-player story that rises above what traditionally passes as...

+Impressive set-piece moments in single-player; +Great new multiplayer modes; +Boats bring variety to some maps

-Story has quite a few cliche moments; -A few glitches in the single-player campaign

Twelve years of Battlefield games have come and gone and after a rather short two-year wait since the last game, we now have a transformational, gap-crossing new entry in the series.

The Playstation 4 and Xbox One? Pish. Leave it to EA's technical wizards at DICE, a Battlefield game, and a souped-up PC to rip the curtain back from the next generation. You can't very well watch one of these skyscrapers topple - as carefully scripted as anything in Call of Duty, but with some...

With Battlefield 4, EA and DICE deliver the latest game in this decade old first-person military shooter series known for enormous team-based vehicle- and infantry-based combat as well as (in recent years) destructible buildings and environments that mix up the gameplay with dynamically transforming...

Impressive effort with a few noticeable problems holding it back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth most people's time and cash. How we score: The Destructoid Reviews Guide