Once again, the single player has been left out in the cold by a first person shooter. Listen, we totally understand that these games are a huge online hit, and that's where most of the long term playability is going to be coming from, but does that mean that the one-player game has to be so shoddy? And not shoddy in a looks bad or plays bad kind of way, as it doesn't. But it's just so obviously an afterthought when compared to the hugely enjoyable multiplayer, that it feels quite disappointing.

However, that multiplayer mode is fantastic, with the brilliant Commander mode retrieved from Battlefield 2, this time mixed in with all of the classic online modes you'll remember from Battlefield 3 - Conquest, Domination, Rush, Deathmatch - with some new modes - Obliteration, Defuse, - and a new sense of destructibility that will have you clapping your hands like a gleeful seal.

Most of everything in your surroundings can be destroyed, including a massive twelve story hotel in one of the multiplayer maps that completely crumbles to its, massively changing the playing field. The PC version has a 64 player online mode, cut down to 24 for console players, and the visuals are much better on the next-gen consoles, but that probably isn't reason enough to hold out for their delayed release.

Everything you could want from a Battlefield online game is here, and MORE!, which again makes the one-player game such a let-down. There was obviously a lot of money put into the visuals, as entire parts of the world go BOOM! and crumble before your eyes, but the story - something to do with an imminent war between the US, China and Russia - is barely there, just something to tack the impressive visuals on to. Then there's the silly AI who need to be told what to do, and even then don't do it all that well, and you're left with a shiny, hollow shoot ‘em up.

Still though, definitely worth it for that multiplayer alone.

Developer: Electronic Arts
Platforms: X-Box 360, PS3 (Review Copy), PC, (X-Box One and PS4 versions coming soon)
Genre: First person shooter
Rating: 18+

Presentation: 4 out of 5
Gameplay: 4 out of 5
Replay: 4 out of 5
Overall: 4 out of 5