10 Things You Didn’t Know about Battlefield 5
Battlefield V is the sixteenth main installment in the long-running Battlefield series. For those who are curious, it is centered on the Second World War, meaning that it serves as a kind of follow-up to its immediate predecessor, which was centered on the First World War. Generally speaking, Battlefield V got a decent reception from the critics, though it was criticized for its lack of innovation as well as its lack of content upon its initial launch. Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about Battlefield V:
1. Supposed to Be Focused on Untold Stories
Story-wise, Battlefield V was supposed to be focused on “untold stories.” This enabled it to offer something fresh because American media about the Second World War tends to be very focused upon a particular set of stories as well as particular set of perspectives, which to be perfectly fair, is true for the media produced by other countries as well.
2. One of the Episodes Is Nordlys
One of the three episodes is called “Nordlys.” In short, it is focused on a member of the Norwegian resistance participating in the effort to prevent the German nuclear weapon project from securing heavy water, which was very successful. However, it should be noted that the Germans weren’t even close to making nuclear weapons by the end of the war, which we know because we have recordings of the relevant German scientists being flabbergasted by the news that the United States had unleashed such weapons upon Japan.
3. One of the Episodes Is Tirailleur
Another of the three episodes is called “Tirailleur,” which is named thus because it is focused on a Senegalese Tirailleur. In short, the Senegalese Tirailleurs were soldiers raised from French colonies in the 19th and 20th centuries, who fought from the start of the Second World War to its finish. The episode is focused on Operation Dragoon, which was meant to secure the French Riviera.
4. One of the Episodes Is Under No Flag
The last of the three episodes that were included in Battlefield V from the start was “Under No Flag.” In its case, it was focused on a member of the Special Boat Service participating in Operation Albumen, which consisted of raids directed against German airfields on the island of Crete to prevent them from being used in the Western Desert Campaign.
5. The Last Tiger Came Under Serious Criticism
Besides the initial three, a fourth episode called “The Last Tiger” was introduced in a later update. It received a fair amount of criticism from people who saw it as another example of Wehrmacht whitewashing, which has a long history.
6. There Was a Huge Uproar at the Initial Announcement
The initial announcement of Battlefield V provoked a huge uproar. Something that seems to have had a noticeable impact on its sales, seeing as its pre-order sales in August of 2018 were 85 percent behind those of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.
7. There Were People Who Complained About Lack of Historical Accuracy
One of the most common complaints was a lack of historical accuracy. However, it is interesting to note that a lot of these complaints were directed at the inclusion of female characters rather than, say, the availability of numerous weapons before their adoption dates, which has always been an issue with the Battlefield series and other shooters based on real world conflicts.
8. People Behind Battlefield V Believed in Fun Over Authenticity
The executive producer for Battlefield V outright stated that the team prioritized fun over authenticity, which makes sense because it is supposed to be a video game.
9. The German Side Is Limited to White Characters
With that said, it is clear that the people behind Battlefield V do have some limits about what they were and were not willing to include for the sake of fun over authenticity. For example, players on the Allied side can go with characters of all races, whereas players on the German side are limited to white characters. This makes some sense because while the Allies were by no means pure and unstained angels, they were not the Germans, who were planning to kill most ethnic Slavs and reduce the rest to slaves for German settlers following a victory on the Eastern front. Never mind the people that the Nazis and their collaborators did kill in the Holocaust, who numbered 6 million Jews and 11 million others.
10. Some People Got Early Access
EA used early access to incentivize people to preorder Battlefield V as well as subscribe to Origin, thus providing said individuals with a considerable headstart.