Battlefield 4's China Rising DLC is currently available to premium members, provided you can actually download it, but we'll get to that later. So of course, there's a veritable smorgasborg of new gameplay videos popping up all over YouTube, showing the new maps in action. It's a nice way of getting a peek at the action for the non-premium members who have to wait until the DLC drops for them later this month. You can check 'em out below.
The first video is something of an overview, and the remaining look at each map on a more individual basis, complete with explosions a plenty.
That download problems we mentioned earlier? Yeah, it seems like being a Premium member just isn't worth it, as paying for early access to Battlefield 4 DLC is ultimately fruitless if you can't actually download the content.
Case in point, Microsoft has issued an alert at the Xbox Live status page. It seems that a few players on both the Xbox 360 and Xbox One are having issues downloading the China Rising DLC.
According to the page, Microsoft is aware of the issue, and is "currently working with our partner to get this issue resolved. Thanks for all your patience while we work. We'll update you when work is complete."
It seems that most of Battlefield 4's issues of late were limited to PC and PlayStation consoles. Still, the Xbox versions of the game weren't completely problem free.
An old Battlelog post said that an update is due this week for the Xbox One versions of the game, but it's status is unknown, as is what the patch will address. Last we checked, the developer was still wrapped up in an update for the 360 and PC versions of the game.
EA described to CVG that DICE staff had identified issues that was causing game interruptions, and while the "fix will take some time to be fully completed...players should be noticing normal gameplay behavior soon. We're investigating this issue and will provide updates as quickly as possible."
We'll keep you posted if there's further word from either DICE or EA.
China Rising brings in four new maps to Battlefield 4: Guilin Peaks, Altai Range, Silk Road, and Dragon Pass, each with its own Levolution feature.
Beyond the maps, the DLC offers 10 new assignments as well as the return of the Air Superiority mode, a sort of territory capture mode, just taken to the skies. One player wins once he or she has more planes in the air than the other. We last saw this mode in Battlefield 3's End Game DLC.
As always, new weapons are another welcome adition, and China Rising features five of its own: the MTAR-21 and MP7 submachine guns, RPK light machine gun, L96AI sniper rifle, and the L85A2 assault rifle.
Players also get to control the UCAV and SUAV drones. The UCAV works similarly to the TV Guided Missile, and is first launched like a mortar round before players can control it in the air. It fires airburst explosives from a range of about 400 meters. The SUAV is slower, and carries a laser designator to mark targets for guided weaponry. Or, you could just crash the damn thing into the target of your choice. Probably not as efficient, but far more surprising, especially since your enemies will be able to see that laser.
As far as vehicles go, dirt bikes return from Battlefield 3, and there's also a new vehicle, a Chinese bomber, the Xian H-6 airplane.
You can check out the DLC's launch trailer, map details, and some gameplay footage here. Non-premium gamers get access to the DLC on December 17.