Put me down as a Battlefield 2042 defender. It’s always been a good time, even back in the early days when players were driving hovercrafts up the sides of skyscrapers in Kaleidoscope. It’s only gotten better since then, and this weekend, you can see for yourself during the free Season 7 kickoff weekend.
Battlefield 2042 will be free to try from March 21 to March 24. You’ll need the EA client installed to play the multiplayer game, even if you access the free weekend through Steam. If you have a good time and decide you want to keep it, it’s also on a steep discount through March 28, and you can grab a copy for 85% off, $8.99 USD / £7.49 GPB.
Season 7 introduces a new map, Haven, which centers on a small mining town in the Chilean desert. It’s a lot of low, one- and two-story buildings clustered around a central flag, with dunes and gas stations surrounding the town and offering space for vehicles to do their thing.
The new season also introduces new weapons, the SCZ-3 SMG, the AK 5C assault rifle, and the belt-fed DFR Strife light machine gun. There’s also a new engineer class gadget, the Predator SRAW, a wire-guided anti-vehicle launcher that players may remember from Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 4.
In any case, the free weekend is a good opportunity to see how far DICE has come with its troubled shooter, and it’s worth it just for a few rounds of the 128-player All-Out Warfare modes.
Check out our list of the best FPS games for other firearms-based options, or check out our Battlefield 2042 weapon tier list for some loadout ideas.
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