The police badge can be used to order criminals to lay down their weapons, the scanner is used to stake out a situation, identify high-value targets, log evidences, tag alarms, and mark other threats.
Alongside his partner, veteran detective Khai Minh Dao (Kelly Hu),[7] he follows the drug supply chain from the streets to the source.
[citation needed] In 2012, Miami Police Detectives Nick Mendoza and Carl Stoddard (Travis Willingham) make a drug bust that goes violent.
After arresting a fleeing suspect, Captain Julian Dawes (Benito Martinez) has Nick partner up with Khai Minh Dao to follow a lead to cocaine broker Tyson Latchford (Adam J. Harrington).
Forcing his associate Tap (David DeSantos) to wear a wire, they find a new drug called Hot Shot being sold in the streets of Miami and rescue Tyson from a group of armed men.
Investigating the area, they discover several of Neltz's drug operations and Leo's mutilated corpse, who was presumably killed for cooperating with the Miami Police.
Khai briefs Nick that during the three years he has been in prison, Dawes founded private law enforcement firm Preferred Outcomes, having 'cleaned up' Miami and is starting to expand into other US cities.
Dawes' money is kept in the penthouse of his corporate HQ skyscraper back in Miami and behind an impregnable vault, Boomer calls a former associate of his for a safecracking robot.
Along the way, Nick discovers that Alpert was behind the creation and manufacturing of the Hot Shot drug, and murdered an ATF agent named Darius Barnes (Josh Keaton) to cover up his plans of starting a civil war.
Searching his office, he finds a letter addressed to him from Dawes explaining why he framed Nick three years earlier and follows a passage to his underground vault.
Battlefield Hardline was revealed on an EA blog post by vice president and general manager of Visceral Games, Steve Papoutsis.
"Visceral started work on Battlefield Hardline about a year before Dead Space 3 shipped," creative director Ian Milham has revealed, suggesting that the game may have entered development in early 2012.
[43] Anthony LaBella of GameRevolution praised PS4 version's stealth element, action-packed sequences, detailed single-player campaign, compelling and fast-paced multiplayer and the Heist mode, which requires players to utilize teamwork.
He also praised the other new modes featured in the game such as Hotwire and Crosshair, which he stated "has showcased the transition from warfare to crime and provide plenty of entertainment outside of the traditional Battlefield experience".
He summarized the review by saying that "The combination of the stealth-focused campaign and many multiplayer modes establishes Battlefield Hardline as a worthwhile standalone entry in the popular FPS franchise.
"[29] Brian Albert of IGN praised the game's enjoyable campaign, surprising comedic moments, decent plot, voice-acting and animation, likeable characters, well-designed levels, realistic weapons and audio, rewarding stealth, as well as the single-player campaign for requiring the player to utilize patience and skill and the game for encouraging players to use non-lethal takedown.
"[44] Jeff Gerstmann of Giant Bomb praised the game's collectibles, which he stated "have actual context"; he criticised the idiotic AI partners as well as the poor story which has failed to deliver character development, tension and logic.
He summarized the review by saying that "Battlefield Hardline is hardly a disaster, but it feels like a franchise spinning its wheels with minor adjustments, rather than truly advancing forward."
He called the game "a forgettable, immature experience rather than one worth talking about" and he summarized the review by saying that "Battlefield Hardline could have been something unique, a chance for Visceral to place its own stamp on a long-standing franchise.
"[45] Adam Rosenberg of Digital Trends gave the Xbox One version a score of four-and-a-half stars out of five, calling it "a two-pronged success, with a killer cops-and-robbers story backed by a speedy take on competitive play.
"[46] Dean Takahashi of VentureBeat gave the Xbox One version a score of 86 out of 100, saying, "Overall, I think that EA and Visceral have established a new franchise within the Battlefield series, and one that could live on for many years to come.
"[48] Mat Growcott of Push Square gave the PS4 version a score of seven stars out of ten, calling it "a decent game that gets points for originality of concept, but how much value it has is down to how much you enjoyed previous entries in the franchise, and how much you'd like to see the Cop FPS genre become a thing.
"[50] James McMurtie of National Post gave the PC version seven out of ten, saying, "Hardline's release was smooth, and although it did feel like a modified BF4, it also plays like something novel and worthwhile all on its own.
"[41] Mike LeChavalier of Slant Magazine gave the PS4 version a score of three-and-a-half stars out of five, saying, "It wouldn't be a Battlefield game without a host of multiplayer scenarios, and Hardline is definitely no slouch in that department, even if the assortment of options lack a certain sweeping freshness that would have been greatly appreciated.
"[42] David Jenkins of Metro gave the same PS4 version seven out of ten, saying, "The cops 'n' robbers theme often does more harm than good to the Battlefield formula, but this peculiar spin-off has just enough tricks of is [sic] own to be worth a collar.
"[51] Andrew Phillips of The Digital Fix gave the Xbox One version six out of ten, calling it "a Battlefield game with weak single player and solid if underwhelming multiplayer - absolutely no one saw this coming.
"[52] Ebenezer Samuel of New York Daily News gave the same console version three stars out of five, saying, "The end result is a Battlefield game that's solid, but not spectacular.