I’m standing on top of a massive airship overlooking a war-torn village in Northern France. Long, muddy scars run deep across the surface of the earth, snaking between the leveled monastery and the crumbling windmill below. The trenches offer temporary shelter for my fellow soldiers as they vault between the artillery craters dotting the land, and up to the outskirts of town where our objectives are located. The roar of armored warfare on the ground is muted by distance — from where I stand, it’s the music of the circling biplanes that fill my ears.

As their bullets pierce through the zeppelin and anti-aircraft missiles from below threaten to take down the aerial war machine, I leap back down to earth. Moments before impact, I deploy my parachute, hit the ground running, and transition straight into a bayonet charge, impaling the lone enemy soldier controlling one of our points. I cautiously reposition behind a collapsed structure, marking a few enemies on the horizon for my squadmates before I settle down to await reinforcements. But in my rush to clear the wide open space before me, I neglect to see the bulky A7V that’s lumbered its way around the rubble. Its sights are on me. I won’t make it out.

The airship above is burning up mid-air. The point is contested, but not for long. In a last ditch effort, I whip out an anti-tank grenade and toss it at the tank’s sharp, polygonal body. I’m dead before it detonates.

Loading

This is about a minute’s worth of action in Battlefield 1

It captures everything I love about Battlefield: the mayhem, the destruction, the absolute, over-the-top theatricality of its combat and the exciting, sometimes absurd, narratives that unfold on its vast fronts. Only now, Battlefield is making a return to the early 20th century, this time to the Great War. This was an age of extreme technological advancement, with new inventions of warfare occupying the range from tanks to modern flamethrowers, airships, new and devastating types of ammunition, and beyond.

“ ...most of Battlefield 1 at this early stage feels like Bad Company 2.

Support is armed with light machine guns and can drop ammo packs for allies, fantastic for providing cover fire as your squadmates dart between cover and hold objectives in familiar game modes like Conquest. Medics wield semi-automatic rifles and medkits while Scouts hang back with bolt-action rifles for spotting enemies.

Loading

The gun feel of the LMGs take me back to the days of Bad Company 2 — in fact, most of Battlefield 1 at this early stage feels like Bad Company 2, when your options were still open, but every weapon felt distinct.

This is something the creators of Battlefield 1 are going for: reducing the clutter that came from Battlefield 3 and 4’s overwhelming amount of customization options (endless Battlepacks granting enough grips, sights, and suppressors to fill a German airship), but still allowing some level of personalization. Weapons will supposedly feel distinct on their own, with some adjustments available to cater to your own playstyle. I didn’t spend much time in the loadout screen because of what little amount of time I had to play, so how Battlefield 1’s overall approach to its arsenal actually plays out remains to be seen.

Loading

What stands out about Battlefield 1’s approach to classes so far is its introduction of two dedicated vehicle classes: tanker and pilot. These two classes allow you to spawn directly in your tank or plane of choice and come with unique loadouts that make use of the carbine weapon class. They can also repair vehicles from the inside, which gives them a slight advantage in the heat of battle.Vehicles, as in any Battlefield game, play a huge role in Battlefield 1. The light Renault FT-17, the Mark V, and the heavy A7V (the three tanks available in my demo) control as smoothly as armored warfare vehicles in previous Battlefield games, while still managing to preserve the clunky, archaic charm of the era.We're going to have more on Battlefield 1 as E3 continues and more information is revealed.

Chloi Rad is an Associate Editor for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @_chloi