If you were a little hesitant first learning the next installment of Battlefield would pluck the series out of the comfortable confines of military warfare for a cops versus criminals makeover, I get it. I was too. Could its trademark strategic battles and massive scale make the jump to a new setting? In short: Yes.

upcoming multiplayer beta , I’m convinced that though a lot has changed, we’re going to be just fine.

Gotta go fast

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Tight spaces. Mean streets.

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Joy ride

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The gang's all here

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New attitude

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Right off the bat, the biggest change you’re going to feel is how you get from point A to point B. Hardline feels like the fastest Battlefield yet. And yes, that means your character’s run speed has been cranked up a notch. But there’s more to it than just shaving a few seconds off your 40 time. Visceral Games has added a number of flourishes – some small, others quite large – in order to keep the action moving and get you back to it.For example, in what I imagine is a nod to the original “good guys vs. bad guys” shooter, Counter-Strike, pulling out your pistol or secondary weapon increases your run speed. It might not sound like much, but, if like me, your least favorite part of the franchise has always been the slow jog from the spawn point back to the battle when the vehicles are gone, then you’re going to appreciate the subtle decrease in downtime that whipping out your sidearm affords.But before anyone starts to panic at the thought of Hardline following in the twitchy footsteps of the Call of Duties or arena shooters, know that lone-wolfing it still doesn’t pay off in the long run. Sure, I was able to string together a couple sweet shotgun sprees thanks to the added mobility, but I never felt like the buckshot tornado you’ll find in the fast-paced, run-and-gun style of those other games.In fact, much of the speed of Hardline doesn’t have anything to do with your actual character. Of the three maps I played, they were all a little smaller than what constitutes a traditional, wide-open Battlefield map.The specially designed Heist map, Bank Job, particularly illustrates this shift: A massive, three-story bank is the focal point. It’s filled with choke points, blind corners, and the central vault. And though there’s a sizeable intersection out front, alleyways to the sides and around back, and a series of storefronts and a multi-level parking structure across the street, most of the action starts inside as squads of cops smash into the front line of the criminals while they drill through the vault and snatch the cash.Downtown, and Dustbowl, the other maps in the beta, support vehicle play so they're understandably larger. But both areas are a far cry from the sprawling battlefields of the past. But that’s just fine, because you don’t need the long lines of sight to rock enemy humvees with a well-placed tank round, or room to maneuver a fighter jet overhead. Hardline’s cops versus criminals motif plays out in more intimate engagements between players on foot, and in roaming packs of speedy vehicles, than the armored-up slugfests you might be used to.In Downtown, a few blocks-worth of urban Los Angeles, I did everything I could to stay off the streets as cars, trucks and police cruisers tore through. But the majority of the buildings, including the skyscrapers, are completely accessible, bringing back the traditional Battlefield verticality by swinging between rooftops with the zipline and parachuting down back into the fight.Dustbowl is the most familiar map I played: A dehydrated pit-stop town you’d find off some forgotten stretch of Southern California highway that's periodically engulfed by a hazy brown dust cloud. It’s set up well for Conquest, with landmarks like the gas station, the warehouse, the radio antennae, and the "meth compound," all serving as objective points. But its sharply angled pavement and dirt roads lend themselves just as well to the high-speed car chases of Hotwire Mode.And Hotwire mode is quickly becoming my favorite way to play Battlefield. The premise is simple: Take Conquest mode and replace the capture points with muscle cars, sedans, and tanker trucks. Teams race to grab the vehicles and control them in the traditional style where best-of-five degrades the other team's tickets. The catch is you capture the cars by getting up to speed and cruising, which turns any map hosting Hotwire into a rally track and demolition derby all at once.And though it might seem like straightforward car chase gameplay, once the initial dash for the vehicles ends, all hell breaks loose as both teams try to destroy or recapture the high-value vehicles. Cars slam into one another, go flying off jumps and overpasses, and players are constantly hanging out the windows unloading clips and grenade launchers into anything that isn't a friendly. It's fast and chaotic, and filled with the potential for those watercooler moments that you just have to show your friends. At one point I jumped off a skyscraper, parachuted to the ground, immediately dodged a speeding car trying to run me down only to turn around and get obliterated by a tanker truck. It's amazing.And along with the aforementioned Heist mode where criminals try to crack the vault, steal two bags of cash, and hold off the cops at the extraction point – which has huge potential for coordination and teamwork – the familiar Conquest rounds out the beta game modes with its 64-player territory wars (24-player on Xbox 360 and PS3). But new to Hardline is Hacker mode, which replaces the Commander feature of previous Battlefield titles. It works much in the same way on the included Conquest and Heist modes, giving you a satellite view of the map and a number of abilities to help your team control it.But for those Battlefield veterans out there who might still be a little skeptical, the best news is that the roles you know and love are all still there, just named a little differently.The Assault class now goes by Operator, but still retains the all-around assault rifles and the medpack to top off teammates. Your Recon class has been renamed the Professional, and retains that very particular set of skills, usually delivered through the lens of a high-powered rifle, and complemented by gadgets like trip mines, decoys sensors, and deployable cameras.The remaining two classes, Support and Engineer, have seen the biggest change in Hardline due to the way Visceral has removed light machine guns and explosive-slinging launchers (both for balance and to fit the domestic conflict theme). But don’t worry, because LMGs, Stinger anti-air missiles, and RPGs are still in the game as battle pickups – along with grappling hooks and ziplines – that can be snagged from caches around the map. Due to this, both roles have been slightly tweaked.The Support role is now the Enforcer, which gets a brand-new class of hard-hitting, high-recoil weapons called Battle Rifles that admittedly take some getting used to. But the role still maintains the ammo pack and the riot shield to support and protect your teammates, and detonatable breaching charges for fiery fun in a variety of settings.Lastly, the Engineer received the most dramatic shift, known in Hardline as the Mechanic. The class can still repair vehicles and deal considerable damage with its grenade launcher, but it’s now more of a gadget-centric utility role when it’s not up close using the arsenal of SMGs. The Mechanic has been given the satellite phone, Hardline’s version of the spawn beacon. It’s also got a sabotage device you can use to booby trap cars – especially handy in Hotwire mode – caches, or doors.Battlefield Hardline is the series' most stylish game to date. The muted browns and ultra-serious, "save the world," or, "freedom never takes a day off," narrative could, actually, use a day off. Hardline injects new personality.Bumping some surprisingly well-known tunes on the radio of a hijacked ride while you're swapping paint with other cars through the streets of LA adds a sense of levity to Battlefield's multiplayer that I never knew I wanted, but won't soon ignore.And though the "cops v. crooks" theme might at first seem out of place, it really does flesh out the series with new modes that fit the theme and change things up. The separate but equal arsenals between the factions and the new interrogation mechanics do add some depth to the motif, even if it is initially hard to swallow how ridiculously well-armed and equipped both sides are. The potential for strategy and tactics is still very much there, but with the faster gameplay and therefore reduced downtime in getting back to the fight, it means I'm not walking on pins and needles when I rush a Conquest node. I can enjoy myself trying out all the new gadgets and guns and getting lost in the chaos.The Battlefield Hardline multiplayer beta runs February 3 - 8 on PC (Origin), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.And be sure to stay up to date on the Hot Games of 2015

Brandin Tyrrel is a freelance writer covering games and tech. There's absolutely no reason to follow him on Twitter