Battlefield 3 Preview

By Martin Robinson Published 22 June, 2011

Class war.

The nineties had Mario and Sonic, the noughties brought us Guitar Hero versus Rock Band, and now? Now we've got Battlefield going up against Call of Duty in the war of screaming men, waged by two publishers who shout just as hard and twice as loud.

It's a fight Activision's nonplussed about but one that EA's spoiling for, and the tale of the tape at this year's E3 was fascinating in itself. Modern Warfare 3's on-stage demo was a short sharp shot of everything that Call of Duty has come to mean: an aggressive spectacle where World War III is a skybox for a very violent yet undeniably alluring game of whack-a-mole.

Battlefield 3, on the other hand, would like to paint itself as the more considered side of the coin. The game's E3 demo was relatively plodding, a Jarhead to Modern Warfare 3's Team America, and the choice of location for the game's behind-closed-doors multiplayer reveal makes that sentiment all the more explicit; whereas Infinity Ward has taken a wrecking ball to New York for its latest, here DICE takes Paris as the backdrop for its own take on modern warfare.

The message would seem to be that Battlefield 3's the more refined, more cultured and more European choice. It's certainly the prettiest, and the startling promise of the game's early teaser videos is delivered upon fully - although this is done on PCs that look like they'd comfortably house a family of four and would require an appropriate mortgage (hands-on with console versions is a privilege currently reserved for US chat show hosts).

With the heavy script of the single-player thrown out of the window, it's short of a little shock and awe, but the basic spectacle is intact. DICE's Frostbite 2 engine brings a handsome Paris noon to life, and this particular map does its best to show the game's lighting model at work in every situation. A lush urban park is lit by bright midday sunshine, from which players storm the subterranean metro that's best navigated by the beam of a torchlight, before returning to fight between shop fronts that crumble with delightful conviction.

1

It's a given that a DICE game will sound fantastic, and Battlefield 3's audio, again, looks set to be best in class.

It's a chance for Frostbite 2 to flex its muscle and parade its subtly improved destructibility, an area that DICE helped to pioneer with the Bad Company games and one that, for all of its profound impact on second-to-second play, has seen surprisingly little pick-up elsewhere in the genre.

The sound is dominated by the piercing chink of cracking tiles in the Metro station as a ticket hall is slowly degraded in a pitched firefight, while out on the streets, cascading facades can now cause physical harm. It's an addition that feels like an acknowledgement of one of Bad Company 2's greatest thrills, wherein it was possible to level whole buildings and obliterate entire squads that were seeking cover within.

The map is also a showcase for DICE's design skills; the seasoned multiplayer cartographers have a wonderful knack for orchestrating the chaos of battle through canny architecture. Playing host to Rush mode, the Operation Metro map is multi-tiered, with the capturing of M-Com points unlocking new areas. There's a well-maintained pace to the match that plays out, the opening park enabling squads to organize their attacks and capitalize on several flanking positions before funnelling the fight into the claustrophobic confines of the metro. The noisy climax in the streets above is a fitting end to a squad's hard work.

As a snapshot of what Battlefield 3's multiplayer will offer, it's thrilling, though there's understandable concern from those who were fighting the good fight before the series made the move to console. Bad Company 2's maps were weighted away from the vast, open-ended maps of the mainline games and the multi-vehicle combat only played into a fraction of its selection. The narrow, defined paths of Downtown Paris suggest the same could be true here. DICE is adamant that won't be the case, and there is the briefest of glimpses of the vehicle combat that's been Battlefield's bread and butter.

A heavy metal APC is the only ride available on the map, and while it doesn't have the allure of either a tank, a helicopter or one of the returning jets, it does introduce Battlefield 3's new philosophy for its vehicles. Customisable load-outs are now available for vehicles as well as infantry, the APC in question equipped in this instance with a coaxial machine gun - all the better for turning opposing soldiers into red paste. The driver will be privy to different optics.

Alongside the retooled vehicles, the backbone of Battlefield has been subject to a fairly dramatic overhaul. The class system has been rethought, the most aggressive example being the amalgamation of the Medic and Assault classes. It's a streamlining that's justified well enough by DICE; the thinking goes that as the Assault class are the guys on the front line dealing out the damage, so too are they best placed to deal with the consequences. There's a very real danger that the balance may have tipped too much in the Assault class's favour, but it's a balancing act that, from the briefest of plays, seems to currently be in check.

Other changes are subtle but far-reaching; Engineers now have a flashlight slung under their guns, which proves useful in the dark, dank confines of the Metro, and Snipers have been tempered by their need to now hold their breath to fire off a steady shot. It's a welcome change, designed to counteract the sniper camping that's blighted many an online shooter.

And then there's the Support class, returning with a new suite of tricks, having been looked over by the Bad Company games. The light machine gun is still their tool of choice, though a portable bipod now means it can be mounted across various surfaces, be that a bullet-eaten wall or the bonnet of a stricken car. Playing to this is an all-new suppression mechanic: spraying the enemy with fire and keeping them pinned down will now be met with a trickle of XP, a neat reward for an expanded role in the game.

2

Console players will now be able to go prone, although the camping that enables is being kept in check by a tweaked sniping system.

Underpinning each and every one of the classes is a refined sense of movement, seemingly taking inspiration from a DICE stablemate that's proving hard for the studio to leave behind. Mirror's Edge's dynamic approach to traversal makes its mark here, with the player's body swinging into view as they athletically vault a low-slung obstacle.

Faith's gymnastics understandably don't make their way across and the whole process is automated, but it's enough to lend Battlefield 3 a physicality that's absent from other shooters. The hardware plays its part too, the guns having a raw edge in the hand that makes them feel, on the PC's mouse and keyboard at least, very alive.

Battlefield 3 is a very different game to that which it is being pitched against, and also to that which has gone before it in the series. The Bad Company series has schooled DICE in the appetites of a console audience, and its lessons are explicit in the immediacy of the action in its return to the mainline series. It strikes a middle ground that's likely to offend as many as it appeases, stopping a little short of Battlefield 2's nuance, while offering a more intricate game than that seen on the hyper-caffeinated killing fields of Modern Warfare.

There's more to come from either side in the run-up to release, but one things for sure: October's going to be very, very noisy.

Picture of Martin.

About Martin Robinson

Martin is Eurogamer's features editor with responsibility for commissioning, editing and often writing our feature and preview content. He's also passionate about driving games.

Read more articles from Martin by visiting the Martin Robinson archive page.

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Comments (85) Latest comment 10 months ago

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  • bdc #1 11 months ago

    November is going to be a pretty epic month. For all the shit-flinging there is, competition between two heavyweights is only a Good Thing.

  • MrEuroTrigger #2 11 months ago

    Last time Oblivion made my upgrade. This time Battlefield 3 is the reason for rearm! Bye, bye my good old rig...

  • Architect_z #3 11 months ago

    So basically BF3 is gonna be better than COD?

  • Nephirion #4 11 months ago

    Nice to see the PC as a lead platform

    /flame extinguisher primed

  • MrFlump #5 11 months ago

    Have to say my purchasing decision on either of the big games coming out is based on the strength of their single player campaigns.

  • FTM #6 11 months ago

    I was thought bad company 2 was as step back from the first one

    maps like harvest day proved you could use the tanks on big, more open maps even on consoles and that all but vanished in the second one

  • cianchristopher #7 11 months ago

    Call of Duty Forever, Battlefield Never...

  • shadow651 #8 11 months ago

    Battlefield, Deus Ex, Red Orchestra, Skyrim, Well there goes my money to buy a new camera lens

  • Tryhard #9 11 months ago

    "Modern Warfare 3’s Team America;" haha,bravo,bravo.

    Roll on Sept BF3 Beta.
    Edited by Tryhard at 22/06/11 @ 12:27

  • MrEuroTrigger #10 11 months ago

    Nephirion: One of the reasons why it is an instant, day-one, full price purchase for me! The main reason is that all previous games in the series were far more than excellent.

  • Arsecake_Baker #11 11 months ago

    "Customisable load-outs are now available for vehicles as well as infantry, the APC in question equipped in this instance with a coaxial machine gun - all the better for turning opposing soldiers into red paste. The driver will be privy to different optics"

    So, exactly the same as BFBC then!

  • andijames #12 11 months ago

    1,2,3,4 i declare fanboy war..

    To be honest they both look really good but i've always preferred the battlefield series on the PC and on the console. Used to play 1942 and Vietnam so much back in the day. DICE have pretty much aced the multiplayer now too although sometimes the single player campaigns leave something to be desired. This looks pretty phenomenal though i must say!

    Roll on Nov!

  • benandrewsart #13 11 months ago

    The only thing i think i prefer about call of duty is the fluidity of movement in confined spaces, improvements in accurate close quarter aiming will be key to the new indoor/urban areas of the maps. The surpressive fire mechanic sounds ace and im excited by the flashlight stuff-interesting to see how they balance the classes this time round.

  • Tiberius_Gracchus #14 11 months ago

    Sounds teh awesome sauce! I'll probably buy both Cod for the single player, BF3 for online. Cod is just too full of young wippersnappers with faster reactions than me - and pottier mouths - oh the humanity!!

  • Xardan #15 11 months ago

    If you can play as anyone but annoying american jarheads then i may consider it.

  • Fightclubber #16 11 months ago

    Cod and BF cant compete the games are so different its getting boring tbh. I cant imagine half the people who play cod to give a shit about bf, cod is pick up and play and that's what people love about it, bf is much more engrossing, deep and the games go on for longer. I love Battlefield a shit ton more for the very reason that im not a fan of that fast pick up and play style of cod.
    If bf brought out a smaller more infantry based game then yes i would say its trying to compete with cod, but at the moment its not.
    Different game different markets

  • TagemandBagem #17 11 months ago

    Looks like they're making the game for people who aren't old enough to remember BF2. It's Bad Company 3 in all but name.

  • Jonny5Alive7 #18 11 months ago

    I just wish the consoles could somehow manage 64 player multiplayer. The game will be brilliant, but I don't want to spend hundreds just so I can play it properly on PC.

  • ZizouFC #19 11 months ago

    I choose Skyrim.

  • coojam #20 11 months ago

    @TagemandBagem: I was thinking the exact same thing, at least in regard to this being less Battlefield 3 and more Bad Company 3.

    Not a bad move at any rate, but I still doubt it'll have the massive vehicular carnage that really separated these games from the competition.

  • rochyroch #21 11 months ago

    Its a shame everything has to go head to head these days,

    It's like comparing Burger King to Mc Donalds,
    I love a BK double whopper with cheese
    but at the same time i love a Muccy D's cheese burger from time to time.
    Edited by rochyroch at 22/06/11 @ 12:49

  • tankboi #22 11 months ago

    I am already in love with this game...I need to find something to sell to pay for a PC upgrade, pronto!

    I still hope they have learned some lessons from Project Reality :)

  • iTech #23 11 months ago

    I absolutely cannot wait for this. Probably one of my most eagerly anticipated games in a very long while.

  • BillMurray #24 11 months ago

    @FTM

    Heavy Metal says hi. I've enjoyed great success rolling around in tanks on that map up against other tanks and picking choppers out of the sky. Really hope there's a few more maps like that in BF3.

  • HiredMan #25 11 months ago

    @bdc, nah, I'd say october will be the best month for shooters. November is epic for Skyrim though.

  • linea #26 11 months ago

    Does the Commander mode make a return, I wonder?

  • arcam #27 11 months ago

    Maybe it's because I haven't read much else about the multiplayer, but that was a worrying preview.

    No sign of the tight and open-ended maps and only 1 APC? On the whole map? Even BF2's 'infantry maps' (Karkand, Sharqi) had a lot more vehicles than that. And this was the PC version too? I hate to be thinking this, but I am starting to worry about this game. I hope there are other previews with different maps soon...

  • vmanb #28 11 months ago

    Really looking forward to this, can't what. My only problem with BC 2 was the amount of maps available at release which was 4 or 5 per game mode which did become a little repetitive over the first 2 months hence the reason i stopped playing it. I still kept my copy though and tried it last month online again for the first time in ages only to find theres now 10 to 11 maps on both rush and conquest( including harvest day as somebody mentioned) which is how it should of been from day 1. Can't stop playing it now and i only hope they don't do a similar thing again but it looks like they probably will. Still day 1 purchase anyway.

  • Douche #29 11 months ago

    'Bad Company 2’s maps were weighted away from the vast, open-ended maps of the mainline games and the multi-vehicle combat only played into a fraction of its selection. The narrow, defined paths of Downtown Paris suggest the same could be true here'

    I'm probably in the minority of Battlefield fans, but i hope the maps are similar to Bad Comapny 2's.

    Not sure about the combining of the Medic and Assault classes though.

    Anyways, looking forward to the games release.

  • Skooch #30 11 months ago

    Come November I'll still be playing Gears 3 MP, but I might just have to squeeze some time in for this as it does look very nice indeedy.

  • bumyoghurt #31 11 months ago

    "The nineties had Mario and Sonic, the noughties brought us Guitar Hero versus Rock Band, and now? Now we’ve got Battlefield going up against Call of Duty..."

    Guitar Hero vs Rock Band as the defining battle of the 'noughties'?

    Err, PES vs Fifa Anyone?

  • SBfistfun #32 11 months ago

    maps like harvest day proved you could use the tanks on big, more open maps even on consoles and that all but vanished in the second one

    Harvest day was released for BFBC2 as well Oasis and heavy metall. All big vehicle weighted maps.

  • mashk #33 11 months ago

    When are we going to see some 360 footage?

  • humanchu #34 11 months ago

    BF3 will be so so much fun! and also the reason for getting getting my first gaming pc since "going console" with xbox/ps2.

    but when will they post the official spec requirements?

  • Retro_ #35 11 months ago

    Best thing about about Bad Company was the humour in the Single player campaign, am I right in thinking they've disposed of that and it's gone all serious :(

  • Agent_Orange #36 11 months ago

    Customize vehicles now? Awesome. Cant decide on pc or xbox though - pc will have the larger games but then xbox has all my friends ...

  • stodgypudding #37 11 months ago

    I think EA and DICE really need to pull their fingers out on this one and add the series some much needed polish.

    Now I love the core online gameplay of the battlefield series but each new game that has come along I've had to endure through some pretty bad experiences. The match making, the attrocious lag, no room on servers, shitty party play and glitches - I still get 'You have won' on games in BF:BC2 which I clearly didn't and visa versa.

    Now every game that comes along we get the same bull shit about how they 'Didn't expect it to be so successfull etc ect'. There are alot of eyes on them this time I hope they get it right.

  • hulahoops #38 11 months ago

    Nonplussed doesn't mean what you think it means. :)

  • scuffpuppies #39 11 months ago

    @cianchristopher

    You're not very bright are you? That's not your fault, you can't help birth defects. Retardation is not funny, as you've so elequently shown.

    Bless.

  • coolbritannia #40 11 months ago

    Yes, let's call him retarded for having a preference.

  • CamoChris #41 11 months ago

    @stodgypudding: I completely agree. On 360 at least, both BC1 & BC2 were nigh on unplayable at launch due to the lag and server issues. The stats stuff still doesn't work correctly, and most times I start the game a pop up window says "You recent form has degraded your skill level" and the number changes from 198 to 0 :/ Another thing they can improve is the amount of time it takes to get in a game. In CoD you can put the disc in and be in a match within a minute or so, because you can skip those stupid start-up bits with the developer's and publisher's logo and because the menus are much quicker to navigate.

  • milki-tea #42 11 months ago

    Fuck PC. Fuck Battlefield 3. Fuck Call of Duty.

  • anthonypappa #43 11 months ago

    not sure about the holding breath for snipers.

    lets hope the sound effect isn't like you just surfaced from the bottom of the swimming pool... more of a silencing of outside noises would be better, as if you are focusing/concentrating... not gasping for air! then when the bullet is fired and background noise returns the impact will be greater.

  • metalangel #44 11 months ago

    @arcam: I agree with you there. Even the smallest, tightest BF1942 map (Berlin) had more than one vehicle! There's nothing wrong with a tight, urban map for some intense combat, but BF games are supposed to be about a huge map with lots of vehicles. Atcama and Arica both had lots of vehicles but were quite confined, Heavy Metal and Harvest Day opened things out like the good old days but those were just two maps, nearly a year after the game was released.

    It sounds like they're still trying to appeal to the CoD crowd by having too much emphasis on infantry combat and loadouts and stuff. One of my favourite aspects of older BF games was you could generally decide what you wanted to do (soldier, engineer, tanker, pilot, etc) and be able to go do that on every map. Now with tiny maps and small numbers of vehicles, it's much harder and without the variety you get bored.

  • BillMurray #45 11 months ago

    Dunno why people are fretting about maps so much. We've only seen one so far.

  • Physically_Insane #46 11 months ago

    Getting this and MW3! That's right, both.

  • asharkman #47 11 months ago

    Wonder if the reason they're taking PC lead on this is because they're preparing for the next gen of console games.
    Or maybe digital distribution has made making PC games worthwhile again.

  • carlitoswagon #48 11 months ago

    Dice learned from BC2 that people want larger maps with vehicles and others like more intimate maps. Rush mode on Oasis must be one of the most popular maps since it was remastered for BC2.

    I love how their map designs can start in wide open spaces and end up in street battles as part of the crescendo. They're masters at it and there's no reason to doubt B3 will be more of the same.

  • Cronan #49 11 months ago

    I read a few previews from e3 where people were playing this same APC-only map. Seemed it wasn't worth using them at all, if the opposing team had an engineer or two.

    How many players in each team were there on this map?

  • Golgo #50 11 months ago

    I agree with Stodgypudding. I much preferred BFBC2 over recent CoDs but the dreadful online play (PS3) version, which included random disconnects in every single session I ever played, was infuriating. It was no fecking joke to be dumped and stripped of XP/unlocks on objective-based game modes that could last upwards of 50 minutes. I went to CoD for my MP fix after that as at least it didn't disconnect all the time. Hope it's fixed this time. But it would be a first for EA servers if it was!
    Edited by Golgo at 22/06/11 @ 15:15

  • Zaiz #51 11 months ago

    This game is slowly rising back to a game I want. Preorder might be in order to get Karkand. Plus, I kinda like the heavier focus on infantry combat in the games, since the huge number of tanks always diminished their impact. in BFBC2 it was way more "OH SHIT TANK" than in BF2, where it was "Oh, look, three tanks and a swarm of jeeps without turret gunners. Meh."

    Also, no way in hell is PC the lead platform, I just hope they fixed the server browser from BFBC2. It took me ten minutes to get into a game if I was lucky.

  • Eldave0 #52 11 months ago

    @Golgo- I know what you mean about the random disconnects on BC2, but there was a way to save your stats mid-game (at least it worked for me...). Each time you change class it pops up with 'saving' in the top corner of the screen, which seems to take a snapshot of your current stats. I made a habit of doing this at least once a round and never had my stats 'rolled-back', whether I got DC'd or not. Hope that helps! :)

  • Spekingur #53 11 months ago

    If they want to compete realistically sales-wise then EA needs to put BF3 on Steam. Maximize awareness, maximize profits.

    Already pre-ordered BF3 on Amazon though.

  • Zealuu #54 11 months ago

    Why does everyone present the decision to combine the Assault/Medic and LMG/Support roles as something radically new? It's a return, if anything, to the class layout of Battlefield 2142 - some of you must have played it. It did cause some kinks in balancing, but they were mostly the result of strange loadout options for the Assault class. I think the design was intended to make you gravitate, through unlock paths, towards either a pure medic, or in the direction of an all-out assault class - but there was no mutual exclusivity and plenty of unlock points, so everyone would eventually get both top tier unlocks for both of their class paths. For assault, iirc, that meant medkit, shock paddles, and the ridiculously useful underbarrel missile launcher. If they'd made you choose between the underbarrel stuff and actual medic equipment, things would be very different.

    Also, suppressive fire as an actual mechanic is going to be a game changer. Can't wait.
    Edited by Zealuu at 22/06/11 @ 19:30

  • asphaltcowboy #55 11 months ago

    Sounds amazing. Not to sure about the merging of Assault and Medic classes, but it'll be good to have the Support class back (the suppressing fire mechanic sounds like it could be really cool). Cannot wait.

  • Golgo #56 11 months ago

    @Eldave0: Ta, sounds a decent workaround does that.

  • Zerobob #57 11 months ago

    That last screenshot - is that a 'one in a million' screen capture that makes the game look way better than it actually is? It looks phenomenally good from that shot; smoke plumes in the distand background and the stark sun lighting the desert perfectly. Depth of field looks great too. I find it hard to believe it's actually going to look that good and you will be able to travel to where the smoke originates from, but we'll see.

    The end of the year is going to be literally ridiculous. Modern Warfare 3, Skyrim, Mass Effect 3, Battlefield 3, Forza 4, Arkham City. That's £240 quiz right there! On essential games! Did everybody really have to play the 'Xmas release date' game FFS.

    Even the Jurassic Park game sounds interesting - it seems strange to release a game so long after the movie if the concept isn't at least half decent as it's hardly likely to sell off the back of the film now in 2011.

  • onezeonx #58 11 months ago

    Overpowered jets? I take it you never played bf on pc then?

    Dice do a great job at making vehicles powerful but fair.
    A great player always has the weapons to defeat any vehicle in bf so I'm not worried at all

  • cyber_nicco #59 11 months ago

    Everything about the BF online experience has always sounded better for me on paper, but I seem to have zero fun playing BFBC2 multiplayer. Whereas, I am quite passable at the COD games. Maybe someone could give me some advice to improve my game...r

    In Battlefiend, it is just die, go to farwaway spawn point. Respawn, get killed my turd in helicopter. Respawn, try to shoot helicopter with unguided rocket (as that is all I'm afforded at my low rank) and killed in the process. Respawn, try to make out enemy hiding in rubble, aim gun, shoot, nothing happens to enemy and die. And so on...

  • peppergomez #60 11 months ago

    Cannot wait.

  • Douche #61 11 months ago

    @cyber_nicco

    I've definately had a few totally shite games due to a team dominating with a helicpoter or two. The 'guided' rockets are shite to (unless i don't know how it use them). I try and use a turret to take down choppers.

    Prefer the maps with no helicopters though.

  • Nasty #62 11 months ago

    @ZeroBob

    Thats a screencap from the Thunder RUn Gameplay vid. For the most part, yes it looks that good all the way through and yes, they do travel all the way to the smoke.

  • anthonypappa #63 11 months ago

    everytime i go back to bad company 2 i get my ass whipped for this first game or so... really frustrating. but just keep practicing, doesn't take long to get used to it.

    you can choose where in the map you drop in after you die.. that's important. usually i drop in to the orange zones to re-take bases or you can drop in next to a team mate, that's useful if your team has no bases... you probably are running too much instead of watching out of enemies, take it easy.

    the game is class. well worth getting into.

  • stodgypudding #64 11 months ago

    Part of the problem is the zero balancing of games. More often than not rooms become totally unbalanced and one sided within 2-3 rounds due to quitters protecting their stats. The recent GoW3 demo was brilliant I felt because of the way it rebalanced games at the end of each match.

  • bodhi85uk #65 11 months ago

    Surprised the article didnt mention the Assault class no longer supplies ammo (thats the Supports job). I think i read on the BF£ offical forum that Assault class can choose to not carry medical equipment. Could be interesting coupled with the ability to deny a revive.

  • TheNinkyNonk #66 11 months ago

    The only market these two games are competing for are the relative minority of hardcore gamers who don't appreciate the major differences between the two franchises.

    All this chest puffing just seems a bit pointless TBH

  • FireMonkey #67 11 months ago

    @ZeroBob - Check out the ThunderRun video: [link url=http://www.gameshadow.com/gamepedia/14391b/battlefield_3/videos/thunder_run_tank_gameplay_video/
    ]http://www.gameshadow.com/gamepedia/1439...[/link]

    "Even the Jurassic Park game sounds interesting"
    There is a dino in this too. 8)

  • Ryuken #68 11 months ago

    "Overpowered jets? I take it you never played bf on pc then?

    Dice do a great job at making vehicles powerful but fair.
    A great player always has the weapons to defeat any vehicle in bf so I'm not worried at all "

    Kidding, right? Jets screwed BF2 completely, even after all the updates, AA didn't do shit.

    Fearing a bit they're not ready at all to release the game, so few things have been shown of large-scale multiplayer that I expect another unfinished game like BC2 was.

  • GI-Joel #69 11 months ago

    If they can recreate the epic fun I had with BF1942 Desert combat Mod back in the day I will be all over it like large pair of big boobies....

  • WJF #70 11 months ago

    'no way in hell is PC the lead platform'

    You're joking, right? So that's why this preview was played on PC and why everything shown so far (bar that Fallon show in the US) is PC?

    Anyway, I've got it pre-ordered (for PC, obv). Hoping, as others have said, for a really good, sprawling map that BFBC2 lacked (at least at launch) and definitely for the Commander to make a return in some form or other.

    Going to buy a new GPU just before launch so I can play this game at full whack. Saving starts....now.
    Edited by WJF at 22/06/11 @ 20:05

  • Emth #71 11 months ago

    Bad Company 2 is already widely considered superior to Black Ops and at least on par with MW2, so it's hard to see BF3 not being a fantastic game and objectively superior.

  • vapofusion #72 11 months ago

    COD will crap all over this. i mean the pc version looks good but console one looks like its awfully small and cramped and it looks too much like the last one on console and i think 60fps clinches it for COD same with last one and the one before

  • MinerWilly #73 11 months ago

    Battlefields been around since 2002 , that pretty much qualifies it for the last decade as well as this one ? Also Battlefields online play has always, yes Always been better than CoDs .

  • Zaiz #74 11 months ago

    @WJF

    They demo games on PC because they can activate graphical options that are not available otherwise. Hell, sometimes they activate options that -are not available in the game's menus-! You have to hunt through config/ini files just to find all the stuff they turned on.

  • orangpelupa #75 11 months ago

    "and Snipers have been tempered by their need to now hold their breath to fire off a steady shot. It’s a welcome change, designed to counteract the sniper camping that’s blighted many an online shooter."

    omg...
    isnt that will
    - encourage sniper class to CAMP as long as posible
    - discourage sniper class to rush

    in BFBC2 i usually become sniper using SVU to RUSH....

  • Geordiemp #76 11 months ago

    @EMTH

    BFBC2 is widely considered by readers of EG forums to be better than COD BLOP.

    There fixed.

    COD sold 3 x that of BFBC2, so how is BF considered better ?

    I have both, BLOPS is a great MP game of fast gun play and quick reactions (I get the same feel when play transformers, an equally quick twitchy game). 60 FPS is necessessary for this game type, and so we get lower resolution, but a fast game.

    BFBC2 is a slower, strategy type shooter thats equally fun, but just different. They dont compare, this type of game has a larger map, better res, 30 FPS.

    I will never get my COD (twitch shooter) fix from any battlefield game, they are too slow.

    I wil never get my large map, vehicle, war type strategy feel from COD.

    There fixed. They are not in competition, they never will be, ever. Nobody that plays COD moves to BFBC2 for the same experience twitch shooter gameplay.

    Comparing COD to BFBC2 is like comparing Halo to assassins creed, different in every way.
    Edited by Geordiemp at 23/06/11 @ 10:46

  • Geordiemp #77 11 months ago

    On a lighter note, check out the TV ad on you tube below

    [link url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am8JCVF2sXU
    ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am8JCVF2sXU
    [/link]

    makes me laugh every time, the proud noob with the rocket launcher...look at their faces, god are they enjoying it

  • Buran #78 11 months ago

    "Alongside the retooled vehicles, the backbone of Battlefield has been subject to a fairly dramatic overhaul. The class system has been rethought, the most aggressive example being the amalgamation of the Medic and Assault classes. "

    Battlefield 3 uses the same soldier class scheme from Battlefield 2142. Is not streamlined at all, is just that in Battlefield 2 some classes were useless and ridiculously underpowered (i.e.: assault; why would you choose assault when the support PKM and medic G36E were WAY MORE efficient killing machines that any thing that assault class had to offer?).

  • ShovelyJoe #79 11 months ago

    Personally never been a huge fan of BF cos of the vehicles in it. The few times I have played - I just used to find games where our team got spawn raped by a guy in a chopper and it killed the fun for me. I understand why other love it though and have no animosity to those that like it.

    But really, they are just now adding holding your breath to make sniping more challenging...wtf? That mechanic has been around for as long as I can remember. I am so going to get this game because the single player looks intense in a far more emotive way than MW (which in all honesty sometimes does get a little much - especially when playing it on veteran) but I can't really see myself dedicating as much time to this as MW.

    Honest question, as I don't have enough experience, do any of you guys love BF for the FPS element in MP rather than the vehicle combat, and if so why do you prefer it to MW? Honest question. What are the real differences that you think make it superior?

  • Geordiemp #80 11 months ago

    ^^ I am with you Shovely Joe

    I prefer BFBC series for the single player, with the vehicles and the size of the maps for the fun. COD single player is a scripted mess.

    However, much prefer COD multiplayer, and for me BLOPS is the FIRST properly balanced multipleyer where I have a counter for everything and dont feel that some perk or gun or gamestyle is overpowered.

    Cant say that about MW2 and the stacking killstreaks / OMA noobtube frag fest that it was. BFBC2 full of snipers and vehicles.

    Blops you can have a level 1, no perk player with lightweight and an MP5K and do well on any map, and to every perk there is a counter. Yet to see a more balanced game.
    Edited by Geordiemp at 23/06/11 @ 13:42

  • Collymilad #81 11 months ago

    Can't wait.

    Makes CoD look like a kiddies game tbh.

  • GrizzleBoy #82 11 months ago

    @ShovelyJoe

    "Honest question, as I don't have enough experience, do any of you guys love BF for the FPS element in MP rather than the vehicle combat, and if so why do you prefer it to MW? Honest question. What are the real differences that you think make it superior?"

    Vehicle warfare has never been a draw for me in Battlefield games.

    Not in Battlefield 2, Battlefield 2142 or Battlefield Bad Company 2.

    The real draw for most Battlefield fans is that you actually feel like you have a meaningful role to play in the Battle.

    In CoD, the vast majority of players play death match type games (and many who play objective type games still just treat it like death match).

    "Kill that guy" is pretty much the name of the game in CoD. If you're not killing guys, you're doing something wrong.

    With the Battlefield series, shooting at the enemy is a choice you can make as opposed to being the main aim of the game. That is personally one of my favourite things about the series. I'm not really a front lines player, but any class I choose allows me to support my team in one way or another.

    --------
    As an assault player, I can lay down a wall of smoke in Rush mode so that my team can push forward if all their cover gets blown up (having destructible cover is another thing that separates the two games).

    OR I can just be munitions supplier (boring imo, but if someone wants to, they can).

    OR I can just use my nicely balanced, all round arsenal to shoot people/destroy cover with grenade launchers etc.
    -------
    As a medic, I can focus my loadout in many ways. I can give my LMG an optics and/or damage boost so I can lay down more effective suppression.

    OR I can give my med kit a boost in range and/or healing speed so I can keep my team mates alive on the front lines to keep up the pressure.
    --------
    As an engineer, I can use my silenced SMG to go on sneaky infiltration missions and take out enemies where they think they are safe without making too much noise as I do so.

    OR I can be a vehicle specialist.

    OR I can just dedicate all my time to making sure that my teams vehicles doint get destroyed by using my repair tool.
    --------
    As a recon player, I can sit back and use my power scope to search for and "spot" enemies so that players on my team can have the upper hand in terms of positional intel when attacking a certain objective. Occasionally helping them out by calling in mortar strikes.

    OR I can put down my sniper rifle, pick up an assault rifle/smg/shotgun (and some C4) and stay on the front line with my team, using motion mines to give my nearby team mates an upper hand when attacking or defending an objective.
    ------

    Its this flexibility, ability to directly support your team via your own actions (without having to kill an enemy) and just all round choice of gameplay options that imo makes the Battlefield games what they are.

    Vehicles are just part of the overall package imo.

  • cyber_nicco #83 11 months ago

    Thanks AnthonyPapa and Douche, I will pop this in again tonight and see what happens... :)

  • watu #84 11 months ago

    I reckon they could've tried to go a bit further towards the nuance of BF2- or at the very least had those nuances as options for the hardcore mode.

    Still it's a day pre-order purchase for me regardless. I reckon DICE and Naughty Dog are the only devs (of games that fit genres of my taste) that I trust enough to pre-order their games before reviews come out.

  • Svalbaard #85 10 months ago

    BF3, Skyrim, Deus Ex 3 - all day 1 purchases on PC for me (apart from Deus Ex 3 which may not).