Battlefield 3 Multiplayer Preview

By Dan Whitehead Published 18 October, 2011

Chute to kill.

I'm lost. It's not something I'm proud of, but I have no idea where I need to be going. I'm on the attacking force in a Squad Rush multiplayer game of Battlefield 3 and I'm running around like a headless chicken, trying to work out where those target markers are pointing.

Things started so well, too. We advanced efficiently along a mountain pass, dealt with some sneaky snipers who'd taken cover in the long grass at the top of a rise, and we'd driven the defending team back from the first two objective markers with ruthless efficiency. We were unbeatable. We were badasses.

But now I'm scampering about like a drunken puppy, trying to find some tunnel or doorway that will allow me into the guts of this enemy base. The objective markers are below me, so unless the game is horribly glitched, there must be a way in. One of my brothers in arms sprints past me and hurls himself off the helipad, clearly driven to suicide in the hopes that a respawn would put him back on track and make the way forward clear.

That's when, after an embarrassingly long time, the penny drops. I dash to the side of the helipad and peer cautiously over the edge. There, half a kilometre straight down, is the next objective. Halfway there already, my fellow soldier's parachute flutters into life. I take a deep breath and jump.

Welcome to Damavand Peak.

It's a moment of relief, not only because I'm back in the game and pretending I knew to do this all along, but because it means that DICE hasn't lost its knack. After the suspiciously COD-like Metro map in the beta, I was genuinely concerned that the masters of multiplayer map design had lost their touch, the unique flavour of old subsumed by the need to win over rival fans.

'Battlefield 3 Multiplayer' Screenshot 1

All your base jump are belong to DICE.

Damavand Peak, it turns out, is a quintessential Battlefield map. It's vast. It's varied. You can approach its objectives from dozens of directions, and join the battle in countless ways. Whatever class you favour, whatever loadout you've picked, it feels like the map was designed just for you. And yet for all its flexibility, it keeps moving forwards, relentlessly. Apart from, you know, when feckless journalists don't pay attention and somehow miss that their entire squad has performed a 500m base jump.

It's that jump that will get all the attention of course, but it's more than just a gimmicky stunt. Once you realise that this is the part where you hurl yourself into the abyss, there's a natural elation as you freefall down, seeing the tiny toytown buildings thundering up to meet you, as you dare yourself to wait one more second before deploying your chute. In live play, this is where lots of giddy noobs will meet their end. Just as newcomers hung around helicopter spawn points, only to be picked off by shrewd snipers, so ruthless sharpshooters will earn healthy XP from the fact that a veritable shower of fresh meat will be flinging itself into their sights from the same point.

Over time, it becomes clear that simply spawning and dashing to the jump is a fool's game. We wait for someone to grab a chopper. Then, after he spirals and clatters his way to a messy demise, we wait for someone who can actually control the thing to grab a chopper. Then, as they strafe the landing site, the rest of us make the jump, some aiming for rooftops to provide more covering fire, others bound for the objectives.

As we glide in, the flutter of the chute roaring in our ears, I spot an enemy taking aim below. Somehow, brilliantly, I manage to take them out with a mid-air headshot, swooping in for a landing next to his defeated corpse. It's a pure fluke, of course, but undoubtedly my first "you'll never believe this" Battlefield 3 war story.

It's a breathless action-movie map, but one that never loses sight of the freedom that defines the Battlefield experience. What it demands is that you adapt to the terrain as you go, adjusting tactics according to the situation. After the tight funnelling and close quarters combat of the first push, you land at the second pair of objectives in the middle of a large industrial mining facility.

There are large warehouses and processing plants. Intricate pipework provides elevated walkways and sneaky rat runs. Push the defenders back from there, and they retreat into the mine itself, a cavernous space with gantries and rock formations where attackers must either find a secret path inside or else risk an all-out frontal assault on an enemy with plenty of opportunity to dig in.

It works, and it works exceptionally well with the Rush modes. Some fans have complained that Rush is taking precedence over Conquest, which is seen as the "true" Battlefield mode. Maps like Damavand Peak, which is clearly designed to favour the push-and-fall-back rhythms of Rush, give some credence to that, but that's not such a bad thing.

'Battlefield 3 Multiplayer' Screenshot 2

Damavand Peak's the kind of expansive map that the Battlefield name was built on.

For one, Battlefield 3 also boasts maps like Operation Firestorm, an absolutely enormous open plan theatre of war where vehicles are essential and anyone planning on going lone wolf can expect to spend a lot of time jogging aimlessly along with only the crunch of their combat boots in the sand for company.

But Rush is also, arguably, a more refined take on military engagements than the free-for-all sandbox of a Conquest map. Rush imprints structure on the battle, giving both teams a clear through line to follow, and that results in better, more organic teamwork and a greater sense of drama, either the elation of the attackers as they take another objective or the backed-into-a-corner resolve of defenders with nowhere else to retreat to.

There are still a lot of unanswered questions surrounding Battlefield 3, not least concerning its single player campaign and the introduction of standalone co-op maps, but it seems that when it comes to players finding exciting new ways to shoot each other's faces off, the standard will be as high as ever.

Picture of Dan.

About Dan Whitehead

Dan has been writing for Eurogamer since 2006 and specialises in RPGs, shooters and games for children. His bestest game ever is Julian Gollop's Chaos.

Read more articles from Dan by visiting the Dan Whitehead archive page.

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Comments (54) Latest comment 4 months ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • jablonski #1 4 months ago

    I might be confusing myself, but it feels like you have already run about 237 Battlefield 3 previews already

  • Bravestinsane #2 4 months ago

    @jablonski

    They hit like 60 articles about BF3 and MW3 within about 35-40 days.

    EG is saturated with articles about BF3 and MW3 so i don't blame you if your confused.

    I mean i also look at Kotaku and Giantbomb, them combined have had less than half of the articles EG has had.

    TBH saying all this i have no fucking idea if they have previewed or not, i think they have no you mention it.

  • Graveland #3 4 months ago

    Is there going to be a 'theatre mode' in BF3 on consoles so you can record your multiplayer games?

  • RedSparrows #4 4 months ago

    Gonna be good! But I feel my DMR might not be in too much trouble of being abandoned.

  • RedSparrows #5 4 months ago

    Graveland - good question! I don't get why all shooters don't do it now, Iherd it wasn't that complex to put in. But I dunno!

  • geeza2020 #6 4 months ago

    Sounds excellent.

  • Colvin #7 4 months ago

    Conquest > Rush

  • P1GEONPOO #8 4 months ago

    "I spot an enemy taking aim below. Somehow, brilliantly, I manage to take them out with a mid-air headshot, swooping in for a landing next to his defeated corpse"
    Then I heard "Dan time to get up" dream over.

  • Tryhard #9 4 months ago

    Did you not jump in a Littlebird?I so want to fly that baby.And it is supposed to be on this map.
    There is rumours of being a battlerecorder after release.But I think it will be pc only.

  • dadrester #10 4 months ago

    squad rush> conquest> rush

  • Graveland #11 4 months ago

    @Tryhard.

    That's a shame. It's not like consoles couldn't handle it.

  • carlitoswagon #12 4 months ago

    Agree there's a bit of BF3 saturation but I wanted to hear more about this map, so found this mp preview interesting.

    I can only imagine a free falling humvee would be the quickest way down.

    Edit: Meant coolest way down............for Mr Rob of the Robots ;)
    Edited by 1 at 18/10/11 @ 15:02

  • Goodfella #13 4 months ago

    YAWN! There are other games coming out soon, EG.

  • joelstinton #14 4 months ago

    "We wait for someone to grab a chopper. Then, after he spirals and clatters his way to a messy demise, we wait for someone who can actually control the thing to grab a chopper."

    Haha. no doubt that first person will be me. I am one of those ungifted few who would get a foot in the air with a chooper and just crash in BC2. Not long to go now, can't wait. All the video glimpses of Console footage released int he last week looks aces.

  • AcidSnake #15 4 months ago

    Rush > Conquest :)

    Dan, what's the word on the damage model? Still like the beta or more like BFBC2?

  • rob_of_the_robots #16 4 months ago

    "I can only imagine a free falling humvee would be the quickest way down."

    Newton may not agree with you.

  • metalangel #17 4 months ago

    After the suspiciously COD-like Metro map in the beta, I was genuinely concerned that the masters of multiplayer map design had lost their touch, the unique flavour of old subsumed by the need to win over rival fans.

    Dear Eurogamer,

    Please disguise more of our damage control for the PR disaster that was the BF3 console beta by publishing yet another 'preview' of the game and putting some simpering crap about how it's not bad like the beta was, honest.

    A brown envelope full of a donation to your tea fund will be left in the usual place.

    Love,
    EA

    We wait for someone to grab a chopper. Then, after he spirals and clatters his way to a messy demise, we wait for someone who can actually control the thing to grab a chopper.

    Is it going to be possible in BF3 to just host a local, empty game so that people can practice flying? Or will it be like Bad Company 2, AGAIN, where in the unlikely event you don't get your chopper stolen out from under you while waiting for it to spawn, you're immediately being shot down by the enemy?

  • Arsecake_Baker #18 4 months ago

    PC? 360? PS3?

    Bugs? Glitches? Graphics? Destruction? Framerate? Hit Detection? etc etc etc

    All i read here was that you had a fun time playing BF3 before anyone else.......pointless!

  • monty2k #19 4 months ago

    @ AcidSnake:

    The only thing about the damage model I've read is this:

    " While destruction isn't at the same level as the Bad Company series, it really varied from map to map and in Grand Bazaar, I appreciated how the main plaza areas became more filled with debris and downed trees as more players started to test out their rocket launchers. A lot of building corners and facades crumble realistically and expose enemy cover as well."

    That's from Destructoid's preview: http://ww w.destructoid.com/preview-battl...

  • joelstinton #20 4 months ago

    I think Rush is a great mode. Especially for us console players who are missing 40 players that the pcs versions have on conquest. For me, it offers a TDM expereince, with objective play, which in turn offers stragetic and tactical desicions, which in turns offers team work. Its a great evolution of the TDM experience. And a lot of fun. One day i will be shone the light when consoles can deliver 64 player gaming.

  • Hindle #21 4 months ago

    I get the impression the PC version of this will be awesome, not so much for the consoles though.

  • AcidSnake #22 4 months ago

    @monty2k:
    Cheers, but not the damage model I intended, I meant the damage bullets do to players...
    In the beta it took very little to kill you, this in contrast with BFBC2 which had you sometimes survive whole clips...
    I'd like slightly more damage than BFBC2, but definitely less than the beta...

  • Cobalt_Jackal #23 4 months ago

    Damage control much.

  • Vaarna #24 4 months ago

    The only games the "real" hardcore brothers need this side of Xmas are Dark Souls, Saints Row: The Third & DoDonPachi Resurrection. DICE lost it years ago -- around the time BF2: Special Forces was released on PC.

    Anyways, their finest moment was Pinball Dreams' "Graveyard" table (before they sold out to EA).

  • jetsetwillie #25 4 months ago

    @Vaarna

    LOL!!! looks SR3 is about as hardcore as barbies playtime fun.

    i should know as im about as hardcore gamer that is possible.

    LOL

  • mattk84 #26 4 months ago

    I wouldnt say DICE are the masters of multiplayer map design at all. Some of the conquest ones in BFBC2 are terrible allowing the other team to pen you in with no means of escape (Laguna Alta I'm looking at you). Also spawn camping/base raping is almost encouraged - try playing Atacama desert against an enemy with a very talented chopper pilot.

    Hopefully this has been addressed in BF3 via the deployment of mobile spawns.

    Very much looking fwd to this. In my experience BF games snowball. You have to give them time before they pay you back royally which is probably why the beta got such criticism. The beauty of these games lies in the smaller details eg working as a squad and spotting before engaging.

  • revan8 #27 4 months ago

    Sounds sweet. Personally I prefer conquest, rush pleasure is more reliant on your team. You can either.have an epic rush match or a terribly frustrated one. Conquest more consistently fun. Map sounds different. 9 is slim but comes with 4 map with new code so basically 13 which is enough to start.

  • spekkeh #28 4 months ago

    Nicely written article, captured the multiplayer mayhem I know from previous Battlefields pretty good.
    Too bad there are too many good games coming out. By the time I will be able to pick this one up, multiplayer will be unplayable because of all the no-lifes that have played the game for six months straight.

  • geeza2020 #29 4 months ago

    I dunno Mattk84, I'm struggling to come up with any multiplayer map over the past few years on any game thats been even close to bettering Arica Harbour as a Rush Map. I think DICE are still the best, and I've been playing their games since BF1942.

  • metalangel #30 4 months ago

    @MattK: Especially when he provides cover for his mate to steal YOUR helicopter so now there's TWO both pounding the crap out of your base... one flies off to repair while the other keeps you pinned down.

    @geeza: The opening section of Arica is excellent, that armour charge across the desert... wow. The town is a bit dull (perhaps because any goodness is ground out of you in the Conquest version) and the final assault across the bridge is pretty good too.

    Shame the map is just a series of very long corridors, though.
    Edited by 1 at 18/10/11 @ 15:28

  • geeza2020 #31 4 months ago

    Yeah it is quite a narrow one, but I've never found it too narrow like some of the other maps, like Vantage Point in the Vietnam expansion. That is by far the worst battlefield map I've ever played, based entirely on the fact that the first set of MCOM's is almost impossible to take, with just two routes into the enemy area's. Which are of course just constantly grenade spammed.

    Its alright as a conquest map though ;-)

  • kinky_mong #32 4 months ago

    @jetsetwillie:

    i should know as im about as hardcore gamer that is possible.

    ...is the most pathetic sentence anyone can say ever.

  • Agent_Orange #33 4 months ago

    All this battlefield 3 helicopter talk reminds me of a moment in BF2: me and a mate and some others got in another mates blackhawk which I remember starting to do a loop the loop then falling backwards in to the ground and killing all of us in a horrible fireball. When we shouted what are you doing, he said "Oops, didn't know you were in there!" As if he'd fly it any better if he knew we were in there!

  • chrisola #34 4 months ago

    the talk of no 1 hit sniper kills has me concerned..surely a 1 hit headshot with a high powered rifle should be enough to down someone..hopefully just forum BS

    Can't double tap with a bolt action rifle ffs

  • miiiguel #35 4 months ago

    Contest > Rust

  • Timotei #36 4 months ago

    "anyone planning on going lone wolf can expect to spend a lot of time jogging aimlessly along with only the crunch of their combat boots in the sand for company"

    I love that, though.

  • Pinky_Floyd #37 4 months ago

    Ohhh this article got me all excited! :D

  • Collymilad #38 4 months ago

    Awesome. Cannot wait.

  • fragjam #39 4 months ago

    I'd like to see a preview that addresses the merits of the different versions - should I pre order it on PC or console? Or do I have to wait for a face off, I suppose...

  • revan8 #40 4 months ago

    Just watched 12 min video of grand bazaar. Looks like the dullest bf map i have seen n i have bf2 bc2 bc2 Vietnam. Looks more like a cod map with a tank. Operation firestorm looks much better but too sparse on console footage.

  • waffle #41 4 months ago

    I played the beta, and mostly sucked at it, but felt the bullet damage was in the right place. If someone shoots me in the head, I expect to die fairly quickly. The idea that I should still be standing after half a clip from an assault rifle has entered my body is utterly against what BF3 is about.
    If you want to play an amazing 1st person shooter that requires lots of ammo to kill people, go play either QuakeWorld or Quake 3 Arena.
    If you want to play a game that tries to provide a dramatic and "cinematically" realistic simulation of warfare, then BF3 looks to be a very fine prospect indeed. I for one have no intention of cancelling my pre-order.

  • coolbritannia #42 4 months ago

    Sounds amazing, great read. Dear hatersd (especially Goodfella) fuck right off. If you don't want to read about it, I suggest you start by not clicking into the article in the first place.

  • mattk84 #43 4 months ago

    @ revan8

    Link to vid, please? Would be interested to watch.

  • Colvin #44 4 months ago

    @Matt

    Guessin' it's this one

    http://ww w.youtube.com/watch?v=wm_a7JORy...

  • Oskool #45 4 months ago

    Base jumping off a cliff sounds like fun. Great article! I'm mostly a conquest player but I'll have to give Damavand Peak a try on rush too.

  • Seb_NZ #46 4 months ago

    Great preview. Me excite.

  • revan8 #47 4 months ago

    @ mattk84 just type map names into you tube. Ign has put up several 12 minute videos of new maps.

  • Smudge1983 #48 4 months ago

    Even though i love BF im trying (as a console playe) not to get too excited. I think this is gonna be the shizzle for PC players, i just hope the console version plays well. from the beta i'd say it needs alot of tweeking. Still its a day one for me and theres always the mighty BFBC2 to fall back on. And its still gonna piss all over COD (uh-oh i went there)

  • johnw100 #49 4 months ago

    My concern is they've toned down all the demolition in multiplayer BF3 compared to BF:BC2 which was all part of the fun of battlefield. I`ve yet to see anything apart from" hole in the wall" type demolition, no full destruction of buildings anywhere to be seen. Which essentially makes maps like grand bazaar or seine crossing into nothing more than COD maps.
    I hope i`m wrong. Guess we`ll find out next week.

  • chrisola #50 4 months ago

    BF3 does everything you see in the MW3 trailer, the difference is, YOU make it happen.

  • Suecotero #51 4 months ago

    I hate to play the Devil's advocate here, but the game plays exactly like BC2 with jets (that handle like WW2 planes) It will actually look worse than BFBC2 on 3-year old systems because they are gearing the game for high-end systems.

    I really wanted to love this game, but playing beta has made me realize that all I'd get is BFBC2 v1.5 with worse performance. None of the BF serie's fundamental gameplay problems (sniper k/d dominance ruining teamplay, vehicle queues/griefing, RPG's being used as one-hit-kill handguns, etc etc...) are addressed.

    If you are wondering about all the gushing reviews, read this:

    "EA Caught Pressuring Publications Over Battlefield 3 Reviews"
    http://ww w.kotaku.com.au/2011/10/ea-caug...
    Edited by 6 at 19/10/11 @ 15:28

  • Uncompetative #52 4 months ago

    Pre-order cancelled.

    Happy with Crysis. Overjoyed with Forza 4.

    Looking forward to Skyrim and Bioshock: Infinite.

  • Geordiemp #53 4 months ago

    @ Suecotero

    Is that why this preview does not address any of the questions readers are posing -have they sorted lag, framerate, bugs

    I want to know is the game balanced, does it reward certain types of play, or does it simply reward a team sitting in one spot camping with snipers.

  • Suecotero #54 4 months ago

    @Geordiemp

    As far as I could tell from the beta, expect nothing too different to the latest iteration of BC2. Minor improvements have been made. The unlock system is remade, with weapons themselves gaining unlocks rather than the class, although classes progress as well. There's a vastly larger amount of weapon mods too, though it remains to be seen which ones will actually be useful.

    Nothing has changed in the core issues however. I still got point-blank killed by RPG users, who still can pretty much hip-fire those things. There are no new incentives to reward objective play, as the stat everyone will look at is k/d, naturally skewing the game towards snipers. Sniper rifles themselves are still easy to aim and hit exactly where you aim them, so it's still the most comfortable way to play the game. Vehicles are still contested with still nothing to stop the average retard from hogging every plane and crashing it in 5 seconds. Jets fly at the speed WW2 propeller planes do. Probably done for gameplay reasons but it looks really stupid.

    Summing it up, expect an engine upgrade, with prettier games assuming you got the cash to get a top-of-the-line system. If your system is a couple of years old like mine is, BC2 will actually look better. The game is so optimized towards expensive high-end systems that you'd think it was all a marketing ploy for Nvidia (check their BF3 webpage). Expect minor gameplay tweaks in class design and unlock trees, and more impressive maps, but the gameplay is untouched and so are many of it's issues.

    To be honest, I'd probably buy it for the graphical upgrades and maps alone if I already had a high-end system, but since I don't, the game is simply not worth $500 for me. There are games who are that good, but this one isn't.