Since the introduction of modern military first person shooters, Activision has been in complete dominance with its Call of Duty franchise. Like Medal of Honor and Bad Company, many contenders have tried and failed to halt COD's reign. With
Battlefield 3, EA promised to take that crown from Activision by delivering an experience that is above and beyond that of call of duty. Now that EA and DICE's top shooter is out, does it live up to the hype, or is it just another military shooter that has failed with its high hopes.
Singleplayer Story:
Battlefield veterans are familiar with this franchise being a heavy multiplayer based game and would have loved for it to remain that way. Well ... times change, and being the biggest contender to Call of Duty's Modern Warfare 3, DICE wanted to add more than just online multiplayer, and so they did. Did they do it well? No they did not.
The singleplayer campaign will last about 5 hours playing on normal difficulty. The story revolves around a troubled marine, Sergeant Henry Blackburn, who is being interrogated by his superiors as he recalls, via flashbacks, how he becomes involved in a suspected terrorist attack. You play mainly as Blackburn as you race around Iran, France, Iraq and the US trying to get things straight and figure out whats going on.
The overall premise of the campaign is good, but the experience is dull. It felt rushed and tacked on. It seemed as if DICE played Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and tried to borrow its ideas and set pieces. Its terribly outdated ... you will feel as if you played the campaign before due to it being filled with all the familiar cliched military jargon that we are accustomed to. You will deal with the typical terrorists, Russians, nukes, and the sense of "the world depends on you saving it." That concept is not bad if done correctly, but for Battlefield 3, a game hyped to change the military fps experience, they should have done better.
Gameplay:
Battlefield is known for its huge maps and players' ability to control vehicles, but the singleplayer campaign was shallow in these areas. The campaign was unexpectedly linear, and the player has no control on how they complete missions. You are mainly forced down pre-determined path as you move from one check point to another. Some variety would have been better. The singleplayer also didn't give you as much control of vehicles as you thought you would have. When you did though, it was awesome. Having full control of a tank and destroying your enemies was one of the few high points in the entire campaign. In one other mission you get to fly gunner in a fighter jet ... the coolest moment of all. If only you got to control the damn thing ... could of felt like Maverick.
The singleplayer also suffers from poor AI, both enemy and friendly. Its not terrible, but with today's shooters, friendly soldiers shouldn't still be standing in your line of fire, ignore enemies right in front of them, and standing with live grenades at their feet. It looks stupid. On the other hand, the multiplayer gameplay is great. You will experience some minor hiccups and glitches, but that's understandable due to the large size and activity on the maps. They hold up pretty well with all that's going on in the air and on the ground.
CO-OP Missions:
If you are in for more mediocre missions after playing the singleplayer campaign, you can jump into the cooperative missions with a buddy. There's no split screen so you will need to find an online partner to tackle these two-player challenges. These missions are slightly better than those of the singleplayer, and they do intertwine with the singleplayer story, but they are nothing special. This, like the singleplayer, was not necessary. Definitely not needed to sell the game because most people are excited for the awesome multiplayer alone.
Multiplayer:
And what an awesome multiplayer it is ... this will keep you playing for hours upon hours at a time. Knowing Battlefield's history, its not surprising that the multiplayer is so great. If you are not familiar with Battlefield, then know this ... its a multiplayer focused game. The multiplayer of this game is different from that of other military shooters that you are familiar with, such as Call of Duty. Different in a good way. Its unique ... this uniqueness is its strongest asset. Unlike those other shooters, BF3's multiplayer feels like the real thing. Its "lively" and you feel as if you are actually fighting in real life as opposed to clowning noobs in a video game. Its definitely one of the BEST, if not the best, multiplayer experience out there.
One of the first things you will notice with the multiplayer is how big the maps are. They are huge. This scale adds to the real-to-live feel of it and makes it more fun and challenging at the same time. The games ships with 9 maps and familiar gametypes such as Rush, Conquest, and Team Deathmatch. Future downloadable content will add more variety, but with whats available now, its a great experience.
The multiplayer puts you in one of two teams, Russians or Americans, as you race to eliminate each other in the different available gametypes. You get to choose from different classes such as Engineer, Assault, Recon and Support. It all depends on how you play. Engineers have the ability to repair and takeout heavy vehicles, while Assault and Support gives you special abilities such as healing teammates and supplying ammunition.
Another great thing about Battlefield 3's multiplayer is the ability to jump into a variety of vehicles and traverse the huge maps and change the course of a match. The vehicles are fun, and you can drive some awesome vehicles ranging from fighter jets, to tanks, Humvees, and helicopters. You can even take the gunner seat of some of those vehicles while a teammate has the controls. Overall, whether controlling or gunning, vehicles are a blast.
You will want to make time for Battlefield 3's multiplayer because you will have a lot to unlock here ... weapons, vehicles, special attachments, medals, etc, and with a level cap of 100, you will become addicted and spending lots of time making your solider better and better with each match. You will get even more caught up in the multiplayer's awesomeness with "My Solider" and "Battlelog". These are two great features that makes you keep track of your progression and makes your experience more engaging. You will be customizing your weapons and vehicles and keeping up-to-date stats ... making your playing time more worthwhile.
Graphics / Presentation:
Unlike the other Battlefield games, this latest titles uses the new Frostbite 2 engine. Overall, ignoring minor texture fading, the game looks great. Its not spectacular though. You will still get some ugly textures on some of the characters faces and their gears, but this does not take away from all the other stunning looking environments. From singleplayer to multiplayer, the engine handles lighting effects and the destructible environment very well.
Out of all the systems running the game, the PC's graphics hold up the best, and its beautiful. That's if you have the right hardware. The Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 graphics are slightly duller, and if you own a Xbox 360, install the HD Texture Pack if you have the hard drive space. Its about a 1.5GB install but its worth it. Without it, the Xbox version will look way below standard definition. The Playstation version has the HD Texture Pack already on the Blu-ray disc, so no need to install it.
I can tell that this game was not ready. EA only pushed it as to get a release date before Modern Warfare 3, and the game suffers because of it. Glitches, glitches, glitches ... a whole lot. Even with the release day update which took care of some of that, I still experience numerous sound, visual and environmental glitches while playing on the Xbox 360. Sounds reoccurring like a broken record, soldiers sticking together and freezing the mission, vehicles driving without a driver and things appearing and disappearing from the environment. More time was definitely needed to polish things.
When it comes to the game's presentation, the single player again is where the hurt is. Although it is cliched, it could have been great if it wasn't trying to be something its not. The overall concept of the campaign is not bad, but the way it was told is boring. Starting out you will feel excited, curious to see where you'll end up, but by the third mission you will start to feel like you already know where the story is headed and that you don't care how it will end, just that you want it to end.
Sound:
The sounds in this game is awesome, both singleplayer and multiplayer. Everything sounds live and you feel like you are there on the battlefield. Rockets, gunshots, buildings falling apart, trees crashing to the ground ... wonders to your ears. Vehicles, sounds of devastation, squad mates yelling and screaming, airborne traffic, the destructions ... everything sounds great. Some of the best sounds in military shooters. The voice acting from all the characters are also great and makes the characters more believable. It all comes together wonderfully to draw you into the environments.
Replay Value / Lasting Appeal:
After completing the singleplayer campaign, if you even want to play it, you will not want to experience it again ... not even to get achievements and trophies. If you want some slightly better missions, you can enjoy the cooperative missions with an online buddy, but after one play-through, you will stay away from it also. With the incredible multiplayer, you will be playing nothing else. The online will have you playing for months if not years ... it is that good. With a great leveling system and tons of unlocks, including weapons and vehicles, you will have huge amounts of fun. I expect DICE to release DLC in the future so that you will extend your playtime even more.
Final Thoughts:
If the game was shipped with the multiplayer alone, it would have been closer to being perfect. The singleplayer ruins the whole package. The game as a whole felt rushed and the singleplayer felt has if it was just added as a name say. It takes a lot away from what this game actually is and makes it feel outdated and boring. If you are not interested at all in the singleplayer however, then this game is for you. The competitive multiplayer is fun, engaging, and is as real as it gets. You will enjoy to the fullest what the multiplayer has to offer and you will continue playing over and over again. My recommendation ... jump straight into the multiplayer, watch your back, take cover, and have fun destroying your enemies.
Battlefield 3 is now available for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC.
SCORE: 8.5 out of 10
Battlefield veterans are familiar with this franchise being a heavy multiplayer based game and would have loved for it to remain that way. Well ... times change, and being the biggest contender to Call of Duty's Modern Warfare 3, DICE wanted to add more than just online multiplayer, and so they did. Did they do it well? No they did not.
The sounds in this game is awesome, both singleplayer and multiplayer. Everything sounds live and you feel like you are there on the battlefield. Rockets, gunshots, buildings falling apart, trees crashing to the ground ... wonders to your ears. Vehicles, sounds of devastation, squad mates yelling and screaming, airborne traffic, the destructions ... everything sounds great. Some of the best sounds in military shooters. The voice acting from all the characters are also great and makes the characters more believable. It all comes together wonderfully to draw you into the environments.
Earlier today Microsoft and Epic games announced a new Gears of War 3 DLC. They titled it RAAM's Shadow and it will be available this December 13 for $15/1500 Microsoft points. We know that it is an campaign add-on. We also know that it follows up the events of the first game. Instead of playing as the common faces of Delta Squad that we have come to know, you will now be playing as Zeta Squad. They are trying to evacuate Illima City in the wake of Emergence Day. But don't feel sad, you wont be playing as total strangers. Familiar faces such as Tai and Lt.Kim will make appearances.
