Battlefield 3

I’m going to start off the review with this little controversial tidbit right here – if you’re not playing Battlefield 3 on PC, then you’re playing an obsolete version of the game. There, I said it; and yes, I have played the game on a different platform. The PlayStation 3, to be specific – and though it was a perfectly competent console shooter, the game simply isn’t the true sequel to Battlefield 2 without its sixty-four player multiplayer. Then again, Battlefield 3 insists on adding a lesser single-player campaign into the mix as well as a half-decent cooperative mode on the side, further adding to the idea of Battlefield 3 being something different. However, I can happily say that even though the game does feature some poor additions to its name, the multiplayer is still the best you can find in the shooter market. It looks damn fine while doing it, too.

While any other game review would probably commence with talk about said game’s single-player component, it only makes sense to start the other way around for a Battlefield title; so here it goes. The Battlefield formula has hardly changed, for a start. The four classes established in the Bad Company games make a return, with tweaks applied making some of the classes work a little differently this time around. One example is the Assault class which, like in Battlefield 2142, is a cross between a medic and frontline combatant due to the choice each player has to make between a defibrillator and a grenade launcher. Engineers remain almost unchanged, with their primary weapons being the only change as they are now carbines as opposed to sub-machine guns or shotguns like in previous Battlefield games. Support is still your ammo dispensing friend with a machine gun, only this time they have access to thrown C4 explosives and deployable mortars. The final class, Recon, is still your typical sniper and, like it or not, that is still his only real purpose other than deploying a mobile spawn point for his squad.

This about sums up just how awesome, and beautiful, Battlefield 3 is.

Though some of these changes may seem questionable, such issues are now tackled with the return of non-class-specific firearms such as shotguns, personal defence weapons, and semi-automatic rifles. All weapons are customisable too, meaning that any class can be tweaked to fill a slightly different role or tuned to be combat effective at certain ranges. Though the Engineer’s carbines are effective at close to medium range, some maps may require him to shoot at longer ranges, which isn’t a problem thanks to the quick addition of an ACOG scope and heavy barrel attachment. Most weapons are capable of having silencers equipped too, meaning that any class has the potential of becoming that rifle wielding ninja we all fear.

It isn’t just the infantry combat that has customisation, though, with the inclusion of vehicle type specific upgrades that enable jets to drop flares, tanks to fire a coaxial machine gun, and scout helicopters to fire missiles. There are only three upgrade slots per vehicle as with the weapons, however, so after unlocking a good chunk of the upgrades, you’ll have to pick which fit your playstyle more. This is a little problematic, as if you’re a new jet pilot up against seasoned veterans, they’ll have lock-on missiles and you have no flares or any other countermeasures to stop the imminent missile impact. That’s some incredibly shaky game balance right there, though I hear that DICE are currently working on an update to the game that should fix this issue along with a few other changes. You may have heard of the tactical light attachment being the most blinding thing ever, and that would be correct – it needs toning down just a little.

Quick, guys! Let's all huddle up in one corner to defend this objective! We couldn't possibly get taken out all at once.

Something the Battlefeld series has always been good at is great map design, and with all the little changes Battlefield 3 has done to the franchise’s formula, you’d hope that the quality of the maps has stayed the same. Luckily for us, it has indeed. None of the maps offend me in any particular way, with the exception of perhaps Damavand Peak on Rush or Tehran Highway on Large Conquest. Damavand suffers from what I sometimes call ‘extreme either or’ syndrome, with the map either being impossible to defend or impossible to attack. Tehran Highway is simply not designed to fit sixty-four players in it on Large Conquest, which is a problem with another one or two maps in the game. This is related to the lead platform being consoles (originally PC). Of course, this is combated by the degree of control all admins have when choosing map rotations on their servers. That doesn’t fix the problem, obviously, but it’s something.

The environments in these maps are varied, with Caspian Border being one of the prettiest maps thanks to its forests, mountains, and sheer scale. You’ll also fight in desert environments (probably in some unnamed Middle East locale), in the city streets of Paris, and on a large shipping and receiving dock. Though some of the maps are a little small, as I said, due to the lead platform being console, the majority are perfect for the PC-exclusive Large Conquest mode. This is where Battlefield 3 truely shines, with the maps being big enough to fit the sixty-four players on foot or in vehicles while players in jets or helicopters get to explore further reaches of the map. It really is amazing how far you can actually fly away from the established combat region, only to turn back around and reign explosive death from above at a great distance.

Not only are there jets, but they're a blast to fly. Especially when you're blasting away the enemy. Ha.

If you’re a Battlefield 2 veteran, you may recall the jets and helicopters being…well, unbalanced. Jets not only had air superiority, they could also drop bombs on the ground which decimated both infantry and ground vehicles alike. A good pilot could turn the game around for their team, with helicopter pilots being just as effective at annihilating all opposition at control points in mere seconds. Battlefield 3 no longer has this problem, with bombs being completely stripped from jets and both vehicle types receiving a notable damage downgrade. Scout helicopters now exist alongside the typical attack and transport types, which are armed with gatling guns that are effective at taking out infantry and light vehicles while the attack helicopter focuses its strengths on taking down light and heavy tanks as well as other gunships.

Half of the gaming community has seen the twelve minute trailer EA and DICE put out for Battlefield 3, showing off the insanely impressive looking visuals found in the single-player. People questioned whether the multiplayer would look the same, and doubted it because of the gargantuan scale of it all. Let’s wipe that theory off the face of the internet right now – Battlefield 3 looks beautiful in all modes, if you have a machine capable of running it to that level. A computer that you bought in 2007 may not cut it now, particularly if you have something like an Nvidia 8800 in there. But don’t think you’re going to need something like two Nvidia GTX 580s in SLI to make it look pretty, either. Though a setup like that is necessary to run the game with its settings maxed out, I’m running the game on a machine running only one GTX 570 and it still looks phenomenal. It isn’t just pretty textures and detailed modeling, though. All of the animations in the game are done with the same motion capture technology found in many of EAs current sports titles, adding a further layer of fidelity not found in other shooters.

But not only does Battlefield 3 have stellar visuals, it also has incredible sound design. Everything from gun shots and explosions to footsteps and crumbling debris; DICE has done it again. If you can get your hands on a surround setup, or even a good pair of surround headphones, your Battlefield 3 experience is going to being heightened to the levels of an audacious deity. You’re able to pick out the individual snaps and cracks from incoming bullets, and as there’s no better indication of just how close you are to imminent death, this further adds to the immersion the many multiplayer games fail to capture. Jets soaring overhead also have a distinct roar, and coupled with the groan of anti-aircraft fire, the battles are a joy to listen to, not just stare at from afar. Though that is spectacular, as well.

That guy doesn't look particularly stoked.

It’s safe to say that Battlefield 3′s multiplayer is like no other. With the squad mechanics of previous games, the sixty-four player conquest mode, and the array of vehicles alongside their customisations (oh, and player customisation, too), no one round of the game feels the same. Whether you’re playing classic Conquest, or moving to returning modes from Bad Company 2 like Rush, Squad Deathmatch, and Squad Rush (and the new inclusion of Team Deathmatch), you’re more than likely to find yourself enraptured by everything the game has to offer. If I didn’t have other games to play, college to go to, and a job to work at during the weekend, I would have probably put triple the amount of hours I’ve currently racked up.

If Battlefield 3 was like Battlefield 2, by which I mean it would be a multiplayer only game (except for the dumb inclusion of bot matches on small maps), it would probably receive something like a nine or a ten on our rating scale. However, BF3 has a cooperative mode which isn’t really that offensive…but the inclusion of single-player is. I get that selling multiplayer only titles on consoles doesn’t work all that well from a business standpoint, but to then go and make a single-player campaign that is ‘OK’ at best is a little offensive. Especially when DICE have done single-player components much better in the past.

The two-player co-op is comprised of six missions, some of which are based off of the single-player, requiring you to combat waves of insurgents, escort  two squads of marines via an AH-64 Apache Helicopter and more. Though they’re not particularly exciting especially when compared to the multiplayer, they are fun and net you some unlocks for multiplayer that can only be locked through certain score milestones in the cooperative mode. These unlockables do take a while, however, with one playthrough of all six missions barely netting you any sort of reward. Death isn’t final in this mode until both of you are incapacitated; so if you’re down, you’re not out. Simply lie back armed with a sidearm drawn and continue to shoot guys with, what is essentially, invincibility until your comrade gets you up or a timer runs out. The timer is incredibly forgiving, and I’ve even employed a ‘strategy’ which involved me running out to get shot so I could become invincible and shoot the hell out of the opposition.

What use is a jeep if you're just going to stand beside it? Clearly, this guy hasn't played much Battlefield.

Now, to the single-player. Though the basic premise was done before in last year’s Call of Duty: Black Ops, with a constant back and forth between the protagonist being questioned to playing the game through his memories, I feel it is indeed more engaging here. That said, the mission design is incredibly linear throughout – and for a Battlefield game, it just doesn’t work. You only get to hop into a vehicle when the story requires you to, such as an early Jet-based mission in which you play as a female jet pilot, Lieutenant Hawkins. Even then, that particularly mission is entirely on rails with you simply doing the shooting and the deploying of flares to evade enemy missiles. A Battlefield campaign should encapsulate the open-ended nature of the series multiplayer as opposed to relying on linear mission structures and on-rails sequences. Oh, and quick-time events. It is playable though, despite how terrible people and other publications may make it sound. Battlefield 3 does a good job of making its soldiers feel free, which is definitely helped by how they animate, but mainly through what they say and how they act. This isn’t your typical ‘hooah’ fest of all too eager soldiers willing to storm into the fray for their beloved America, with characters showing fear through their forced courage and questioning orders out loud like they’re being sent to their deaths.

So there you have it. Battlefield 3 is by no means perfect, but that really is only because of the inclusion of two components that just aren’t necessary. But of course, without a single-player, this game would not have been as successful on the consoles – BF3′s lead platform. I’m more irritated that the single-player had to be included than I am at the fact that it wasn’t up to par. Though the Bad Company games did well on their single-player and multiplayer merits, a true sequel to Battlefield 2 (even in the modern era) should not have to sacrifice its overall quality with a not fully realised mode for those without a system hooked up to the internet. That said, Battlefield 3 will still be remembered for the multiplayer above all like previous games in the series have been before it. I’ll still continue to drum the glorious Battlefield theme on my desk while I load into a game of BF3 for hours throughout the rest of 2011 and well into 2012, and I will no doubt forget about everything but the multiplayer…especially when I’ve finally unlocked the rest of those co-op weapons.

Joe Marsden

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Creator of this fine mess you see before you, as well as all around swell guy. Probably seems like a total PC elitist, but honestly, he's not - really.