Battlefield 3 - from the point of view of a Battlefield veteran albeit the fanboy cries of joy.
***Disclaimer***
Now keep in mind I am reviewing the Xbox 360 version of a game meant specifically for PC. Interestingly enough, the game itself is actually a port from PC where as most 'Triple A' FPS' are now console ports. Yes, there is a difference between PC and console version, but I have only been able to play the console version.
So let's crack open the Limited Edition version of Battlefield 3, plastered all over is BACK TO KARKAND EXPANSION WITH THIS EDITION...Wait, what!? Back to Karkand!? You mean THAT Karkand? Oh boy, I'm in for a treat where by far my favourite map is coming back to me, cementing the possibility this is a true sequel to Battlefield 2. Well, guess what, it's not actually the expansion pack, it's a token to download it when it's available. I'm fine with this, yet I'm a little upset that I was lead to believe the expansion pack was with the game. Well, this isn't important right now, so I'll discuss the expansion pack later.
The next thing I notice is two discs, now a common sight with Xbox games these days. Disc 1 is for Multiplayer and Co-op while disc 2 holds the Single Player campaign. This was smart, because you'll definitely be spending a bulk of your time with the Multiplayer as well as the Co-op assuming you want to reap it's rewards, being exclusive weapons to use in Multiplayer.
The Single Player is more or less tacked on. I haven't played much of the campaign, but from what I've played, it's a typical 'Triple A' experience. Linear missions, with [story progression-combat-rinse and repeat] formula famous in the Call of Duty franchise. I can't say much for the story itself, but it's beginning moments are familiar. The story is told from the perspective of Sergeant Blackburn, who is being interrogated by the CIA about the possibility of a nuclear threat in downtown New York City. The story of the game is told by transitioning between current time and to when the Sergeant was in service in Iran. Most people immediately think this is a knock off from Black Ops, but realistically this type of story telling has been used multiple times, and the first time I saw it in video game form was back in 2006 with the shooter game, Black, ironically an EA title. Bad Company fans will be disappointed to know that, as far as I know, this game has no link to the stories of B Company's antics in past titles.
Next is the Co-op. I'm a little disappointed that the co-op only spans across six missions and is only playable with two people, unlike Bad Company 2's Onslaught game type which allowed four. However, the co-op levels are indeed fun to play and require teamwork between you and your buddy in order to beat the level. Along the way you earn points, which can unlock weapons for use in Multiplayer, which is a nice bonus, but it would have been better if there were more missions to give some variety as well as being able to bring in a full squad, which unfortunately is still four compared to Battlefield 2's six.
The Multiplayer is where Battlefield 3 is most exciting. It is every bit as the name implies; you entered a battlefield. Beginning a match is always exciting. You select from one of the four class choices (Assault, Engineer, Support and Recon) and wait for the match to start. Once the time counts down, it's a race into the heat of battle, be it on foot, in a vehicle or by air. Within moments of traversing the large maps, your usually caught up in a firefight. Bullets come from every which direction, armored vehicles are prowling through the roads and jets are screaming over head. You get the feel you are in combat almost immediately.
There are three main game modes to choose from. Conquest is the classic game mode from all across the Battlefield series. Your objective is to control flags across the map, all the while trying to drain your opponents 'tickets' to zero. Tickets are lost by the death of a team mate and by bleeding out if one team owns a majority of the flags. It gives you constant tug of war against your enemy; you will always either be on the offensive or on the defensive, depending on how you like to play
Rush mode, introduced in Bad Company, is a take on Attack and Defend. One team is the Attackers, their goal, to destroy a series of MCOM stations across the map. Once two are destroyed, the defenders are pushed back to a new base until they lose their last two objectives.
The third game mode is Team Deathmatch. It's just as the name implies, classic team on team combat, first to 100 wins. This is the weaker of the game modes because it is very easy to be spawn camped and, as Battlefield centers around team work, there is little to no team work actually involved in playing this mode. Typically, I'd stay away from it.
The gameplay is quite like an updated version of Bad Company 2, which is both good and back. The updates they have made are fantastic, prone has returned, jets have returned, bullet drop is a little more realistic, and the feel of the weapons are just fantastic. It is also good that the gameplay is familiar but at the same time different, as I felt this was a great way to advance the series. However, I am disappointed in a few of the improvements made. One being one of the most ridiculous things I have seen yet; vehicle health regeneration.
Yes, vehicles can now regenerate their armor magically. At first I thought it was only if you had an engineer on board, which would be fine since it would get rid of pesky thieves waiting to ninja your vehicle when you step out to repair, but later I learnt it regenerates no matter what. I don't know what DICE was thinking by implementing this, but it's simply ridiculous. Some of the other dislikable changes they have made are minor though, another highlight being defibrillators no longer kill, and they have stuck with having combined ammunition instead of using magazine specific ammunition (meaning that your ammo count is tallied together, instead of have, say, five 30-round magazines and each having it's own properties, if a magazine only had five shots left it remains only having five shots until you refill your ammo) as well as the lack of a Commander.
Battlefield 3 really shines with the Frostbite 2.0 engine. DICE has put some really good work into this engine, and it shows. The sound is fantastic, especially with headphones. The animations (which actually borrows the animation engine coding from FIFA games) are fluent and realistic, and the graphics are probably the best on the console right now. But, for your own good, install the HD Texture pack, it really does make a difference. A lot of people are complaining that installing an extra 1.5 gigs on their hard drive is just a nuisance, but trust me, it's the only way to truly see the game the way it's meant to be, the space is worth it in the end.
I'll cut my review now since I've rambled on long enough, so I gave BF3 an 8.0. The game is fantastic online, just completely ignore the Single Player, because by all means Battlefield has never been known for it's campaigns and I'm proud to say it should stay that way. It almost got my full appreciation, except for some of it's flaws. Some of the maps for Conquest feel too linear, snipers feel nerfed, and a few things only old Battlefield fans would notice. It would also be nice if they found a way to up the player cap on console. 24 players? Only? Why not 32? Maybe it's something I missed, but I would love to see higher cap on console. PC has 64, and it really does show.
Bottom line - Enjoyable shooter, but you need to be in the right mindset. Arcadey Shooter type of fans will find it overwhelming, but with a good team together the strategic flavour of Battlefield 3 shows and is addictive for days to come.
Oh, and I also said I'd explain Back to Karkand later. Back to Karkand is going to be an expansion pack coming out later this year, similar to how Vietnam was in Bad Company 2. Geared towards Battlefield 2 vets, it will include four maps from Battlefield 2 (most notably, Strike at Karkand), classic weapons and vehicles (really, more or less it'll be reskins and maybe a couple of new models, like a new T90 MBT model), and have it's own series of unlocks. Most people think that if you enter the code it meant that you were just unlocking disc content, but this is not the case. The code with the Limited Edition copies were tokens to download Back to Karkand for free when it is released, it is NOT on the disc.