Battlefield 3 Preview

Battlefield 3 is set to release October 25^th 2011. It has been 6 years since the last full installment of Battlefield. DICE has had a team working on BF3 since then while they pumped out Bad Company 1 & 2, and other projects like Battlefield Free2Play for PC. The new Frostbite 2.0 engine has been completely stripped and rebuilt from the Frostbite 1.0 engine starting in 2007. The Frostbite 2.0 engine gives much more realistic destruction down to bits of walls chipping when bullets graze or hit them. They are also using a dynamic lighting system which makes the lighting much, much more realistic.

 As many of you know the open beta was just held from September 29^th to October 10^th. It gave just a taste of the whole BF3 experience. Over eight million users played the beta and it gave DICE great feedback for the final tweaks of the multiplayer game play. The open beta did not include vehicle combat as it was set on one of the “smallest” maps in BF3, Operation Metro. I say “smallest” because the map is actually very large, but as many of you know BF maps are GIANT.

Operation Metro is set in and around a metro line in Paris, France. The only game type available was Rush mode. In Rush mode one side is attacking the other is defending. The attacking side needs to destroy a set of m-com stations labeled A, or Alpha, and B, or Bravo. The defending side must hold the attackers off until the attacking sides reinforcements run out. The attack side gets 100 at the start of each m-com station pair and loses a reinforcement every death they suffer. Operation Metro includes an open park, the metro itself, a metro station up stairs, and a finale on a block just outside the station with 2 buildings and a street.

 The multiplayer experience is very expansive in the full game. In the beta we just got a taste of everything BF3′s multiplayer has to offer. In the beta and full game you can play as one of four classes assault, engineer, support, and recon. Each class has it’s own specializations to bring to the table for a team.

 The assault class is the classic run and gun type. They are equipped with an assault rifle. They aren’t just for running and gunning though, they can aid the team by throwing down a med-pack to heal their teammates and even revive them which gives back a reinforcement ticket. They can also have a grenade launcher instead of a revive kit for a more attack oriented player.

 The engineer class can also be used as a run and gun type. They are equipped with a carbine rifle which has slightly less accuracy at longer ranges than an assault rifle. They can also carry rockets or anti tank mines to take care of those pesky vehicles, or to make an extra door in a building. They also carry a repair tool to fix their own teams vehicles.

 The other two classes, support and recon, are much more team based. The support class is equipped with a LMG which also comes with a bi-pod to make the LMG more controlled. They are mainly used to lay down covering fire and to defend choke points in the map. They also carry an ammo pack and some C4 to help with those pesky vehicle or set up a trap for unsuspecting enemy soldiers.

 The recon class is equipped with a sniper. They’re the ones in the back putting enemies down before they know what hit them, and spotting enemies and vehicles for the rest of the team to know where they are. They also have many team play gadgets like motion mines which are like grenades but show a radius on the tac-map where enemy movement is detected. They can also have a laser designator to deal with vehicles.

As for the vehicles you have a plethora to choose from. Ranging from small jeeps to fighter jets there’s certainly something to enjoy for everyone when it comes to vehicles.

The smallest land vehicles are in the classification of fast transports, these are the small jeeps and buggies. They offer very little protection, but get you where you’re going in a hurry. Next, is the armored transports. These will get you where you’re going a little safer but a little slower. The last of the land vehicles are the tanks. Obviously these are the big boys of the land game.

They have the main role of taking on other land vehicles and decimating buildings. The next classification is all about the water, that’s right boats and other aquatic transports. Some maps will have water that will play a role in the fighting. You can swim across the water, but why do that when you can go in style on a boat? There will also be an amphibious assault vehicle that can operate as an aquatic transport and an armored transport.

Last, but certainly not least, we have the air. Helicopters and fighter jets will be occupying the skies in BF3. Helicopters come in 3 different classifications scout, transport, and attack. Scouts are the small and nimble helicopters mostly used to, you guessed it, scout the enemy. Transports are for transporting, and attack helicopters are for, guess what, attacking! When you’re in a helicopter don’t forget, it’s not just the other helicopters you have to look out for, there’s also jets.

Patrolling the skies, taking out targets on the ground with fly-bys, and dog fighting with other jets and helicopters for air  superiority are all jobs for the jets in BF3. All of the vehicles can also be customized with unlocks you gain as you use them.

As for gametypes, there are a couple to choose from. Obviously Rush is in the full game, but the classis BF gametype Conquest makes a return. In Conquest each side starts with an equal number of tickets. There are several capture points on the map which each team is trying to capture.

The more people on the capture point the faster it is capture. If one team owns a majority of the flags the other team starts to suffer a “bleeding effect” on their tickets draining them. As with Rush as teammates die the tickets also go down. When one team hits zero tickets it’s game over. There is another alternate version to Rush, called Squad Rush, with just one pair of m-com stations and 4vs4 gameplay.

Another gametype, that will probably see less use from the veteran Battlefield players, is Team Deathmatch. This mode is just what you think it is, two teams pitted against each other for kills. The reason I say it will not be used by veterans as much is the lack of vehicles. It is stated that there will be no vehicles for use on any Team Deathmatch map, I guess to make it more “tactical”, whatever the reason it could be a good change of pace from the hectic vehicle based combat in Rush and Conquest.

All of the weapons in BF3 can also be upgraded with attachments you get as you use the weapons. All classes can also use shotguns and PDW (personal defense weapons) which are SMGs in most other games, if the player chooses. There is also a Battlelog which is like a Facebook for Battlefield, you can see what your friends have done in BF3 and even write posts and blogs about how your gaming experience has been going.

You also make your own soldier for all aspects of the game, very simliar to Halo Reach, campaign and multiplayer soldiers will be affected. Oh, did I not mention the campaign? Not much is known about campaign as DICE is keeping a lid on it. It is said to be 8-10 hours long with a separate co-op campaign which is another 5-6 hours. Most of the campaign has been said to be set in the Middle East, North America, and Europe. It has also been said that you play the majority of it as a United States Marine.

 All in all BF3 is shaping up to be one of the best games coming out in 2011. It will possibly beat the giant CoD franchise this year in the FPS category. Even if you are a die-hard CoD fan you should definitely give BF3 a look. I’m sure you’ll find something you like that will keep you playing.

-FTG Icecold

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