The next entry in my Top 5 Features series of articles is Battlefield 3, which will be competing later this year for the top shooter crown against Modern Warfare 3. Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3 are both first person shooters that pit you against the Russian military and while they do offer similar features such as multiplayer and co-op, they offer them in different ways. While this article focuses on Battlefield 3, the next entry will focus on its opponent Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 so stay tuned for that one in a couple of days. So here is my opinion on what I believe are the top 5 features of Battlefield 3.
1. More Realistic Approach To War
While Battlefield 3 is not a war simulator, it does pride itself in being as close to the real deal as possible without crossing that line. The weapons are highly detailed, the animations are smooth and from the level viewed in the 12 minute reveal trailer the squad interactions in the single player are similar to how a squad would actually act on the battlefield. These animations and squad interactions were brought into multiplayer as well in order to give the online community a reason to work together in order to bring down the enemy troops. It will be nice to see people online working together instead of going lone wolf status like most Call of Duty players do.
2. Co-Op
Battlefield 3 is taking a different approach to cooperative play than Modern Warfare 3 is. Battlefield 2 had co-op only accessible through modding the game while Bad Company 2 had Onslaught mode which was released as DLC after the game was released. Battlefield 3 will come with an entire side campaign for co-op play that spans across 10 different levels. This is much different from Modern Warfare 3’s newly announced survival mode which has you and a friend surviving wave after wave of enemies. Hopefully with the details to be released on Battlefield 3’s co-op mode at GamesCon we can get a sense of what we will be facing once the full retail game ships in October. It will be nice to have a third option besides just single player and online play in case you and a friend want to team up to tackle the game’s co-op missions.
3. Improved Multiplayer
Battlefield 3 has looked to make vast improvements to its multiplayer components compared to Battlefield 2 and Bad Company 2. With the Assault class now taking up the mantle of medic and Support class actually being more for support now it will completely change the way the game is played online. The Recon class is also suppose to receive some new gadgets and items that will help them be more team oriented rather than the lone wolf types mentioned earlier that would rather just play for their K/D ratio than help the team with their objective. I can not count how many times I witnessed a squad of nothing but snipers in Bad Company 2 doing nothing but grouping together in one spot and camping. Thankfully the added scope glint and sway may detract them from staying in one spot for too long for fear of getting picked off from a support gunner.
4. Emotion In Single Player
The mission from E3 2011 explained everything about how gripping the story will be in the opening scene. A man holding a toy dinosaur from his son while hearing the voices of his children is told not to worry, he will see his kids soon. A member of your squad is shpt and you have to drag his wounded body into a garage to keep him safe. Its moments like these where the player is put right into the emotion the scene in front of them is trying to portray. It was even said in an interview that the campaign will be extremely emotional and reach out to the player. It will be nice to see a first person shooter with a story that has the ability to bring the emotions of war right into the players hands.
5. Frostbite 2 Engine
The new Frostbite engine allows DICE to improve upon the destruction aspects as well as the animations and graphics in Battlefield 3. Being able to blow a giant hole in a building or take it down completely all packaged together with realistic damage and physics for the crumbling building makes the destruction that much more sweet. The animations, from reloading your weapon to sprinting and going prone, are all made as smooth as possible than ks to the updated engine. It will be great to see the extent of the capabilities it holds once the game ships out on October 25 for the PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.