From the Vault — originally published June 12, 2011. Some links, videos or prices may be out of date.
Its no secret that Battlefield 3 is one of the most anticipated games of this year. The line to see and play a portion of the game was as about as long as the line to see the newly announced Wii U and PSVita systems. Games typically do not garner lines as long as hardware so that says much about the hype level for Battlefield 3.
On hand to talk about what was being shown at E3 was Lars Gustavsson the Creative Director at DICE and Lead MP Designer. Those in attendance were provided some details about the vehicles, classes and other gameplay features. Battlefield has always placed emphasis on vehicles and it was confirmed jets are back as well as tanks and other vehicles. The classes have been switched up and weapons have more customization options. For example in Battlefield 3 guns can be placed on bipods for increased accuracy. The guns felt similar to how they did in bad Company 2 which is a great thing.
After hearing about the changes to the classes and a few newly included vehicles we were sent to an adjoining room to play Battlefield 3 multiplayer rush mode in a map set in the city of Paris. We were also told that battlefield 3 will have much more urban warfare than the previous Battlefield games. All demos were via PC. Most of the media that has been released for battlefield 3 has been almost all of the PC version.
What I did play was impressive for sure. Right off the bat the graphical improvements were apparent and many of the new additions and improvements to the Frostbite engine were impossible to miss. For example Battlefield 3 has a new suppressive fire mechanic where smoke and dust from gunfire is generated when you shoot in an area for an extended time obstructing the view of your opposition. This can create the opportunity for your squad members to move to safety or flank opponents. Another new mechanic comes from the flashlights newly available on weapons. The flashlights can be used to blind or obstruct the view of your opponents facing you in dark areas.
Destruction and terrain deformation was a huge part of Battlefield Bad Company 2 and played a huge role in separating it from the Call of Duty game. The Paris level we played did indeed show off some of the improvements in regards to destruction. Walls and cover chipped away from gunshots and damage scaled depending on the blast, amount and duration of the fire. Also confirmed was that players could be killed from falling debris. The destruction element has been improved for sure.
We were also told that battlefield 3 will have much more urban warfare than the previous Battlefield games. The United States, Middle East and Europe are confirmed locations. We played rush mode set in Paris, France and it consisted of a firefight that moved through a park and city street setting into and through the subway. The level takes players in all directions as you progress which keeps the action fresh. There were times we were shooting opponents on the same platform and times when opponents were on the other side of the platform and we had to use subway cars as cover then pushing to the other platform. The environments were all great visually and the interface was changed a bit and seemed more refined. When you are killed it shows the dog-tags of the player who killed you.
I came away from the preview impressed at the visual fidelity of the game and impressed at the game in general. The movements of the characters have been significantly improved from Bad Company 2. The level design was also very interesting and on point. The guns felt right and I had no complaints. I do hope that the console versions when released are comparable and not much worse than what we were shown and played on PC. Dice is bringing their A-game for sure with Battlefield 3 and I expect fans will be very pleased.
