Battlefield 3 Review

Battlefield 3 is the long awaited follow up to the stand-out PC title Battlefield 2. We console lovers got a taste of the Battlefield action with Battlefield Bad Company and then Bad Company 2. These two titles introduced folks to the class-based multiplayer madness that only a Battlefield title can deliver. But they also brought something new to the table with a pretty solid story-based campaign. When Battlefield 3 was announced the folks at EA came right out and said they were taking aim at the Call of Duty franchise and would look to topple it. The Battlefield series has always been a niche FPS and by and large it has all been based around the solid MP component. So aiming their crosshairs at the Call of Duty giant may seem like a crazy thing to do but with many folks tiring of the Call of Duty franchise this may be the year to go for it.

The campaign in Battlefield 3 has the standard “Keep the bad guys from starting WW3” plot that we have seen before in the Call of Duty series. Only problem is that Call of Duty does it sooooo much better. It’s not to say that this is a failed attempt because it‘s not. It just all feels very familiar. The story is summed up through CIA led interviews that help piece together how a few nukes have gone missing and where are they now. There are a few twists and turns as far as character development goes and you switch back and forth between operatives. Sound familiar? Even though it’s something that has been done before the journey is a fun one, albeit one that is on rails and guides you from point A to point B. The graphics, the sound, and the gun play are all top notch though and one thing I especially liked was that the game didn’t rely on any “Oh shit!” moments. It seems like the Call of Duty:MW series has relied on that too much as of late and it was nice to not have any of those gratuitous moments. In all I’d say it was a solid story worth playing once.  But only once.



The meat of any Battlefield is 100% without a doubt the multiplayer side of things. For those of you who are not familiar with it the game is a class-based shooter where you and your team need to complete objectives. I know that EA included a traditional TDM this time out but I think that was more of a move to attract the Call of Duty crowd. The TDM just doesn’t seem to fit the games structure. The game is all about big ground battles that require each skill set at your disposal. Because of this the Rush and Conquest modes are the true stars here. Be warned though as the game has a steep learning curve and you can’t expect to have a high KDR. That’s not what the game is about. The game is more about helping your team to achieve victory. I really could go on and on about how much fun it is but I’ve done that before. Just know that the multiplayer alone is worth the price of admission and offers players a true sense of teamwork and accomplishment.



On top of some very intense action there are a ton of weapons to unlock and skills to enhance. The game has a slight RPG feel to it in that you can pick a class and level that class up as you play in order to make you the best soldier possible. New to the series is a two-player co-op mode where you and a friend tackle some mini-campaign type of missions. They are fun to play and they offer a breather from the intensity that is the multi-player. As fun as they are they have a few minor flaws. Some of the objectives aren’t clearly defined and I wish there was some type of checkpoint system. Nothing is worse than getting close to the end of a mission only to die or fail because you aren’t sure what to do or where to go. Should this happen you will have to start all over again.



The one gripe I have about the MP is trying to get a squad together and then keeping that squad together once in a game. It's hard to explain but the lack of a lobby system really makes things confusing and sometime you and your squad will be split up and placed on separate teams. Now this is something that can be fixed via a patch but for now its a pain in the ass.

The overall package is solid but because of the small co-op flaws and the not so original campaign I’ll have to give those two aspects a 7/10. That being said the real star of the show is the multiplayer portion of the game and that gets a 9/10. Another solid and very addicting addition to the Battlefield series. Overall I give it a 8/10