Battlefield 3 – Review

By Kenny Duggal

Battlefield 3  

Hot on the heels of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has been EA’s answer to the absolutely massive first person shooter that has been claiming the lives and cash from many a gamer for years now, and they haven’t been shy about wanting to come out on top.

I have to put some self-restraint on as not to compare Battlefield 3 to Modern Warfare 3 too much rather than judging it on its own merits… although EA’s constant trash talk to rival developer Infinity Ward hasn’t really done themselves any favours in setting a tone for the game. Expectations are set high, and Battlefield 3 is a game that ends up managing to be disappointing yet at the same time, bringing something fresh and setting a new standard for multiplayer antics.

It would be worth getting the weakest part of the game out of the way first, which is the uninspired campaign. It begins interestingly enough, throwing you right into an epic escape attempt, onto a moving train and gunning down armed goons in a variety of entertaining ways. However, things slowly go downhill from there with a generic story involving terrorists screwing one another over to make a political statement about something or the other, giving you an excuse to run around various stages and watch explosions light up the sky.

The characters are quite interesting and certain parts of the game are very memorable, but for the most part you’ll find yourself being stuck in boring gunfights in tight corridors, desperate to find some cover that your team mates haven’t claimed as their own.

The game does present more open environments later on in the game, but these somehow show themselves up as some of the more frustrating stages. You’ll struggle to spot your enemies in the distance and get a decent shot on them whilst hiding or popping out from cover, and they seem to have a ridiculous advantage over you in that respect; they can spot you from miles away and rarely ever fail to riddle you with bullets, whether you’re lying down in some tall grass or behind what you thought would be some effective cover.

At some points through the campaign, it becomes impossible to be able to face off against your eagle eyed enemies and there’s little point in even trying; they’ll kill you before you get a chance to spot where they’re stationed which brings up an amazingly annoying loading screen before taking you back to the very beginning of that same frusturating fire fight. At certain parts of the game, I got so fed up of spending time slowly picking off bad guys only to be killed and sit through that loading screen that I decided not to bother risking it.

So I put down the controller and let my invincible team mates clear out all the enemies before I got to a checkpoint and would try my hand at taking on the next part of the game. When a game leaves you feeling more inclined to NOT play it and wait for its most attractive feature (in this case, simulating war), there’s not much hope to be had.

There are some decent breaks from these boring on foot sections of the game, including piloting an F-18 for some nice aerial battles or getting behind the controls of a tank… but for the most part, the campaign is extremely disappointing. Whether it’s the story, setting or gameplay itself, if you’re a fan of the genre you’ve most probably seen it all before and done much, much better.

FPS campaigns are known for their linear experiences, but Battlefield 3 really sets a new standard; you’re given zero freedom throughout, to the point the game appears to tease you. The larger and more open environments might seem like the perfect opportunity to flank your enemies or come up with a different approach to running into their line of sight and take them head on, but the game actually PUISHES you for doing so.

Attempting to use the open world presented before you and approach the role of a soldier with tact and a bit of thought brings up a countdown prompting you to “return to the battle”. Failing to do so will result in a game over and return to the annoying loading screen. It’s dissapointing that a game attempting to give you the opportunity to take part in war assumes you’re attempting to flee when in reality, you’re just not content playing tennis with bullets.

And then there are the frustrating sequences in which the game gives you objectives with a sense of urgency such as to chase a bad guy before they make their getaway. Yet, if you bother to storm after them rather than remain in a room and exchange fire with his henchmen, you risk failing the mission altogether.

It’s not all completely disappointing however, as the multiplayer for the game really saves Battlefield 3 from being a complete embarrassment.

The previous instalments of the Battlefield series have always been adrenalin packed and annoyingly addictive, and Battlefield 3 doesn’t disappoint with an extra lick of polish.

For those who are looking for a more strategic multiplayer experience than the chaotic, run and gun gameplay found in the Call of Duty series, you’ll feel right at home with Battlefield 3. Battles feel a lot larger in scale with massive maps and 24 players being thrown out on the battle field… or absolutely huge warzones in the case of the PC version, which has up 64 players going head to head.

There’s a lot to take in for the multiplayer, such as being able to use vehicles including fighter jets, tanks and jeeps mounted with machine guns which add a lot of variety and chances to experiment with different play styles. You won’t get far splitting up from you teammates and running out into the open to score points on your own, so it’s a refreshing change from many of the first person shooter games out there that don’t require any kind of strategy or team effort to replicate the real experience of a battle ground.

There’s really a sense of being part of a warzone and having to think through how you approach battles, and with a choice of four character classes, you’ll always have a part to play and everyone on your team can contribute. For example, the assault class can revive fallen comrades, the engineer can repair broken vehicles and the recon class can pick enemies off from a distance. All the classes are balanced and it never feels like you’re being cheated out of victory.

Coupled with the gorgeous visuals and outstanding sound, Battlefield 3 has a lot going for it in the multiplayer department becomes annoyingly addictive, fast. Hours can be wasted away taking part in large scale warfare with other players, but it is a massive let down that the campaign is so underwhelming. It’s where the presentation really gets to show off, but the mediocre and tedious gameplay do the game no favours.

At the very most, you could call it a minor distraction from the real attraction to the game, the multiplayer which makes the game worth a buy alone.

Sound – 8

Graphics – 9

Gameplay – 7

Overall – 7.5