Battlefield 3
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| Battlefield 3 | |
| |
| Developer(s) | |
| Publisher(s) |
Electronic Arts |
| Engine | |
| Released |
NA October 25, 2011[1] |
| Genre |
First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) |
Single-player, multiplayer (Xbox Live, PlayStation Network), Cooperative |
| Ratings |
ACB: MA15+[4] |
| Platform(s) | |
| Media | |
| Input methods | |
Battlefield 3 is the eleventh installment in the Battlefield Series and was developed by Digital Illusions CE. It is the direct sequel to Battlefield 2 and was released on October 25, 2011[1] for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.[6]
Battlefield 3 was revealed on February 4, 2011 with a teaser trailer called My Life, and was the cover story of the March 2011 issue of GameInformer.[7] The game was first showcased on March 1, 2011 during GDC 2011, which revealed unedited gameplay for the first time.
DICE announced on February 3, 2011 that the release of Battlefield 1943 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2's Onslaught DLC were cancelled for the PC to concentrate all their workforce on Battlefield 3, and that they will make it their biggest Battlefield release yet, even going so far as calling it "the best Battlefield game ever."[8]
A direct sequel, Battlefield 4, is currently being developed by EA and DICE and will be the next illeration of the Battlefield franchise.
Contents |
Achievements and Trophies
- Main article: Battlefield 3 Achievements and Trophies
Overview
Battlefield 3 includes both singleplayer and co-operative campaigns and features multiplayer gameplay similar to the classic Battlefield 2.
Jets made their return as pilotable vehicles, along with prone as an available stance. The PC version is able to support 64 players simultaneously in multiplayer; consoles, however, can only support up to 24 players, resulting in smaller maps.[9]This installment uses a completely new engine, named Frostbite 2, the successor to the Frostbite Engine used in the Bad Company series.[6]
The Frostbite 2 engine introduces Destruction 3.0 in Battlefield 3, an improvement over Bad Company 2's Destruction 2.0. It allows for a much larger range of destructible objects alongside buildings for more realistic destruction. For example, when the player fires the AT4 into the hotel in the Fault Line, Episode II: Good Effect on Target trailer, the façade of the building shatters and falls to the ground. In the earthquake-prone city of Sulaymaniyah, players experience tremors and earthquakes that further display the capabilities of Destruction 3.0.
Audio was another focus for the game. There are audio cues that, for example, will let the player know if a tank is moving towards or away from them, or if it is having trouble climbing a slope. The developers had recorded real life sounds of vehicles and weapons from a military training exercise with their goal being to create "cleaner and brighter audio."[10] As stated by Thomas Danko, voice over producer at DICE: "No FPS ever had this large amount of VO variations for Multi Play, not even close. Over 300 for the "Man down" event alone." [11]
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Singleplayer
Overview
The gameplay in the singleplayer campaign differs greatly from the multiplayer component, with numerous quick-time events (QTEs) that are spread throughout the levels. DICE stated that levels are a mix of sandbox and linear though many reviewers later commented that they were moreover linear. The campaign takes place in numerous locations across the world, but is mainly set in Iraq and Iran, the latter country of which plays an important part in the storyline. The gameplay in the campaign varies wildly, including tank combat, acting as a member of a sniper team, and acting as the rear pilot of a F/A-18 Super Hornet jet fighter.
An article on Kotaku states that the single-player campaign was inspired by multiple war movies such as Generation Kill, The Hurt Locker, Black Hawk Down and the television series 24. It is also said that there is a focus on the campaign's characters' (including the player's) personalities and dialog. Additionally the date of 2014 was chosen to not politicize the story.
Plot
The campaign starts with a US Marine running across a street in New York City towards a break in a fence. He then climbs through the fence, and jumps down onto a train passing beneath him, ducking as the train enters a tunnel, and forcing his way into the train. The soldier grabs a gunman's pistol and fights his way towards the front of the train. There, he finds a green container and a final gunman. Before the marine can act, he is tackled and pinned by another man, who holds a revolver to his face demanding if he is alone.
The game then shifts to eight hours earlier with the arrival of two CIA agents, Gordon and Whistler in an interrogation chamber with the marine, revealed to be Henry Blackburn, handcuffed to a chair inside the chamber. The two then start questioning Blackburn, who goes on to talk about his knowledge of a person named Solomon, who he claims is a terrorist planning an attack on New York City. They then ask Blackburn about his involvement in Operation Swordbreaker, to where he then recaps his role in the operation.
Nine months prior, Blackburn's unit was tasked with finding a missing patrol. As they made their way through the city, they engaged in firefights with insurgents. After multiple firefights, a huge earthquake tore apart the city, knocking Blackburn unconscious. Blackburn then tells of how he escaped from the ruined city, where he was forced to fight his way through PLR lines to reach an evacuation site. It is soon revealed that, at the time, Faruk Al-Bashir and the People's Liberation and Resistance (PLR) had swept to power in Iran, following a coup d'etat in the country. The US had responded by sending in a Marine invasion force to remove him from power and crush the PLR.
Back in the interrogation chamber, Blackburn is told of the actions of Lt. Jennifer Hawkins, a pilot who had performed an airstrike over Tehran , which Blackburn's unit had been tasked with performing a Battle Damage Assessment on. The airstrike, which was aimed to kill Al-Bashir, had unfortunately failed, but the invasion continued, with a general attack on Tehran being undertaken. As Blackburn and fellow marines David Montes and Steve Campo reached their destination in the Metropolitan Bank, they discovered a nuclear bomb in a Russian suitcase in the bank's main vault. The group also discovered that two bombs from the suitcase were missing. Calling for support/evacuation from other Marine units, Blackburn's squad stayed in the bank, awaiting extraction.
Back in New York, Blackburn is told of how eight hours prior, Dmitri "Dima" Mayakovsky and two other GRU operatives, Kiril and Vladimir attempted to stop the bomb from being detonated. As the group chased down the PLR carrying one of the nuclear bombs, they engaged in multiple firefights in Paris. As the unit began to move down an alleyway following after the bomb carrier, a PLR insurgent fired an RPG-7V2, missing Dima and Kiril, but hitting a bus near Vladimir, sending him flying. As he landed, a large piece of shrapnel was found piercing his chest. Dima dragged Vladimir to safety, but he ordered them to go on without him, saying that he would "hold them off", eventually succumbing to his injuries. The two eventually caught up to the carrier, but found it to be a decoy. Moments later the actual bomb exploded at the EURONXT exchange, killing some 80,000 people.
Blackburn then tells the agents of how Sergeant Jonathan "Jono" Miller and Anvil 3 answered his unit's distress call from the bank in Tehran. As the Tank Battalion crossed Kavir-e to reach Blackburn's unit, 10 T-72 tanks arrived from behind a sand dune, and fired upon the Abrams. The Marines halted and engaged in "vehicle warfare" all throughout the desert. When Sergeant Miller and his crew finally reached Blackburn, their tank took heavy damage. He then decided to stay behind to provide cover fire via turret for the unit as they escaped. Miller is eventually overrun, attacked from behind, and knocked out by the PLR. The agents then show Blackburn the video the PLR released of Miller being executed by Solomon following a short monologue by Faruk Al-Bashir.
Blackburn then responds by telling the agent of how they later captured Al-Bashir, shortly following Miller's execution. After Blackburn and Campo provided sniper support for Misfit, they were then ordered to join them in capturing Al-Bashir. Shortly after, they found Miller's execution site where a small firefight followed. As the unit arrived at Al-Bashir's presumed location, they spotted him attempting to escape in a vehicle. Blackburn then quickly disabled the vehicle, and in doing so, incapacitated him. Blackburn and Campo then rushed Al-Bashir to a nearby mall to await extraction as the PLR closed in. At the extraction, Al-Bashir gave them information about Solomon, and his plan to detonate the two remaining nukes before dying. Campo and Blackburn then checked his cell phone for further intel.
Blackburn then tells of what happened as the misfit units moved toward Amir Kaffarov's villa with the intent of killing him to cover up the Russians' assumed involvement with the PLR. While riding in Growler ITVs, the unit was attacked by a Russian unit and engaged in a firefight. Shortly after, they proceeded on foot to the nearby highway, witnessing hundreds of Russians parachuting in. As Blackburn, his squad, and Cole reached the end of the highway, most of Misfit has been disabled. A Russian Su-25TM streaked overhead, strafing the Marines. After an initial confusion, it was revealed that the necessary anti-air weapons -- the FIM-92 Stingers -- were on the Growler ITVs that were at the head and rear of the convoy. They then made a dash for the ITVs at the front of the convoy, realizing it was too far to go back to the ones at the rear of the Convoy, moving from cover to cover as the Su-25 made passes at them. Finally, Blackburn obtained a Stinger and managed to bring down the Russian fighter. On the aircraft's last pass, however, he learned that Christian Matkovic and Campo were both killed. This lead Montes and Blackburn to separate themselves, and arrive at odds with Cole, who seemed undeterred.
Blackburn then tells of how Dima, Kiril, and Vladimir entered the villa hours before. After skydiving in and investigating a weapons drop, the squad entered a vehicle and proceeded to the villa. Upon being discovered, they drove just outside the villa and fought their way in. They then entered a variety of rooms in search of Kaffarov until they discovered an underground hideout and proceeded to fight their way through to him. They eventually reached a stairway leading up to a helipad, where Kaffarov's chopper was about to take off. Dima then sprinted towards them and grabbed onto the edge of it just as it was starting to lift off. Dima and Kaffarov then engaged in a fist fight before falling out of the helicopter, through the glass ceiling and into the pool below. Kaffarov begged for mercy and promised to tell Dima about any information about Solomon for his freedom, but was knocked out by Dima with a punch to the face.
Blackburn arrived at the villa with Cole and was ordered to scout ahead through the burning villa. He then discovered a knocked out Kaffarov at the pool house, and Dima holding what looked to be an MP-443. Dima then explained about how the nuclear WMDs were stolen from Russia, and that Solomon's next target is New York. Blackburn's officer, Cole, attempted to arrest Dima, but Blackburn is quickly forced to shoot Cole. Blackburn then proceeded to stop Solomon from destroying New York while Dima, Kiril, and Vladimir went to Paris to capture the other bomb.
Feeling Blackburn has given them enough information, the agents reveal that Solomon is actually a US asset. They then bring Montes in the room and try to persuade Blackburn to falsely confess that it was Dima who planted the Paris bomb and not Solomon. As the two men leave after receiving a call that a train has been hijacked, Blackburn and Montes take out Agent Whistler and a guard as they return. The two then escape and Blackburn jumps onto the train, and jumps through a window onto it. He then fights his way to the end until being ambushed by Solomon. The two then fight and Blackburn disarms him, using another PLR operative as a shield, destroying the train's engine.
After a short chase in the sewers, Blackburn proceeds out onto the streets of New York. Montes arrives with a stolen police car and picks him up, chasing Solomon to Times Square. In the end, Montes rams the car into Solomon's and both Montes and Blackburn barely escape. Solomon then leaves his vehicle and prepares to execute Blackburn. Montes then tries to shoot Solomon, but is shot and killed. As Solomon pulls the trigger, the cylinder is revealed to be empty. The two then engage in a short fist fight where Blackburn is able to weaken him, and then proceeds to bash his forehead in a piece of debris. He then finds the nuke, and quickly disables it.
The scene then goes to Dmitri Mayakovsky, now diagnosed with radiation poisoning from the explosion in Paris. Overwhelmed with what he had to do in the Russian military, Dima writes a suicide note and prepares to shoot himself. However, a knock was heard on his door and the screen went black before a shot is heard, leaving the player with a cliffhanger.
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Co-op Campaign
The mode supports two players online (no split screen play), spans six missions, and is a standalone section, separate from the single player game. The missions revolve around minor operations by marines of Snake 6-6 as they encounter the PLR. Missions include ground, air vehicle, as well as tight urban arid warfare, causing players to work together to complete objectives.[12]It is through this that players will eventually unlocked weapons for multiplayer.
Co-op gameplay first debuted at EA's Gamescom 2011 Conference. It featured DICE general manager Karl Magnus-Troedsson and EA Games executive vice president Patrick Soderlund demoing the mission Exfiltration. The gameplay showcased the the new thermal weapons, smarter A.I., teammate reviving, and spot mechanic from Bad Company 2.
David Spinnier, lead co-op designer stated that the levels have randomized elements that change each time a co-op level is played, making it a different experience every time. He also said that the missions will be shorter, to aid replayability.[13]
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Multiplayer
The locations of the multiplayer maps, like the campaign, includes Europe, the Middle East, and North America.[14] More specifically, the game takes place in the cities of Paris, Tehran, and New York.[15]
The streamlined four class system, killcams, and Hardcore elements of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 return, whilst a better pre-game lobby is implemented (for squads and parties). DICE confirmed at the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo that the size of multiplayer maps for the console versions of the game would be scaled down due to hardware restrictions, possibly having relation to the smaller player count. Also made known was the fact that players would be able to fly around in jets to the full extent of maps, even in otherwise "out of bounds" areas.
Another detail revealed was that the melee system was going to be considerably different than the standard knife stab. Battlefield 3 instead has quick-time event process that allows players to throw left or right punches at an opponent, or counter an attack.[16]
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Classes
Assault, Engineer, Support, Recon
Karl Magnus Troedsson at E3 2011 stated:
- "Players will have a choice of four classes. For example, you have the classic Assault class, which goes in a destroys things and kills people. However, he always had to stay near his buddies. If he died, he would need to wait for a Medic to come. Now that didn't work out very well, and now, what we did is that we sort of mixed the classes together. So you can have a sort of assault medic."
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For the Weapons and Gadgets' sounds, click here.
Game Modes
In terms of game modes, there are currently six available modes. All game modes except Conquest Assault, Tank Superiority, and Air Superiority are available in all nine multiplayer maps for the base game. Attack Helicopters and fighter jets are available in Rush[21] as well as in Conquest and Conquest Assault.[22] Hardcore and infantry-only options are also present (Note that the The infantry-only option only removes all classes of vehicles except transports, such as the HMMWV, RIB, etc.)
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Ranks and Unlocks
There are a total of 145 ranks ranks. After rank 45 (Colonel), Colonel service stars are introduced, requiring 230,000 points for each. In comparison to Battlefield: Bad Company 2's multiplayer, Battlefield 3 has 10 times the unlocks over weapons, weapon attachments, gadgets and an unlock tree for vehicles alone. In addition, unlocks are more spread through the ranks, instead of ending after rank 22.
There are also Battlefield 3: Ribbons and Medals (similar to BC2's Pins and Insignias) with examples being Rush Ribbon, Shotgun Medal, etc.
A new feature in Battlefield 3 are "Service Stars." These are added to the player's weapon skill badge, kit, vehicles, and their overall rank, and allow for further promotion.[20]
Weapon unlocks obtained from the co-op campaign are carried over to Multiplayer.There are currently over 50 weapons to unlock, and also each primary weapon contains three attachment slots ranging from foregrips to optics. Weapon accessories are unlocked per weapon unlike in Bad Company 2. Unlocking an attachment such as a Red Dot Sight while using one class still enables it for every other class that can use that weapon. However, the attachment will not be available on other weapons until it is unlocked.
DICE stated that it will take over "100 hours" to unlock everything for a kit in Multiplayer. They also said that there are over 20 vehicles at the player's disposal with the vehicles split into 12 different "classes".
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Assignments
Assignments were first mentioned via the Battlelog and were introduced in the Back to Karkand expansion pack. Players must complete a series of tasks for each assignment to unlock either new weapons, camos, dog tags, or other assignments. For example, a player must get 10 heals and revive 10 people to unlock the FAMAS. There are currently a total of 60 assignments, 10 BtK, 10 CQ, 5 AK, 10 AM and 25 Premium. Excluding Armored Kill, whether a player is playing the base game or any expansion pack, the game will automatically track their progress. That means that a player can fulfill the criteria for any assignment on any Battlefield 3 map, as opposed to just the maps of the expansion the assignment came from.
Factions
New Features
Battlefield 3 includes a number of new and/or improved multiplayer features:
- Destruction 3.0: With Frostbite 2.0 comes the Destruction 3.0 engine. This engine allows debris that can injure/kill players and micro-destruction, as well.
- Suppressive Fire: Firing at enemies causes their health regeneration to stop and reset,[23] their accuracy drops, and the edges of their screen become blurred. While suppression is most effective with the Support class and their LMG's, any weapon is capable of suppressing an enemy.
- Disable Vehicles: Vehicles can now be disabled before they are destroyed. This makes land vehicles immobile (but turrets are still operable), while air vehicles become extremely difficult to control.[24] When a vehicle is disabled, it can be repaired, but will also slowly bleed health.
- Vehicle Health Regeneration: Vehicles now slowly regenerate health when damaged. Repairs from an Engineer are still far more effective, and regeneration is cancelled if the vehicle is disabled. Vehicles will start regenerating when they are under 75% health (server option).
- Console Server Browser: At Gamescom 2011, DICE confirmed that all consoles have a server browser option.[25]
- Immense Customization System: DICE claims that there will be years worth of unlocks and specializations to use in multiplayer.
- Weapon Fire Modes: Returning from Battlefield 2, the player now has the option of choosing what fire-mode some weapons can fire in, instead of a single fixed mode.
- Prone: The ability to go prone returns from Battlefield 2. The player is also able to dive, though there is a delay in the ability to fire as the player does so.
- Scope Glare: If a player is using a high power scope (6x and above[30]) and is aimed in the direction of another player, a visible glare/glint shines off of the scope. This was added to balance the addition of the prone position.
- Commo-Rose: Also returning from Battlefield 2 is the Commo rose, or communication rose.[31]
- Colorblind: A feature originally exclusive to PC players that changes the colors of teammates, squadmate, and enemies to better differentiate between them and adds a black border.
Open Beta
An Open Beta for Battlefield 3, announced at E3 2011, ran across the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC starting September 29, 2011 and ending October 10, 2011. The maps featured were Operation Métro and gamemode Rush (the same as in the Alpha trial), and Caspian Border in 64-player Conquest gamemode (PC only). DICE, during the announcement of the Beta, stated that there would be no level or unlock cap in the Beta, allowing players to unlock any weapon in the game.
Owners of Medal of Honor: Limited Edition and Medal of Honor: Tier 1 Edition, as well customers who pre-ordered Battlefield 3 on EA's Origin service, got 48-hour early access to the beta. This early access was originally intended to be a closed beta for owners of the special editions of Medal of Honor, although for an unknown reason this was changed to the early access.
Glitches and Bugs
Like other Installments in the series, Battlefield suffered from many glitches and bugs upon its release, pertaining to the campaign, multiplayer, and co-op game modes. They are detailed on the Battlefield Series Glitches and Bugs page.
Special Editions
Limited Edition
The Battlefield 3 Limited Edition was formally announced at GDC 2011. A post on the Battlefield Blog confirmed that it would include early access to Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand (see below), at no extra cost.[32]
People who pre-ordered via the EA Store received a unique version of the 870 Combat shotgun and an exclusive beret for use in Battlefield Play4Free, although the unique shotgun only differs aesthetically, and stats-wise is exactly the same as the normal 870 Combat available from the game's store.[33] Also, pre-ordering from EA's Origin Digital Download or Gamestop included the Physical Warfare Pack, the Back to Karkand expansion, and pre-loading the game, which meant the game could be downloaded before release and played as soon as it is released. 48 hour early access to the Beta was also granted to everybody who pre-ordered the Limited Edition from the EA Store.
Anyone who also owned a new copy of the Limited edition was given early access to the Mass Effect 3 demo in January 2012.
Premium Edition
Battlefield 3 Premium Edition was announced on August 14th, 2012 at Gamescom 2012. It is set to be released in
It includes Battlefield 3, Battlefield Premium along with all of the service's features, and the Multiplayer head start kit. The head start also includes access to 15 more weapons in advanced along with gadgets and vehicle upgrades. Premium Edition also released almost a year after the initial release of the game which sparked controversy similar to the ultimate edition of Battlefield: Bad Company 2. It allows for players to purchase previous content in the game for a much lower price making other players feel cheated.
Downloadable Content
Battlefield 3 features many downloadable content in the form of promotional offers, short cuts, expansions, etc.
Exclusive Pre-orders
Players who pre-ordered the Battlefield 3 Limited Edition from worldwide select retailers[34] got exclusive access to eight multiplayer dog-tags and SPECACT skins. They were released on the Playstation store on January 16th, 2012 in a bundle for $2.99 or 240 Microsoft points and were released a week later to the Xbox LIVE Marketplace.
Promotional Offers
Many Battlefield 3 Promotional Offers were given out following the game's release that gave players specialized dog-tags for use. They were used to promote upcoming games and movies as well being rewards for the community completing challenges set by DICE.
Vehicle and Weapon Shortcut Packs
On March 30th, 2012, along with the 1.04 update, DICE released 10 Kit Shortcut packs for weapons and vehicles. They unlock all: weapons, attachmets, gadgets, and vehicle perks.
Physical Warfare Pack
The Battlefield 3: Physical Warfare Pack is a weapons pack available to anyone who preordered Battlefield 3 Limited Edition from select retailers. It was later made free on the PlayStation Store on December 15th and later for the Xbox 360 and PC on December 20th.
Back to Karkand
Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand is available for free to anyone who preordered the game. It is a multiplayer expansion based on Battlefield 2. It was released on December 6th, 2011.
Close Quarters
On March 7th 2012, Battlefield 3: Close Quarters was announced to be released in June which would then be followed up by two other map packs. It was released on June 4th, 2012 for Premium Members.
Armored Kill
On March 7th 2012, Battlefield 3: Armored Kill was announced along with two other expansions. It was released on September 4th, 2012 for PS3 Premium Members.
Aftermath
On May 30th 2012, Battlefield 3: Aftermath was revealed through a leaked fact sheet pertaining to Battlefield Premium. It was officially revealed to be released before End Game at the EA Press Conference in December 2012 at E3 2012. It was released on November 27th, 2012 for PS3 Premium Members.
End Game
Battlefield 3's fifth expansion pack, Battlefield 3: End Game was announced on March 7th, 2012 and was released a year later on March 5th, 2013 for PS3 Premium Members.
Battlefield Premium
Battlefield Premium was revealed on May 30th, 2012 through a leaked fact sheet. The package was revealed to be released on June 4th, 2012 for a onetime cost of US$49.99/£39.99/€49.99/AU$79.99.
Marketing
In a similar fashion to Battlefield: Bad Company and Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Battlefield 3 was heavily marketed since it's official announcement, thanks to a marketing budget of nearly US$200 million from owner Electronic Arts. The first set of trailers after the Teaser Trailer was the introduction of the Fault Line series, starting with the Battlefield 3: Gameplay Trailer and ending with the full twelve minute Battlefield 3: Fault Line Gameplay Trailer, as well as a developer commentary by Patrick Bach and being the setting of the Battlefield 3: My Life Trailer, which has commonly been shown as a TV advert during popular TV events such as the FA Cup final in the United Kingdom.
During E3 2011, the Thunder Run trailer was unveiled, alongside two gameplay trailers set on the multiplayer map Operation Métro. Following the huge success of the three trailers after E3, a new trailer, the Caspian Border gameplay trailer, was released after being shown at Gamescom 2011, showcasing jet and vehicle gameplay. In late September 2011, during the build-up to the Open Beta, a new trailer, set to the rap song "99 Problems" by artist Jay-Z, was revealed to be a new TV ad. The final three trailers for the game were released in the week before its release - a multiplayer trailer, a story trailer, and a live-action/gameplay trailer - each being well-received by the gaming community. In the live-action/gameplay trailer, a new tagline was introduced - "Is it real? Or is it Battlefield 3?"
Criticism
The marketing from certain senior EA executives and staff hasn't been met without some criticism. A number of high-level EA staff began attacking main rivals Activision and, in particular, the Call of Duty series, saying, on several occasions, that Battlefield 3 would soundly defeat the Call of Duty franchise, or words to that effect. However, Activision employees, including publishing boss Eric Hirshberg, responded negatively to these statements, saying EA's attitude was bad for the industry as a whole.[35]
PS3 Owners vs EA Lawsuit
At Sony's E3 2011 press conference, EA announced that for all PlayStation 3 players, each new copy of Battlefield 3 would come with a free code of Battlefield 1943. This resulted in many to buy/pre-order the game, greatly boosting the game's overall sales. It was later revealed that EA and DICE had decided to retract their offer, stating that many of those who had pre-ordered Battlefield 3 already owned Battlefield 1943 and had been playing it for years. To compensate for this, EA and Sony announced that all PSN users would get a week early access to Back to Karkand. In spite of this, several PlayStation 3 owners filed a class action lawsuit against EA. Edelson McGuire, head of the group, alleged that EA ”misled and profited from thousands of their customers by making a promise that they could not keep". EA has since apologized for this and later issued codes for PS3 users to download Battlefield 1943 (now expired) in response to the lawsuit, and also kept the one-week early access deal for not only Back to Karkand but all future expansions for the game as well.
Reception
Battlefield 3 has received generally positive reviews from critics at launch. The game currently holds scores in Metacritic of 89[36], 85[37] and 84[38] for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, respectively. It also holds scores in GameRankings of 86.82%[39] for PC, 84.71%[40] for PlayStation 3 and 84.80%[41] for Xbox 360. Critics praised the game's nice graphics, realistic audio and enjoyable multiplayer. It was criticized, however for its many bugs, glitches, and boring singleplayer campaign. DICE moved quickly, however, and the game is now practically bug-free.
GameSpot gave the game an 8.5 out of 10[42], saying that "Battlefield 3 may not offer much beyond the multiplayer, but there are so many ways to contribute and feel like a powerful soldier that after hours and hours of playing, all you'll want to do is play more."
IGN gave the game a 9 out of 10[43], saying that "Regardless of the narrative missteps or the occasional glitches, Battlefield 3 offers an unforgettable, world-class multiplayer suite that's sure to excite shooter fans, whether they fired their first bullet in Battlefield 1942 or have just now heeded Battlefield's call of duty."
GameSpy gave the game a perfect score of 5 out of 5 stars[44], saying that "It would be a shame for such an amazing interactive entertainment experience to be marred by technical issues. In the long run, though, it won't matter, because once players step out of that troop carrier and see the sun shining in their eyes like never before -- once they see the light -- they'll understand what a special game Battlefield 3 is."
Soundtrack
The sound track for Battlefield 3 changes somewhat from previous installments, but returns to the "classic" Battlefield theme tune that was absent from Battlefield: Bad Company 2.
The entire soundtrack features a more techno-feel to the music, and can be heard throughout the game.
Novel
The novelization of the game, Battlefield 3: The Russian, written by respected author Andy McNab, takes place during the Global War of 2014. Unlike the game's campaign, there are noticeable differences in the story, as well as telling the story through the points of views of Dimitri "Dima" Mayakovsky and Henry Blackburn.
Trivia
- The Marine on the cover of Battlefield 3 is portrayed by Dennis Lennartsson, who also portrayed the U.S. Army soldier on Bad Company 2's cover art.
- One lighting probe from Frostbite 2's lighting system contain(s) more lighting information than an entire level from Bad Company 2.
- This is the first non-EA Sports game to utilize ANT, an animation program that powers EA games like FIFA, to create realistic third person animations and smoother transitions for AI and multiplayer characters.
- Sounds such as weapons firing is unique in different environments, angles, and distances.
- A developer's console is present.
- "Fault Line Series - Episode 1: Bad Part of Town" was released the morning of March 2, 2011; 1 day after a reveal event by EA and DICE showcasing 15 minutes of gameplay.[17]
- Unlike previous installments weapon reloading differs when a changed magazine is empty or when it still has rounds in it.
- When Battlefield 3 got 800,000 likes on Facebook, the 12 minute, full-length trailer originally supposed to be uploaded on April 17 was released early. The producer's commentary was released on April 22.
- According to a GamersSpot article, the dinosaur at the beginning of the E3 demo and Thunder Run trailer was placed in response to a 4chan thread in which a supposed Activision sales manager wondered why their Call of Duty game didn't sell as well on PC as it did on consoles, with several responses saying it was due to a lack of dinosaurs.[45] Gustav Halling, a gameplay designer for Back to Karkand, tweeted about it.[46]
- A tweet by senior gameplay designer Alan Kertz stated the detail in the shell casings are different based on US and RU weapons. He later tweeted that shotguns and personal defense weapons would be all-kit weapons.[47]
- In the Multiplayer of Battlefield 3, the player can actually engage in a small kill animation when attacking an enemy with his knife. If successful, the player will stab the enemy and snag the dogtags hanging around the victim's neck.
- Vaulting, and the player being able to see their own legs and arms, was inspired by Mirror's Edge, a game that was also developed by DICE
- On the back of the online pass in the Battlefield 3 case, there was a possible teaser for a new Medal of Honor game. This was later revealed to be Medal of Honor: Warfighter.
- Battlefield 3's version of the infamous Wake Island is much larger and "darker" than in earlier counterparts.
- Due to the current conflicts in Iran, Battlefield 3 is considered illegal to own or sell in Iran with Iranian officials calling some of the maps disrespectful to the history of Iran's culture.
- Players who own Battlefield 3 will automatically unlock the Swedish SOG Spec Op soldier in Medal of Honor: Warfighter and a bonus Daniel Defense Mk18 for that particular soldier.[48]
Videos
References
External links
- Official Battlefield 3 Site
- Full Game Informer article provided by Planet Battlefield
- EA's Battlefield 3 Forums
- Get Satisfaction site for Battlefield 3
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