E3 2011: Battlefield 3 Hands-On Preview
By:
Wesley Ruscher
|
June 10, 2011, 7:37 pm
Battlefield 3 was a nightmare to get into at E3 and for good reason. Rumors circulated that the line, at times, took six hours to make it through the first few days of the show. Luckily, I didn't have to man the trenches too long to get some hands-on time with EA and DICE's latest.
 
After a brief overview on what's new in Battlefield 3 I was able to hunker down into some intense 12 vs. 12 action in a game of Rush. The map playable was set in downtown Paris and exquisitely showcased the variety that Battlefield 3's Rush mode has to offer. I have to commend the team of fellow E3'ers I played with as they were one of the most talkative, coordinated groups I have ever soldiered-up with. We moved as a cohesive unit taking down objective after objective with the precision of a team that has been together for years.
 
Starting in a park, the first thing I noticed was the amount of detail DICE has put into Battlefield 3. The foliage in the park and shadows they cast areimpressive and helpe add to the realism. Making our way through the park -- the first of four sections to overcome -- I was able to take a tank  for a spin, which like other Battlefield's let my squad hop on and in to become a rolling fortress of destruction. The rolling hills of the park combined with a density of trees and shrubbery gave our opponents plenty of vantage points to hide from, but like a band of brothers we pushed through fairly quick.
 
We next headed through a more tightly confined entrance into the metro. Working our way to the terminal area, the firefight became more tactical as my squad stayed tightly concentrated together and pushed to capture our next target. On a side note each area required two MCOM stations to be captured, but the order in which they were was up to us.  
 
The final area had us move seamlessly from the metro into a more urban part of downtown Paris. This area offered plenty of cover and some great building vantage points from where to snipe from. I had played the entire time as the Assault class (see below for breakdown of classes), but decided to take to the buildings to flank and lay down some headshots as a Recon class (sniper) soldier. Moving from window to window and from floor to floor, my team easily captured the final MCOM point for the victory.
 
Battlefield 3's Rush mode was hands down the best co-op experience I had at E3 this year. If you know my FPS habits then you know  I am more of a single-player shooter advocate. Maybe it was the awesome group I played with, but Rush mode easily upped my anticipation for Battlefield 3 when it ships October 25. Now my only decision left is if I upgrade my PC or... stick with the consoles.
 

Battlefield 3 Intel sheet:

  • Frostbite 2.0 engine brings next gen technology into current generation hardware.
  • Uses same animation mo-cap tech as FIFA series to bring even more realism to war.
  • Team Death Match is in.
  • Four unique classes
    Assault     - now has the capabilities of the medic class. M16 assault rifle, first aid kits and defibrillators are standards.
    Engineer     - Still repairs vehicles, but now also carries a mountable flashlight that can temporarily blind enemies
    Recon     - the snipers and Intel providers of the team.
    Support     - The new class of BF3 has the ability to hand out ammo to teammates. They also carry a heavy machine gun which can be mounted anywhere to leave down suppressing fire.
  • New suppression system makes laying down cover fire effective. The new suppression mechanic reduces enemy efficiency when firing, allowing coverage to be laid down without the fear of a cheap headshot.
  • Three customizable weapon slots.
  • Fully customizable dog tags. Let the enemies know what you excel at and let them earn the rights to your tag when the knife you in the back (the only way to take a tag in BF3).
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