Battlefield 3 attracted my attention when it was just a myth. Soon after, rumors started flooding my Facebook about possible new features and stories in the game. It hadn’t been long when Battlefield 3 was finally announced. Oh what a great feeling it was! Harboring Dice’s amazing Frostbite 2 technology Battlefield 3 is exploding with goodness – no pun intended.


Odds are against me on this one as most of you have probably completed the game’ campaign and are now engrossed in the ever-lasting multiplayer component. So here goes nothing with my review.


Let’s talk quickly about the campaign since that was my first priority when I bought the game, beat it, and got it out of the way! Battlefield 3’s campaign is great but not excellent. Right from the start it feels lacking; which was something I expected after Bad Company 2’s more fantasy style storyline about Russian’s taking over the US. This game however, is no exception. Granted it boasts a fully destructible environment (up to 100,000% according to a developer – if you play it that much), it just doesn’t deliver – the campaign I mean. The plot is the usual Russian invasion and nuke threats.


The story kicks off with Sgt. Blackburn being interrogated by government officials. The game is laid out in a flashback-after-flashback sequence eventually leading up to his arrest. Its flaw is not in its overused plot, but it lacks in intensity. It always falls shy of that epic moment that keeps you at the edge of your seat while you play. You’ll find yourself cycling through missions while not relating to the story at all. The characters feel empty and are very static. They don’t seem to give any emotional flares, which I find hard to believe seeing as how emotional the plot really is. At the end of the day, you don’t know them enough to fully understand what they are going through. It is just dialogue after dialogue until you realize that you didn’t have to listen to any of it. You could just go all out guns blazing and not give a damn about who you are shooting at.


Well that brings me to the next issue I had with this game: The AI.


The AI isn’t totally brain dead but at some points during the game you’ll find that they tend to just run right at you, single file one. Okay, I think I’ve blemished the game enough with my pickiness. The good thing about Battlefield 3 is…well…the Battlefield part of it. Part of playing a war game is that it puts you in the frontlines with your comrades and you become part of an active squad. Battlefield 3 gives you all of that, but more. You feel as though you’re being depended upon to do seemingly dangerous tasks. Tasks as simple as going cover to cover to fetch a detonator and then run back 10 feet and blow s*** up! But going cover to cover is one thing, being able to stay behind one is not that easy. Some reviews are complaining about how the campaign is the only flaw in the game. I beg to differ; the campaign is really not that bad. There are some really epic moments in the game but you wouldn’t understand that if you’re a COD fanboy. To be honest, I actually enjoyed a fair bit of it despite its lacking qualities.


Bullets will penetrate, heavy artillery will shake you up, and huge chunks of concrete crumble into bit in front of your eyes. Before you know it, you’ll be dying more often than not. But when you re-spawn, the audio will sync in and eventually you’ll find yourself amidst a battlefield you wish you hadn’t entered. Speaking of audio…




Dice has always delivered on in game sound quality. In the original Bad Company, some of the best things to do were shooting explosives just to hear what it sounded like. Battlefield 3 kicks it up a notch. In this game you will hear every bullet, explosion, footstep, and scream. In the campaign, the lip syncing is flawless, wrapped up with incredible voice acting – which is not exception even in multiplayer. This brings me to my next point…


It’s unwise to purchase Battlefield 3 only for the campaign, if so, I suggest you rent this one. But then again, who plays a Battlefield game for the campaign? It’s all about the multiplayer. You have your standard CO-OP section in which you play selected missions with a friend and then you have your massive online multiplayer. I played the console (Xbox 360) version of the game but I wholeheartedly suggest the PC one simply because of its epic 64-player capability and larger ground area. You’ve got beautifully designed maps which include areas from New York, Oman, Paris, Tehran etc. all incorporated within game modes we’ve already played before (Conquest, Rush, Team Deathmatch etc.) Some textures look a whole lot more pixelated on the console version of the game compared to the PC version, but nothing that will pop right at you. A key feature is, of course, JETS! Now, some people have been having a hard time trying to fly these but there is a guide out there that players may refer to. What is unnerving though is that gamers are complaining about how slow tanks are in the game. It’s a tank! They’re supposed to be SLOW! This is not COD! (no offense) You have to be tactical and strategic.



In the end, the game does deliver save the campaign, but with all the more that this game has to offer collectively (multiplayer) it’s totally forgiven (but points will be taken off). When you’re done grinding levels what you get is an amazing warfare/battlefield experience that takes a toll on the way you game. Like my friend, you may find beating your friends at COD a little easier this time around thanks to Battlefield’s ultra-realistic gameplay.


This game gets an awesome:
9.5/10
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A not so intriguing plot – overused
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Confused AI – runs into shots
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Some heart pumping objectives
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Fantastic destruction Battlefield style
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Massive online multiplayer (the core of the game) that will keep you busy for months to come