Battlefield 3 – Whats new?
As we get closer to the release date, what can we expect from EA’s blockbuster title?The Battlefield series is one of my favorite in the FPS genre, mainly because it differs itself so well from the generic FPS, so what will be in the new Battlefield and how will it differ itself from previous titles?
Firstly, the BF3 campaign will be set in 2014, near the Iraq-Iran border, where the US Marine Corps is fighting the People’s Liberation and Resistance (PLR). It will follow the events after BF2, following the story of SSgt Blackburn who leads a five man squad on a mission to locate, find and safely return a US squad investigating a possible chemical weapons site, whose last known position was a market controlled by a hostile militia.
EA have stated that vehicles will be used in the campaign but their use will be limited.
Next, a new co-op mode, similar to MW2’s spec ops was featured at Gamescom 2011. This new co-op mode will be objective based in which you would have to work together, with your friends to complete your goal. The new co-op mode will have some stealth based elements to it, unusual for the Battlefield series as can be seen below.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lpOIwrg5Ew
This addition looks very smooth and fun, and could add even more fun and exciting elements to the game.
Next, the multiplayer. EA have made some changes to the class system, changing the classes to Assault, Support, Engineer and Recon. The main change being that the medic class has been scrapped an instead a new ‘support’ class has been added. This means that the assault class will now be equipped with defibrillators and medkits. The new support class uses Light Machine Guns, which the mechanics of which have been changed to utilize the new engine: Bipods can be deployed anywhere while in prone position or on “almost any part of the terrain” which provides an improvement to accuracy and recoil reduction, Suppressive Fire has been added to the class mechanics which blurs the vision of those whore are under fire from an LMG and reduces their accuracy as seen below.
This could change how the game is played; having LMG fire covering the Assault and Engineer classes whilst they move towards their objective and are able to be healed on the front line whilst being given covering fire. This addition should make the game feel even more realistic than before, by using certain weapons as they would in real combat.
Other Multiplayer changes include: a flashlight for the Engineer which also blinds the enemy and the Recon will be able to place a radio beacon which will allow squad members to spawn on the location of the beacon. This could add a whole new tactical element to the game, especially in game modes such as Squad Rush where the spawn location is vital for victory.
BF3 will re-introduce certain aspects of gameplay missing from the ‘Bad company’ series, including: Prone position, fighter jets and 64-player battles on PC.
Lastly, BF3 will use the new frostbite engine ‘Frostbite 2’. It will deliver more advanced destruction, sound, and graphics than ever seen before in the series. The new engine realistically portrays the destruction of buildings which had become the trademark of the Battlefield series.
BF3 also uses a new ANT engine for character animation, used in the upcoming EA title ‘FIFA 12’. This will be adapted to create more realistic soldiers, with the ability to go into cover and turn their head independently before their body, as well as “drag fallen comrades into safety”
All in all, I am very excited to play BF3 with all these changes and can’t wait to play the game for myself as I’m sure many fans are.