Battlefield 3

War is brutal. We see and hear this every day, about intense firefights and casualties on the frontlines. We hear the shots of gunfire in the background as journalists report live on the scene. We’re given brief glimpses of the reality from brave recorders; actual raw footage, not scenes from movies, whether its Iron Man or The Hurt Locker. So it’s only natural that Battlefield 3 is just as brutal.

This isn’t an arcade war shooter with its focus on big bold set pieces during the campaign, though they’ do exist, and boxed symmetrical multiplayer maps. This isn’t going to be about a compelling narrative that delves into the nuances of war and life in an enemy state. This is about an all out battle of survival in combat, feeling the adrenaline run as you frantically dive out of the way of a sniper, or the uneasy feeling you get after winning a battle to capture an enemy checkpoint, only to turn the corner and come face to face with a tank. This is war, and it is beautiful.

Battlefield 3 is an important game for both EA and developer DICE, as its the first traditional Battlefield game to be released on consoles. No, I’m not counting Modern Combat and the Bad Company game’s were, well, Bad Company games, not Battlefield games. What’s even more remarkable about this is that not only does DICE develop for the PC first, as the game was ported to consoles, but they’ve also built the all new Frostbite 2.0 engine from the ground up. Because of this, the ideal platform of choice, without hesitation, is going to be the PC, as it traditionally should be with any FPS, but the case is stronger here: Battlefield 3 looks, better, runs better, and plays better on the PC.

Furthermore, this is also the first traditional Battlefield game to feature an actual narrative campaign, but since the campaign is featured on the second disc for consoles, this should show you DICE’s true intentions about the game. There’s nothing special about the campaign. It does a great job, however, of showing off both the power of the Frostbite 2.0 engine and gives you a taste as to what to expect in terms of gameplay in Battlefield, compared to, say, a Call of Duty title. There won’t be running from cover to cover and spraying bullets into enemies that spawn constantly. Instead you’ll have to plan each assault carefully. Your AI squadmates will attempt to assist you, sometimes even doing an adequate job, but ultimately it’s going to be up to you to do the job for anywhere between five to eight hours. There is a co-op mode available, but again, this isn’t anything special. It’s a great way to pass the time and help a friend get used to Battlefield’s gameplay, but franchise veterans will more than likely simply ignore it.

I could talk about how “disappointing” it was to not be able to actually fly the jet in the campaign, or about how much time and effort was spent into the actual campaign itself and for it to come across as generic and bland is a disappointment, but lets face it, we don’t play Battlefield for the single player now, do we? Nope, we do this for the multiplayer, and boy what a multiplayer it is. Again, if you’re going to want the full experience, you best be playing it on the PC. While most of the time fun can indeed be had on consoles, as controlling vehicles is actually easier with a console controller, there won’t be the gorgeous graphics that force you to sit back and enjoy them for a brief moment before you get snipped in the head, or the epic 64 man battles.

What’s remarkable is that thanks to the sheer magnitude of these multiplayer maps, a full 64 man server never really feels cramped, even on the “smaller” maps. That’s because there’s so much going on during a multiplayer map. There’s so much going on at once, whether its aerial combat above, vehicle combat between tanks and jeeps zooming by transporting troops, or intense firefights at flag checkpoints, and they all come together so well, occasionally dipping into each other’s clique to where a helicopter can provide aerial cover to take out suppress enemy infantry as a tank steamrolls towards an objective.

Battlefield 3 offers the choice of four different classes: Assault, Support, Engineer, and Recon. You can gain experience not only by killing enemies, but also completing objectives and performing tasks specific to your class. This helps to enable a team oriented environment; you’re not going to be camping in one spot stacking XP and preparing to unleash a nuke to automatically win the game. Furthermore, you’re not going to be camping because enemy snipers will be able to see your scope be reflected in the sunlight, revealing your position and leaving you open to attack unless you’re nimble enough to find a new point of cover quickly enough.

That’s not to say that its best suited to run and gun all willy nilly. Instead, the best tactic seems to be, believe it or not, sticking with friends and carefully planning all of your movements. While yes, it may be a pain to remain crouched as you move towards an objective, it will help to keep your presence hidden and, more importantly, keep you alive. Because of this, you won’t see many people going, say, “50-2″ in a multiplayer match. Common kill/death scores are far smaller and more balanced, helping to even out what is a somewhat steeper difficulty curve than other shooters.

There’s been some controversy about the usage of the Battlelog in your internet browser to find multiplayer games. It’s certainately different than what we’re accustomed to, but aside from the occasional error in finding a game, as well as a couple of technical limitations that make finding games take longer than it probably should, it all runs smoothly and is a great way to interact with friends and compare stats.

There’s been a lot made about Battlefield 3‘s graphics, for very good reason, but there’s been little fanfare about how damn good this game sounds. There’s no mistaking that distinct sound of your gun being fired in Battlefield, or the intensity of the explosions, the whizzing of the bullets flying by your head, the oncoming sound of a tank and all you have left in your arsenal is a pistol. All of this adds to an experience that hooks you in and doesn’t ever want to let you go. You’ll lean in a little bit closer on your seat, grip your mouse a little tighter, and squint to try to get a clearer picture of what’s going down on the battlefield. Such an experience is still present on consoles, but the same effect isn’t there; the Xbox 360 or PS3 just can’t handle everything that’s going on, sadly.

Which is truly a shame, as Battlefield 3 is the definitive blueprint that shooters should follow moving forward. The emphasis on teamwork, the intensity of battle, and the realism portrayed thanks to the Frostbite 2.0 engine paves way for the future of shooters…on PC anyway. The console versions of the games are, indeed, gimped a little bit, but the same general experience can be found. Sure, the campaign is nothing special, but when was the last time you played a multiplayer oriented FPS strictly for the campaign?