Battlefield 3 - PC

Preview from Barry - Friday, 30 September 2011 @ 4:31pm

The Battlefield 3 MP beta has now gone public for all users across all platforms that count (no Mac / Linux) and for most of us it is our first interaction with Origin on the PC.

I want to talk a bit about Origin and how Battlefield 3 works with Origin a bit later, but first lets talk Battlefield 3.

So the MP beta has one map (so far), Operation Metro and one mode, Rush. For fans of Battlefield Bad Company 2 this may seem all very similar, single map, single mode, go forth and battle - and for the most part they are right.

Lush gardens and scenery make this a great place to die

That is until you play the game. For starters it looks fantastic - from the starting parkland area through the bombed out Metro tunnels and finally the ending section on the river side streets and outdoor cafes all overlooking the river Seine. It has been around 6 years since I have walked the streets of Paris and while there was no bombed out metro tunnels or random RPG’s being fired across the place it looks the same as I remember it (though Battlefield's version is missing a heap of dog shit).

Like the visuals, the sounds are not going to disappoint either - bullet whizzes, close impacts, grenades & the screaming vengeance of a RPG-7 rocket are just some of the amazingly detailed sounds you will come to love and fear.

The level is constructed in the typical Rush mode format - Attackers need to destroy two MCOM stations before the next area of the map opens up for them to do again. Repeat four times and you have won the match. The defenders on the other hand, well they defend the MCOM stations - it's not rocket science people!

Optics and other weapon attachments are unlocked by using the weapon / class

As a solider it pays to stay alive, not only so your family doesn't get a couriered a folded flag but because it allows your squad mates to spawn near your location - this is how matches are won baby! This spawning system means that by pushing forward and holding a covered position your one man scout can turn into a five man kill team. It also works for the other team as well, so leaving a enemy behind cover can become a costly mistake.

There are a few different classes to play and in all honesty I have not put time into all of them, however currently I feel people are not using them to their full potential, it is still very early days in the beta. I am hoping to soon see co-ordinated squads progressing through the maps with support soldiers locking down key choke points with suppressive fire while assault troops move in and take out the stragglers. Its a battlefield game people, you need to work as a team!

Safe in this room until the RPG flies in..

It's a shame there are no jets or choppers in the map but they wouldn't fit the scenario anyway, we will just have to wait for the Caspian Border map to be released.

My main issue with the beta currently is that there seems to be no way to leave a match without losing all the experience and unlocks that you have collected in that map.

This happened to me this morning, the match was lasting a long time, we as attackers were onto the last MCOM stations to destroy, I was coming second on my team scoreboard and had unlocked a bunch of weapons and leveled up twice. But I needed to go to work, so I left the game idle while I hit the showers. Now I know I should not have gone idle, but the map had been going for 30mins and I was about to be late for work.

Stairs make for a fantastic killing field

Fast forward a few mins when I return from my shower to see my PC screen back to displaying the battle log (your main menu in Battlefield 3). This is fine, I expected that. What I DID not expect was to be back to level 0. never fear I thought - maybe it needs a few mins to upload / reload the data - WRONG. Now I know I was in the wrong here by going idle in a active game, but frankly penalizing me all my progress seems a bit harsh. Moral of the story, only join a game you are able to finish (So set aside at least 40mins)

Apart from that I am really digging the beta so far. The animations are superb, even down to when you are on the move and come to a waist height ledge that you will vault over, flicking your legs out in front while you keep your gun pointing downrange. The environments take damage as we have all come to expect and its not uncommon to leave the subway station section of the map looking like that room in the matrix that Trinity and Neo shoot up.

Five mins later this looked like a bomb went off in it because it did)

What are your experiences with the beta so far? Let us know in the comments!