FLASH900 GAME REVIEW: Battlefield 3 - Open Beta...

The Release of Battlefield 3 is Upon Us, Yes Jets + Prone Are Back!

Battlefield 3 is just around the corner, and for those of us who await the next new title – with drooling anticipation – this latest instalment promises to be explosive military fun. Jets are back and a full range of vehicles, prone makes a return and 64 player makes a return for PC, bring on the chaos. For those unfamiliar with this game here’s a taste.

Feeling angry? take a tank for a spin and crash the enemy line, if you miss that target, dont sweat it, your team mate in the mounted 50 cal machine gun got em, warning alarms sound, watch out that jet has you lined up with heat seekers, are you that jet pilot test your flying skills in hard and fast dog fights high above the battlefield watch that low flying though alarms sounds you eject out to parachute to safety or so you think.

Are you the sniper? he watches the the parachute float down and lines up that shot! Play a range of solder classes from sniper to medic. Battlefield has single player and multi-player game modes I will focus on multi player in this review for a couple of reasons; single-player is not out until release (I’ll review it again on release) This was a beta test, single player is not often seen in beta releases. Game companies use beta’s to stress test servers, where more than one person is connecting together to play on the same game, and receive feedback back from the player community.

The Game: Battlefield 3 Open Beta

Game Modes: First-person Shooter Mode | Single-player | Multiplayer Developer

Developed by: EA Digital Illusions | Electronic Arts | Sega

Platform: Microsoft Windows | PS3 | Xbox 360 | iOS

Release Dates:

NA October 25, 2011
AUS October 27, 2011
EU October 28, 2011

Beta Review

The release of Battlefield 3 is upon us and yes Jets and Prone are back and a return to 64 players for PC. In the mean time, EA released the open beta and we all had a chance to play up – multiplayer. There were 2 maps to play Metro – rush – and Caspian Border – conquest. Rush is an infantry style game were the defending team has to protect two points form being set with explosive charges If the attacking team rushes these and detonates them the defending team falls back to previous two points. The game is won when the attacking team pushes through and detonates all objectives or the defenders hold out until the time runs out, the maps tend to be small with choke points for heavy intense gun play.

Conquest – open large maps – teams start on opposing sides of the map, and push in to capture flag points, hold these captured points and the opposing teams tickets run-down faster. The first team to lose all there tickets loses, Tanks and Humvees. Jets and Attack Choppers are all controlled – actual first person view in all vehicles – by players make for a big battle feel while fighting to take or hold points on the map.

The open beta was an old build off the game at the time of playing, hopefully EA will have solved the bugs by release – yes yes I saw that pig fly too lol – there were a few. Lag was an issue for some players. EA is looking into this and hopefully server ping’s will improve for released game – it was beta testing. The main points in game players wanted to see addressed. Was squad control at the moment you could not join or make your own squad, as they have taken the commander role out that existed in BF2, and it is yet to be seen what this will do to 64 players – on pc – communication and flow of the game or how they will replace it.

The tactical torch caused a stir in rush map, some loved it some didn’t. It blinded everyone, including team-mates. Snipers had a hard time to start with, the glint from there scopes could be seen from a long way off, targets could often be shot with an assault rifle, leading to some complaints of overpowered weapons. Pilots of jets and choppers found themselves being shot down a lot and seemed to feel the vehicles were to weak, not capable of taking enough punishment. Some of this was due to ground troops – engineer class – being able to carry stinger missiles. The destructible environment caused problems with players sinking into the floor on some spots of the map. So some tweaking still to be done by EA.

We have yet to see the single player and co-op modes of the game, beta was only multiplayer but I found the game play enjoyable. Great fun, with chaos raining around you and jet dog fights over head. There was a ton of unlocks for weapons, tact toys and a badge or ribbon reward for almost everything.

The release will only run on Win 7 operating systems and direct x 10 /11 capable graphics cards. Origin will be BF3 login page it is EA’s new digital distribution store Similar to the Steam store. The look of this game is good the textures are nice, the detail is pleasing. Couldn’t – they weren’t all turned on for beta – test all the destructible items in the maps, but those that were found were great; blowing out trees or buildings from a tank to reveal hidden ground troops. Battlefield 3 looks like it’s going a heap closer to bringing bad company Battlefield 2 and new players across to one game. We’re all looking forward to release. Here is a look a the classes that will be available:

Classes For Battlefield 3: The 4 classes have received somewhat of an overhaul. Here’s the breakdown of the new classes in Battlefield 3;

Assault/Medic:
The Assault and Medic classes have been combined now, where the Assault class can either chose to heal/revive teammates, or you can opt for a grenade launcher instead of the revive kit, if you want more firepower. M16A4 assault rifle for USMC, AEK-971 for Russian side.
M9 sidearm for USMC, MP-443 for Russian.
Grenade launcher or defibrillator kit.

Support:
The Support class is now the one handing out ammunition, and can also provide covering fire. You can mount your LMG and if fire in the direction of the enemy, you’ll get special bonus points for providing covering fire for your teammates. You can also select an assault rifle with a flashlight for the dark parts of maps (like tunnels), instead of the LMG.M249 SAW for USMC, PKM or RPK for Russian side.
M9 sidearm for USMC, MP-443 for Russian.
The ability to use lighter weapons with attachments like the M4 or AK-74U.
Ammo pack to resupply teammates.
Ability to mount LMGs on surfaces for greater accuracy.

Engineer:
The Engineer retains much of his role and load-out from Bad Company 2, you’re equipped with rocket launchers against enemy armor, and a repair tool to fix friendly vehicles, and a sub machine gun. The stinger makes an appearance for anti air defence. Main heavy weapon includes the AT4 for USMC and RPG-7 for Russian side
Primary weapon is a carbine (like an M4 or AK-74U).
Rocket launchers can be swapped with anti tank mines.
Repair tool for repairing friendly vehicles.
M9 sidearm for USMC, MP-443 for Russian.

Sniper:
The Sniper has the same role as in previous Battlefield games, and is armed with a sniper rifle, C4 explosives, and spotting gear. Semi automatic sniper rifle, MK11 for USMC, SVD for Russian side.
Will have a wide variety of team-play oriented gadgets. Including mobile spawn point ability
M9 sidearm for USMC, MP-443 for Russian.