Battlefield 3 + Back To Karkand Review

The biggest pre-launch concern was that Battlefield 3 was gunning for Call of Duty, and would nerf gameplay to satisfy the COD market.

It's a hard temptation, simplify your game to appeal to a wider market, and well - make more money. For the majority of the game if does feel as if DICE steered clear from this path, but in some areas it's hard to shake the feeling the did give in.

Most notably the classes. Though this is something that began in Bad Company 2. From 7 in Battlefield 2, to 4.

 Scope tint is a novel idea to prevent camping. And it does work, most of the time. From Bad Company 2 on, it's clear that the Recon class is meant to be played as well, just that. You shouldn't stay in any one place for two long, and you should be spotting for your teammates.

But scope tint takes a great deal of fun out of playing Recon. Good snipers who played the old Battlefields will tell you about  sniper v sniper battles across the map. Or putting in the time to find where someone is hiding, sneak around the map behind them and rip out their dog tags. It's these moments which just don't happen in Battlefield 3.

You can't miss a sniper on the other side of the map, they may as well have lights and sirens going. That is to say you can easily see them, shooting them across the map is as difficult and satisfying as ever.

Though, whilst scope tint is a weak attempt at balancing the recon class, the gun mechanics are great. Bullets drop as they always have and you absolutely need to steady your scope to hit long range headshots.
In fact, this extends to all guns.

They behave more realistic that in any other shooter. Attactments modify guns in ways that are noticable, but not imbalancing.

Your flashlight and laser attachments blind your opponents in such a well executed manner that it has become a strong tactic to run down a dark hallway with a flashlight to shock and blind your opponent.

Maps

Most of us mere mortals will never be lucky enough to play Battlefield 3 on Ultra (max settings) any time soon. This is a fact of life as the game is a multiplatform shooter, but it is a great shame.

If you ever get a chance to see Battlefield in its highest beauty it is something to behold. From the rendering to post processing effects, this game raises the bar.

You do not need to max out this game to see it's calibre though. This reviewer has reduced the settings to low to archive playable frame rates on 2 year old cards, and can state it's still just as good.

There is a feel of being completely beaten when someone grabs you from behind and rips out your dog tags in the same motion as stabbing you through the chest. This is because they are staring you dead in the eyes the entire time. It's an incredibly intimate and defeating moment to be so close to you're killer. Even on low, the detail in their face during this is immense.

Battlefield pulls out all the stops you would expect in this day to create a world of incredible destructible detail.

Sound has always been an important game mechanic in the Battlefield series, but it has never been this crucial to helping you stay alive. If you want to clear a room and are unsure if someone is inside, you better have good speakers. If you pay attention you can hear their footsteps as you creep up to the window. Throw a grenade inside, and wait for the "Shit, grenade!" The grenade doesn't need to kill them, merely alert you to their presence. Now you have the upper hand, you know they are inside, and if you were listening you will have an idea where.

Hollywood has known for decades that good sound can create an impossibly immersive environment, DICE have proven they know it just as well. 

Every moving part of this game makes a sound. Jump in a tank and you're greeted by the powerful deep rumbling of the engine. Jets have a similar feeling of scale. It's the guns however where Battlefield 3's sound design defeats everything.

Firing your weapon not only has the punch you would expect from a Battlefield game, it has a great sense of urgency. As you unload a clip and rush to cover so that you may reload, a cacophony of sounds let you know exactly what's happening.

Listen carefully enough and you can work out where a bullet is coming from if the enemy is close enough. Sometimes they will not be bright and sharp in your ears, and rather will be just a small ping. In any other game you would probably write it off, but here you need to get some cover before the sniper responsible for the subtle ping takes your head off instead of the bottle at your feet.

Moving between environments sounds, well like your moving between environments. It may seem like a small thing, but the impact is massive. Walk into a concrete room and your footsteps become loud enough to be heard by your enemy crouching on the other side of the room.

Running along Wake Island it's quite nerve racking to hear a chopper hovering above you. That is until you pull out your anti-air missile, lock on and fire.

Battlelog

I've read a few reviews that have made the bold claim that nobody wanted Battlelog. This simply is not true. Since Battlefield 2 a similar service existed to track stats. It featured detailed info, unlock progression and a social network. I can't see this network being utilised to the degree DICE may be hoping for, but I can see it being quite powerful for clans.

I was very curious about the concept of using a web based server browser, as every other game had a decent in game browser. Truth be told, until I could actualy get my hands on it I didn't understand just how good it can be.

In game browsers, have always been laggy, slow and well just painful to use. Battlelog, isn't.

It's that simple, after you install the plugin required to let Battlelog launch your game, browsing is easy.

There were a few launch issues with battlelog, but that's to be expected in any major game launch, and they are fixed now. So they don't factor in this review.

Three major wins stick out for Battlelog. Firstly, the server browser works. It's fast simple and it's more featured than any ingame browser.

Second, becuase DICE had to work with a browser based launcher, Battlefield 3 alt tabs really freaking well. You can move from fullscreen to windowed mode without the game crapping out on you.

In some games the simple accident of alt-tabing could crash the whole thing, but Battlefield 3 achieves it with a small degree of grace. This isn't something everyone is going to care about or even notice, but there is a section of the PC community that will be incredibly thankful for this.

Finally, becuase everything is integrated in Battlelog you don't need to go anywhere else. Your stats, friends, news and the community forums are all in the one place.

So is this the best Battlefield?

There is no doubt in my mind that this is the best Battlefield game DICE has ever produced, and whilst there is room for improvement there is no sense it waiting for the next Battlefield. This game is far more matured and complete than any other in the series. It does have it's problems, but every game does.

A geunine perfect ten in gaming almost never happens, they are just too complex a beast to get every part perfect. But that shouldn't, and really doesn't matter. DICE have proven again, they know how to make a good FPS. But, this game has problems. It's minimap is a definitive joke.

Still, I'd still recommend buying this game in a heartbeat. Because at the end of the day, this is the best Battlefield game ever made. It gets some pretty fundemental things wrong, but as a whole the rest of the game is just so spectacular that you forget about the little things and just enjoy yourself.