Relook At Battlefield 3: The Game, The DLC & The Future

October 2011 seems like quite a long time ago doesn't it?

Well that's how long its been since Battlefield 3 was launched to the world by EA and DICE, and 15 million cross-platform sales later, its time to take another look. How does it feel and compete a year later; against its rivals, and against itself? How has it evolved and progressed since launch day, and finally, whats going to happen next?

Singleplayer and Co-op

Most people forget that BF3 even has a singleplayer mode, such is the infatuation with multiplayer games these-days, but that's not to say it was because the campaign was not worth doing, because its really was. It was engaging, varied and above all, somewhat believable.  Battlefield has prided itself on being a semi-realistic, tactical shooter - not a military sim like ARMA, sure - but one where you are rewarded by thinking strategically. While on the outside the campaign is pretty linear, you are still given the option to take things slowly and carefully, or run in guns blazing hoping to re-create this years Die Hard. Being able to balance this balance is something that is still seldom done correctly, but it is possible with good map design; Hitman Absolution or Crysis (1) are two examples which pop to mind.

While I don't replay single player campaign every week, there are still a few choice moments which stick out, and even after all this time, offer great replay value. Nightshift, for example, is a particular favorite. It blends tactics with a splash of blind 'spray and pray' fun.

If single player is still your first port of call, and you haven't played single player yet, you might be better suited downloading Black Mesa, the Source refresh for the epic Half-Life. Its a longer, more engaging, challenging and rewarding experience, and on top of that, its free - so there is no reason not to give it a try!

DICE was clever with the co-op content, mixing it with the unlockable content aspects of the multiplayer, requiring users to amass a certain number of points in co-op to unlock certain weapons in multiplayer. While the missions are fun, immersive and sometimes quite difficult, there are only six of them. In order to unlock the extra weapons in multiplayer, you had to play the missions a number of times, but once unlocked, there has been little reason to play them over again.

This is not to say they are badly designed or aren't fun, simply that multiplayer is overall more appealing, and you can play it without having to set up the communications, which are so crucial in co-op. Having said that, BF3 is still all about the multiplayer side of things, as it has always been, from the days when 'single player' mode was just multiplayer with bots.

Multiplayer

With the rise of faster internet connections, attractively priced consoles, more multiplayer-centric games and a general change in attitude towards gaming, the numbers of those shooting away online has ballooned in recent years. Online gaming has turned from a seldom discussed social faux-pas to being acceptable every day banter between school children and office colleagues.

Its hard to beat the sheer unadulterated madness of a 64 player Operation Metro rush 'zerg' server. Bullets flying everywhere, explosion after explosion as people spam choke points, revive after revive and points galore. You have to look a lot further for sheer balls-to-the-wall excitement and insanity. The fact that, after a year, this game mode is still enticing to the thousands of players and hundreds of servers running it, is a pretty stark testament to how people still see BF3.

Downloadable content has recently become a big part of digitally distributed gaming. It allows (some) companies to effectively sell 90% of the complete game on day one, and then charge an extra fee for the last remaining 10%. This selling practice makes developers  additional money to keep the next game in flight, but gamers will contest its value: should it have been shipped with it? Or is it worth supporting your favorite titles to keep you interested in fresh content, but also to help keep the cash flow going and game-dev's employed? With BF3, it seems they've done things a little bit differently. From day one we've known about the number of add-ons and that we can either buy them one-by-one as you get into it more, or buy the lot via Battlefield Premium and receive some extra bits of content such as gun camouflage and dog-tags. These challenges give players something to strive for, albeit for a fairly brief time period, but are a fun addition.

Each piece of DLC has also brought different content to suit different play styles. Back to Karkand brought the old favorite maps back from BF2, Close Quarters brought tight spaced insanity, Armored Kill supplied the massive open scale vehicular warfare tank fans wanted, Aftermath has given us stunning post apocalyptic earthquare environments and frantic medium scale game-play, and Endgame looks set to bring in the old staple that is capture the flag as well as all out aerial madness with Air Superiority mode.

However, its not just the new features, game modes and maps which keep people playing BF3, its the overall experience you get playing it. The map designs and game types promote different styles of play, the graphics are still some of the best out there, and most importantly, its still fun. Moreover, its the game's scoring system and class set up which allow a player to do what they want. Personally, I love nothing more than running around with an assault rifle, or a shotgun with slug rounds, attempting to heal and revive everything I see. On the other side of the spectrum, I cannot drive vehicles to save my life, so for the most part just stay away from them and concentrate on infantry-centric combat, but there are some truly epic tank drivers and pilots out there. Sometimes so good I become borderline jealous. What sets BF3 apart is this ability to fulfill so many genres at once.

BF3 is the only game where I currently feel I am given the options to play however I truly want to. I do enjoy the odd spot of Call of Duty, but feel its always based around the same sort of action and engagements. With Black Ops II, I feel Treyarch have tried to let players set up their classes and perks to allow a greater variety of play styles, and it does take quite a lot to beat the fun of running around with just a gold-plated knife, a bunch of perks and some flashbangs and slashing away at anything with a pulse. With that being said, one can be compelled to think that Battlefield3 still does Call of Duty better than CoD does BF3, while not being Call of Duty, or having the stigma that seems to go with it these days.

The Future

So what's next? The last downloadable content expansion is  - as its name suggests - Endgame, and after that one can only assume DICE will be concentrating on their next Battlefield title, Battlefield 4, which is rumored to be due out in Autumn this year. The team behind BF4 have got a good base to start from, with the Frostbite 2.0 engine supposedly yet to be pushed to anywhere near its limits.

An interesting point of view is that perhaps DICE put so many features into BF3 that its sequel may end up being paramount to another set of expansions. There are only so many weapons and military vehicles in the world, and so many plausible theaters of warfare. Having said that, DICE managed to introduce new game-play types, vehicles and maps into each piece of DLC keeping BF3 fresh and exciting, so assuming they don't have any exciting new ideas up their sleeves might be a little naive and presumptuous. Either way, I know I'm looking forwards to it already.

Do you still play BF3? What are your favorite bits, and what would you like to see in BF4? Let us know in the forums.