• Posted October 14th, 2011 at 03:19 EDT by Don Oliveira
• 3 Comments

Just like our preview of the single-player campaign mode of Battlefield 3, PSU sat down to see what the game's multiplayer co-op mode had to offer in EA and DICE's latest attempt to be the prime first-person shooter on the market this holiday season.

Battlefield 3 features online two-player co-op, in a variety of specially designed levels that see players progress through linear missions similar to single-player. Each mission seemingly has its own unique set of objectives, enemies, weapons and gear, and setting; however, DICE only let us take a look and play one co-op mission – Hit and Run.

Hit and Run starts with you and your buddy fending off an enemy breach, with claymore mines and plenty of weapons. Played at nighttime in an office building setting, players must progress along a level with scripted enemy spawns and sequences.

Working together is key, since you and your partner are just as vulnerable to enemy fire as are the A.I.-controlled baddies. There are three levels of difficulty for each mission –Easy, Normal, and Hard- but we found that no matter what difficulty, it's always important to work with your squad-mate since you can revive each other once downed.

The level progresses through room after room, with frantic gunfights, allowing players to use weapons like shotguns, sub-machine guns, and assault rifles – you know, the usual. The environments are well detailed, and the Frostbite 2 engine graphics are nothing to sneeze at; combining with the intense gun fights that we've seen in Battlefield's single-player campaign.

The co-op mission ended with a pleasant surprise, as vehicle segment gave the pacing the twist that it needed. Players escape from a parking lot garage in a car-chase sequence, while the car radio turns on playing loud hip-hop music that remains for the duration escape. As player one navigates tight turns in a parking garage with a cockpit view of the SUV, player two takes the opportunity to provide cover fire.

Battlefield 3's co-op felt a little similar to the Spec Ops mode in Modern Warfare 2, seeing players through a scripted level that had its own unique twists and turns. Now it's not necessarily a bad thing that we're reminded of Call of Duty, but we'd just like Battlefield to feel a little fresher at times.

However, as they say, “don't fix what isn't broken.” I walked away wanting to play more co-op missions, and that says more for the experience than the CoD comparison does. See how Battlefield 3 co-op fares when it is released later this month.