Battlefield 3 needs little introduction. Sequel to seminal PC title Battlefield 2 and cross-platform hit Battlefield Bad Company 2, Battlefield 3 is being placed in direct competition with Modern Warfare 3 by EA. However, when chest beating and legacies are put aside, how is the game shaping up?
Operation Guillotine is a newly unveiled mission for the single player campaign of Battlefield 3. Taking place under the cover of night, you and your squad have been ordered to set up a mortar, to illuminate the way and provide support to capture an enemy stronghold. As you are being briefed on this mission, you’re on the side of a hill, overlooking a war torn city with sporadic gun fire going off.
After a signal is sent to your commanding officer, you and your team are off barrelling down the hill to get the mortar in place. The player is tasked with carrying the mortar as you sprint towards the underpass, all while dodging falling trees and craters as the world explodes around you, courtesy of artillery fire on your position. Once in place, you jump over the wall and head toward your objective’s position to place the mortar.
Finally in place, you leave it in the capable hands of an operator, that proceeds to let off occasional flares to light the way. It’s over another wall, and you’re now in combat with the enemy. The gunplay is a very satisfying affair, with clunky and jerky recoil really throwing off you accuracy as you aim down the sights, giving you a more visual cue to encourage burst fire.
The character animations and interstitial animations are quite stunning, maybe not on the same level as an Uncharted game, but really quite remarkable. Enemies stagger and react organically to destruction and suppression fire. As you run along a river bed, you need to take out a few camps, some with machine gun emplacements. Flanking the gunner takes him by surprise, allowing you to take him out and move on.
After this you find your way into a building swarming with bad guys to shoot. As it’s close quarters, the shotgun becomes your friend, especially when kicking down a door only to be surprised by an ambush. Your team mates take out the lead guy about to kill you, and moments later as you recover a short corridor shoot out is causing chunks of wall to fly over the place, decaying and destroying cover.
Once finished, its into a Humvee and the end of the demo. While short lived, it really shows off the power of the Frostbite 2 engine. The lighting from the flares causes shadows to fly off widely in the incandescent light, briefly becoming near pitch black as one flare winks out and another is launched while terrain is lit by muzzle flashes.
It’s difficult to say whether Battlefield 3 has a chance of knocking Call of Duty off it’s lofty throne, it is most definitely a technical showpiece with gameplay quality to back it up.
Stay Tuned.