Battlefield 3

I've never played the Battlefield series. Sure I downloaded a demo and got a few kicks out of it, but nothing really engaged me; save for the WW2 setting of one of the games. That's just about it as far as I'm concerned.

But now I'm into Battlefield 3 and by the looks of it, needless to say, I'm REALLY impressed of how realistic and hectic it really is. With exceptional sound, I felt like I was really in a war zone, fighting through terrorists with an arsenal of weapons and vehicles such as tanks and jets; though their use is sadly limited as I've always wanted more variety and things to do in a game. But in one action set piece, you get to drive a tank through a Middle Eastern city blowing up not only tanks, but the whole freakin' scenery along with the terrorist forces. I've always wanted to drive a tank in a video game(and maybe, possibly in real life) and blow the sh*t out of things. Thankfully, Battlefield 3 gave me that opportunity.

Speaking of scenery, the graphics are really great with lots of detail in the levels and billboard signs, all in various languages, giving the game a cultural feel amidst the backdrop of war, in the field and covertly. But I was a little disappointed that the single-player mode should've been a lot longer with more missions and variety of tasks to do in said missions. Hopefully, in the next game the developers can focus on making a more lengthy single-player mode with a better story and more choices on how to approach a mission with different tactics. Since this is my first time to the series and that I have enjoyed the multiplayer aspect of the game, I'm willing to get more games in the series but for now, I'll be itching to see what EA and co can do with the inevitable Battlefield 4.

Epic, is truly the right word to describe this game. You feel like you are in a war zone. The smoke effects are one of the best I've ever seen in a game and how the sunlight causes you to squint your eyes due to the brightness feels so realistic. Another great detail that I thought was cool was the glare given off from a sniper scope in the bush, allowing me to counter snipe him just in time (this was in MP (Multiplayer) mode). I thought the Facebook style main page (battle log) was great way to manage contacting your friends and checking your stats against your mates (i think in mw3 (Modern Warfare 3) you have to pay for this added feature).

I don't know if this game will dominate MW3 but I have made up my mind just to buy this game alone. Perhaps maybe when Steam has a big ole sale and slashes the price down by half, then I'll purchase MW3 just to finish SP mode (Single player) and have a crack at the MP mode because one thing that I'll miss is the SND mode (Search and Destroy).

But driving a tank with your buddy and crushing your enemies with it, so much fun! I also like the squad base mechanics of the game. You work as a team and you will be ranking up and unlocking all those fantastic goodies in no time (game play tips: http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/battlefield-3/1210757p1.html ).

The SP (single player) mode has some great action pace sequences and some great memorable moments where you are left saying WOW! In the MP mode the load times take a bit longer to get into the game but all good things come to those who wait (maybe i need to upgrade my pc). I have noticed at times there are sound effects that are missing from both the SP and MP mode but its nothing major that a patch wouldn't fix. Now I played about 815 hours on MW2 since its release back in Nov '09 (most time ever spent on a FPS game) and if i beat that benchmark in less time, then I sure made a good decision going with BF3. Plus developers of the game listen to the community and have made improvements already to the battle log page. I'm sure there will be more patches to come as the game irons out the problems.

No doubt MW3 will be a great game as well but if you have limited time (or budget) to play 1 game, then let it be Battlefield 3.

Battlefield 3 is a solid military shooter. Gorgeous visuals, an amazing sound design, solid voice acting, and high levels of polish. The multiplayer is some of the best in the modern military shooter genre, and the modes and variety of maps are awesome.

The campaign makes one wonder what the point even was for DICE to try however. It's embarrassing whenever it tries to copy Call of Duty, it's like that wannabe kid who tries to ape the popular kid but looks like a dork. It's too on rails, lacks interactivity, and the story is uninteresting and lacks stakes and likable or interesting characters.

I've been waiting for this game to come out for the last year, specifically for the multiplayer. Single player? I can take it or leave it...and after hearing all the negatives about this campaign, I didn't hold my breath. Nevertheless, I was quite surprised when I eventually tackled it. Fair enough, it may not be very original, story-wise. Then again, what do you expect out of a Modern Combat shooter? Aliens? Giant gorillas? No? You expect what you see on the news! In light of this, then the story IS, in fact, entirely up to scratch. It's realistic. It's raw.

As for the multiplayer - well - it's absolutely heart pounding. I'm playing on PS3 and I was a little disappointed to discover that the graphics weren't a thousand leagues beyond bad company 2 (That's why I haven't rated it 10)...but still...there are times when you can't help but stop and admire some of the gorgeous textures, lighting, and movement. For a console, yes, I have to say that the graphics are very VERY beautiful! Next, the gameplay. Let's just say, during my first few rounds, I played with bated breath! It's chaos! The sound is fantastic, and nothing gets your heart pounding harder than the blur effect of oncoming suppressing fire! This IS war! By the way, I would like to say that i am an avid FPS player. I tell you this because I love the Call of Duty Franchise also. However, seen as MW3 looks like it'll be the version MW2.5, I really hope that battlefield 3 gives it a run for its money! My score: 9.2

This was my introduction to not only the series, but also to a more epic, larger-scale competitive first person shooter. During the beta, I felt overwhelmed and thought I'd never get the hang of it. With the encouragement of my buddies, I came to love this game. It is so epic and engaging!