Battlefield 3 campaign Hands-On

You've been playing the Battlefield 3 multiplayer open beta, but how does the single-player stack up? Garnett plays three levels and shares his thoughts, plus gives a peek at co-op.

Garnett Lee

October 7, 2011 7:15 AM

With its open beta running across all three platforms--PC, PS3, and Xbox 360--Battlefield 3 got everyone talking about the upcoming game's multiplayer modes. Not all of that buzz was positive, either, but the series' track record as the standard for large scale online multiplayer combat affords the game some leeway. Battlefield 3 executive producer Patrick Bach acknowledged this, and told a group of assembled media, "the core of any Battlefield is multiplayer." He then turned us loose on the first three chapters of Battlefield 3's take on a modern single-player campaign. Let's not dance around the subject because, having played it, I can tell you Battlefield 3 certainly doesn't. The success of Call of Duty has had a tremendous impact on the military shooter genre, and established though it may be, even Battlefield 3 has felt its impact. The new single-player campaign aims to be an awe-inspiring cinematic experience that takes many of its cues from blockbuster war films. Not that that in itself is a bad thing. But the feeling I had from playing the first three levels of the campaign was that it didn't do much to distinguish itself as a Battlefield game. I say three; there was a brief intro mission as well but EA asked that it not be shared to avoid spoiling the game's story. The core of the action picked up with two levels played as a US soldier, part of a squad sent to find out what happened to a recon patrol missing in a dangerous part of an Iraqi city. Battlefield doesn't pull any punches when it comes to international hot spots. The back story I learned of the game painted the picture of a radical terrorist group working in the midst of an Iranian-Iraqi conflict to disrupt the governments and take over in a coup. Oh, and if that's not dramatic enough; they happen to launch their attack right when a massive earthquake hits. I'm betting that's not entirely a coincidence. The action unfolded pretty much as I've grown to expect from similar games. As my squad moved through the dusty Middle Eastern streets, areas that looked good for an ambush always were, and enemies would attack in groups. My squadmates were good for a plenty of thunder and flash but I'd have to take down the majority of the bad guys to clear the area. From there we moved on to the next firefight with a few dramatic up-close moments along the way like breaching a door, or knifing a rat who got in my way as I was crawling through a sewer.

In enemy territory

There's no denying that Battlefield 3 has the presentation chops to pull off this sort of spectacle in top form. I played on PC (an AMD Phenom II 3.9GHz-based system with 8GB of RAM and a Radeon HD 6900 video card) and the game put on an impressive show. It's not simply that the game looks pretty; it also sports very believable detail touches that make it feel more realistic. And as I've noted in the beta, the sound effects solidify that effect with real earth-shaking reverb from the concussion of heavy fire, or an earthquake, and bullet impact sounds that make me cringe at times. For all that brings to the table, it doesn't make it especially Battlefield. But from only these two levels I'm undecided on how much that matters to me. It was fun, and, outside of couple Simon-says quick time cinematic struggles, played with mouse and keyboard like a PC game, not a ported-over console game. I couldn't help but think to myself, though, that it missed the opportunity to use some of its Battlefield heritage to do something other than out-Call of Duty-ing Call of Duty. At the very least I'd hoped that some element of the classes in multiplayer would be part of the experience. Playing a role for my teammates is one of the most rewarding parts of Battlefield and helping players to get a taste of that seems like a natural way to combat the tendency new players online often have of expecting to just hop in a game and run around and shoot people. The final preview level took a step toward bringing in the Battlefield feel, though not in a way dramatically different than its competitors do for a change of pace. Hopping into the back seat of an F/A-18 as the weapons officer, I launched off an aircraft carrier as part of a surgical strike to take out a high value target in the terrorist leadership. We were intercepted by MIGs and a wild dogfight ensued. While the pilot wove a twisting course of high-g turns through the sky it was my job to keep my eyes on the bogies, use our weapons--guns and lock-on missiles--to take them out, and deploy countermeasures when they got on our six and fired on us. I had to keep my head on a swivel to follow the action, with the plane twisting and turning all the while. It was intense and unlike anything I'd done before, though I suspect motion sickness could be an issue for those susceptible.

Jetting off

The second part of the airstrike took a more familiar turn. Switching to attack the surface I used our guided missiles to take out SAM sites so the heavier attack aircraft could make their runs, then I used the laser designator to make sure their bombs struck home. My flight time concluded with a night landing back on the aircraft carrier, one of the hairiest flight operations around, but I was only a passive observer watching from the rear seat as we touched down. My day with Battlefield 3 also included a deeper look at its multiplayer modes. This included co-op, though I had to switch to PS3 as it wasn't in the PC build at the event. These two-player missions are challenges, without respawns. My teammate and I could revive each other when down, but if we both became incapacitated, it was back to the start again. Having played single-player all day on normal difficulty, it was immediately noticeable that the intensity had been dialed up a little to offset the advantage of having a human partner. Back on PC, I also got a healthy dose of Battlefield 3's core online multiplayer, including a full scale 64 player conquest match on Operation Firestorm. Jets, helis, Humvees, tanks, and all the classes doing their thing made it undeniably Battlefield. A number of low warehouse structures provided shelter and tricky firing positions for covering flag points stand around the map. It felt good to be back in that sort of battle, which reinforces the argument that the Metro level in the beta, while nice for showing off the improved gun handling for on foot combat, doesn't play to the game's greatest strength. In that same way, though, the demo reflects the impression I came away with from spending the day with Battlefield 3. Its core game remains as strong as ever and with the power of the new game engine, absolutely enthralling. The rest of the pieces that round out the full Battlefield 3 package, as well as they may be done, don't seem to connect with the Battlefield identity quite so well. But maybe that also reflects my time spent with so many Battlefield games. Battlefield 3 presumes modern expectations demand that the series grow beyond its multiplayer foundation. We'll know how well it stands up to that test soon enough when we get our hands on the full game for review. [Developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts, Battlefield 3 is coming to PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on October 25.]

Garnett Lee

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Shacknews

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October 7, 2011 7:15 AM

Garnett Lee posted a new article, Battlefield 3 campaign Hands-On.

You've been playing the Battlefield 3 multiplayer open beta, but how does the single-player stack up? Garnett plays three levels and shares his thoughts, plus gives a peek at co-op.
- Haxim
  
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  October 7, 2011 7:55 AM
  
  Are the co-op missions separate maps? Or are you just replaying levels from the SP campaign with a buddy?
- wytefang
  
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  October 7, 2011 7:56 AM
  
  There's word on the street that Valve and EA are in last-minute talks about still possibly bringing it to STEAM. I won't hold my breath but it would obviously be welcome news for fans of STEAM, if true.
  - Haxim
    
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    October 7, 2011 8:02 AM
    
    There's no word on the street. It was one made-up article some fansite posted as linkbait.
  - sreyes22
    
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    October 7, 2011 8:38 AM
    
    it's a rumor from a blog site, and posts like yours just perpetuate said rumor, stop it.
    - wytefang
      
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      October 7, 2011 10:55 PM
      
      Time will tell, I imagine.
  - Artifex33
    
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    October 10, 2011 10:44 AM
    
    At this point, I would be very irritated if that happened. I grudgingly prepurchased via Origin, a system which is already leaving a bad taste in my mouth by automatically starting up when I start Windows, with no option to turn that off.
    
    If they do this, then I'd better be able to transfer management of that purchase to Steam.
    - technotica
      
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      October 10, 2011 11:37 AM
      
      actually you can. ( mine doesnt boot up with windows) ironically now that im looking for how to do it i cant find the option.
- duffman03
  
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  October 7, 2011 7:56 AM
  
  Oh yes. Flying a jet in a single player campaign. Is this a first for PC games (other than flight sims..)?
  - Haxim
    
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    October 7, 2011 7:58 AM
    
    Not flying, riding gunner in.
    - duffman03
      
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      October 7, 2011 8:10 AM
      
      Damn, you're correct. Didn't notice the other helmet in front. Would have been pretty awesome to get to fly in single player, but I can see how hard that would be to integrate into a linear storyline
      - Haxim
        
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        October 7, 2011 8:15 AM
        
        Rather than doing forensic analysis of the photo, you could just read the paragraph above it ;)
        
        duffman03
        
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        October 7, 2011 8:58 AM
        
        I like pictures more though..
  - Evil Bones
    
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    October 7, 2011 8:13 AM
    
    First (or only) I can recall piloting an aircraft in a FPS single-player campaign was Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault.
    - Wadmaasi
      
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      October 7, 2011 8:18 AM
      
      Halo: Reach has a very well-done snubfighter combat segment. It was my favorite part of reach and left me wishing they'd make a full game out of it.
      - Sailor of Fortune
        
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        October 7, 2011 9:48 PM
        
        Yeah. Brought back memories of Crimson Skies for Xbox. Looking back a flight sim/shooter in an open world worked!
  - Wadmaasi
    
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    October 7, 2011 8:17 AM
    
    I've never played a BF game but that part sounded pretty fucking awesome. The "level design" concept of letting the AI pilot engage in real dogfighting maneuvers (instead of simply degenerating into the flight sim equivalent of circle-strafing that most of us would fall into) is very intriguing.
    - Beady
      
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      October 7, 2011 8:29 AM
      
      I'm pretty sure the plane will just be following a pre-set path to 'avoid' the spawned in and similarly pathed enemy planes.
      - Wadmaasi
        
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        October 7, 2011 8:35 AM
        
        Which kills replayability, sure, but means they can bake in some genuine ACM shenanigans. That would be sweet.
  - sigpro
    
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    October 7, 2011 8:37 AM
    
    I think the original Operation Flashpoint had a mission or two where you had to fly a jet. I know it had missions where you had to fly attack helicopters.
- tw3kr
  
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  October 8, 2011 12:12 PM
  
  This is why I despise video game journalism. What about the bugs, man? Is this game even going to be playable in two weeks? 'Cos from what I've played of the open beta, there is a good game hiding in there somewhere, it's just not accessible because of all the glitches.
- excessus
  
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  October 9, 2011 11:16 AM
  
  I am going to need a demo of the singleplayer campaign before deciding on buying...
- pizzaput
  
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  October 9, 2011 1:32 PM
  
  The larger Bf3 maps are very tiny compared to Bf2's maps, and the design of them is more Bad Company than it is Battlefield, with flag zones clustered together and no space between them. Read what the Battlefield community is saying about them on the official forums:
  http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/battlefield-3/1438307-my-body-isnt-ready-dice-index-threads-about-communitys-concerns.html
  - ManiacalMoose
    
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    October 10, 2011 3:15 AM
    
    So much whining in that thread. Yeah, I remember BF2s huge maps, and I also remember running across them for minutes at a time without anything significant or interesting happening before getting sniped or bombed and then having to start running all over again.
  - Artifex33
    
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    October 10, 2011 10:47 AM
    
    Really, my time on Caspian Border made it seem to me that the levels were ungodly-huge, and so much so that it became almost required to hop a ride to get anywhere on the battlefield.
  - technotica
    
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    October 10, 2011 11:39 AM
    
    i was pretty much expecting this.