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Updated: Dices Battlefield 3 Multiplayer Is Awesome, For Sure! Pete the Pro Has His Thoughts and Review!

A lot has been said about Dices new Xbox 360 video game, Battlefield 3. How great is the game? Should there be a prone position? Hey, how are the damn graphics? Is it better than the bug ridden Operation Metro beta? Read on for a realistic mini review by our resident gamer, Pete The Pro.

The following review is based on the newly introduced EA/DICE video game Battlefield 3 Multiplayer (MP) . While the whole game is awesome, I have not played the single player campaign yet. When I do, this review will be updated.

Let me give you a perspective from someone who is not married to video games (play about 6 -10 hours a week), who almost always plays as a random..so my KD never gets above 1.0 (though when I am on a team, it does) and who plays COD and Battlefield because there are more important things in life then to worry about a video game and which one is best..And who also has the attitude that the whole idea of gaming on a 360 with friends all over the world is amazing..and we are lucky the darn thing works at all. And above all, I am not super critical when it comes to games, I play for enjoyment and I know how hard it is to design a game for market and the countless hours and manpower it takes to do it. Am I a hardcore gamer? I would say yes because I appreciate a video game, understand how it works and look for playability and the ever important fun factor.

So let’s get to it. Battlefield 3 is a great video game. See? That was easy. Coming from the Battlefield 3 Operation Metro Beta, it’s leaps and bounds more playable. Yes, there are some things floating once in a while. My soldier crawls about an inch off the ground (but never falls through) and sometimes the hit detection is a little off. The cars look like crapola and some of the outlying buildings and stuff look like there were lifted from Rainbow 6….

But, with all that being said, there are things about the game which really make it enjoyable and elevate it to greatness status, and they are the opposite of the negatives listed above.

When you are running full tilt down an alley, literally hopping over obstacles with your legs swinging, it feels so life like you say to yourself, wow, is this cool. When you look down at the rain puddles, and they are actually photo realistic, you say to yourself, awesome! And when you take your time to pick a guy off with a dead on shot (with a scar, not a sniper rifle) or 2 at a 100 meters, it feels great. Because that same gun, in wild spraying action, needs a half as clip at 10 feet to do the same. Very nice indeed! Your soldier reacts smoothly and the play style is very fluid and smooth.

I have played most of the maps more than a few times, and never once did I feel like I was trapped by prone snipers. There has always been a work around to either take him out of commission or avoid him entirely.

The graphics are better than OK, maybe even great considering the size of the maps and they are certainly better than Bad Company 2. There is less of the dusty graininess that Dice employed in that game. The maps have more color and the textures up close are sweet (we have the texture pack installed). It seems like the immediate playing environment always looks great, and the outlying areas a little worse for wear, but lets face it, the game has to come to market at one time or another so you have to prioritize what to spend time on when you are designing a game. The rocks you are crawling on look tremendous, the leaves you are crawling through look real and the dirt you are running on is , well, runnable. Another big feature is the sound. Yes, I know Battlefield and Dice have always been known for the great sound effects, esp in the Bad Company series. But yesterday I am playing and I duck between two rocks and all of a sudden I hear water running. I turn around and there is a small stream. Boy, did that put a smile on my face. Awesome details like that make Battlefield 3 a winner.

Even Operation Metro looks like a lush park. A very noticeable difference from the Beta. That alone makes the map more enjoyable and playable then the Beta originally presented.

The game play is, for lack of a better word, sweet. Like I mentioned previously, you never feel trapped anywhere. There is a solution to every problem. Either a different spawn point, a different route or an alternative weapon to get that camping prone sniper. And I imagine that as I rank up, the choice of weapons available will add to the solutions. All you have to do to have fun in this game is realize that this is a thinking mans game. Battlefield 3 is not spray and play by any stretch of the imagination. And, here’s the best part. The more I play, the better the game gets. I am starting to pick out the little playing nuances that Dice designed into the game to give it the fun factor and the greatness it deserves. I can see myself playing for hours, days and yes, even months to come.

All this adds up to a very playable game and more than that, a very enjoyable game. You feel a sense of defeat when you lose and a Hell, Yeah! when your team wins. And in my eyes, it doesn’t get better than that.

So if you have any doubts, not to worry. If you are a gamer who enjoys first person shooters, this one is the grand daddy of them all. Battlefield 3 is a true classic that will have first person shooter fans and Battlefield veterans alike clamoring for more. ~ Pete The Pro

UPDATE: Two weeks into the game has really heightened my appreciation of the work DICE has put into Battlefield 3. First off, they have done a great job of stabilizing the servers. Rubber banding and lag are pretty much non-existent. Game play is getting smoother all the time and I am starting to pick out little details that really make the game great. Playing as an Engineer and spending time in the tanks I have come to appreciate how they move and operate. The other day I flipped one going down a ravine and it almost made be dizzy and disoriented it was so lifelike. And get this…I am upside down and rotating the turret. I hopped out wondering how this could be and I saw the tank wedged between 2 boulders with the turret hanging in the space in between them so it had moving room. Now, that was cool.

And the sound effects are really coming into play too. I was in a room the other day and moved a folding metal chair. It sounded just like a real metal chair scraping on the floor. Maybe it’s just me, but I love all the attention to details in this game.

I went back to play Bad Company 2 just to compare the games and as soon as I moved my soldier I was done. BC2 is not even close to this game when it comes to in game soldier mechanics.

An speaking of soldier mechanics, as I learn the traffic patterns of the maps (and there are plenty to learn), I am appreciating all the hard works Dice put into the maps as well. Can’t wait for Back to Karkland Map Pack and Wake Island.

Dice has stated they are releasing a ton of DLC for Battlefield 3…and there are rumors that a New York City map is coming. Heli’s in between skyscrapers for the win!