There is a lot to be excited about when it comes to Battlefield 3.
E3 enabled the sampling of perhaps one of the most often discussed and eagerly awaited features since the first announcement of this inevitable sequel. Namely, going prone.
I lay on the ground constantly. It was everything I wanted from prone and more.
The Battlefield 3 multiplayer classes include Assault, Engineer, Support and Recon, all of which have been significantly modified. Some could argue they have been tempered, since the assault class is now a medic. Some could also be wrong. And they are.
The support class is particularly entertaining to play due to the bi-pod addition. The bi-pod automatically drops down when you deploy zoom whilst in prone or against a surface. It reduces recoil and increases the accuracy of the machine gun. In addition, you can lay down cover fire that produces a graphical effect on a nearby enemy's screen that is reminiscent of a flash-bang.
Primary weapons for each class in these demo, each of which also has a pistol, include the M249 (Support), MKII Sniper, M8 Pistol and C4 Explosives (Recon), M16A4 (Assault) and M4A1 and SMAW Rocket Launcher (Engineer).
Three attachments are available for each primary weapon, which isn't exactly up to the Ghost Recon Gunsmith level, but it could be wagered this expanded albeit limited approach has better long-term results for gameplay.
Today we play-tested 32-player multiplayer Rush on the PC version with mouse and keyboard, naturally.
The four phase area witnessed featured Operation Metro, which has been briefly sighted in trailers. The operation story is that the Paris stock exchange is being taken over by The Enemy. After you knock out the communication satellites, the next round begins seamlessly, with you essentially blowing a hole into the subway. There is no pause in gameplay and the new area simply opens up in front of you. You work your way forward through all these areas if your team executes its objectives successfully.
DICE Product Manager Tommy Rydling made note that each of these areas will additionally be standalone deathmatch maps. This mechanic complemented a faster-paced feel to the game. You still have to wait for respawns, there are still no kill cameras, and we are richer for the experience.
The game's graphics are difficult to overstate. The Frostbite 2 engine blows away any current shooter, and will give any upcoming big budget alternates a run for their money. Displaying it on custom built PCs with the latest and greatest graphical technology didn't hurt, but it looks wonderful. It will be interesting how this scales down to the Xbox 360 and PS3, however.
After trying out the engineer's handy rocket launcher at the prompting of a developer, I got to see first hand at the damage you can deal to structures in multiplayer and it is impressive. You can fully expose enemy snipers and campers. This was re-iterated in the presentation, with developers noting that destruction is a hugely tactical element in the game.
I had a brief run-in with the Light Armour Infantry Vehicle before it was busted up and subsequently repaired by an engineer. In its pre-alpha state vehicle driving and gunning didn't appear too different. In the presentation it was noted that vehicles will also be customizable in a similar fashion to guns.
Dog tags are also back, as I apparently had mine ripped off by a bot or QA tester somewhere far away. You can customize the tags with your favourite in-game stats and they automatically update. Taking tags has increased in difficulty in this iteration and requires a stealth knife attack from behind to claim your prize.
Unfortunately, I didn't see any jets. Sorry everyone. Might have to wait to try that out yourselves during the open beta set for September.
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