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After spending about two weeks in Battlefield 3, I determined that the single-player campaign was a silly scenario held together by hastily scripted action sequences. The multiplayer mode is really where the game truly shines.
Battlefield 3 is probably the best multiplayer shooter that allows me to customize nearly every part of the experience to suit my needs.
In the same manner as the Modern Warfare games, I leveled up my soldier and switched to all the guns I preferred. As the battles continued, I found myself constantly changing the uniform colors and the add-ons to my guns. By the time I earned the tactical flashlight and the laser sight for my sidearm, I really started to enjoy my battles.
As a multiplayer game, Battlefield 3 actually isn't about the intense battles or the edgy graphics. It's more about exploring the maps and hiding under camouflage. It's about lying in prone position to avoid the sprays of bullets in the Tehran alleyways. It's about blinding soldiers with the flashlight before shooting them down. It’s really about defeating other soldiers in whatever manner works best for each person.
The game provides an incredible variety of gizmos to help the team gain the upper hand. One of my favorite tools is actually the recon unit's radio beacon. The simple device actually acts as a beacon for dead soldiers to spawn back to.
I actually helped my team win on the Operation Firestorm map with the radio. We had lost all the flags on the map. Thankfully, I posted a radio beacon on the far end of the dock for my teammates to parachute to. We managed to re-occupy this section of the map before we ran out of re-spawning tickets.
The jeeps, jets, helicopters, and tanks provide even more methods to defeat enemy soldiers. Although the game doesn’t explain the airplane controls very well, they add a unique touch to the humongous maps. I'm still not the best helicopter fighter, but I love dogfighting enemies in my jet. It's probably the most exhilarating aerial experience ever since I first piloted a jet in Ace Combat 4.
Even though I'm more skilled at using a tank, it actually wasn't my favorite vehicle in the game. Tanks just don't have the same mobility as a jet. I really hope I can obtain more upgrades for my fighter plane. Most of the re-spawning players tend to hog the jets for themselves. I don’t blame them. This is the closest that a game has ever come to hosting a massive multiplayer dogfight. Starfox 64 can't even come close to providing this type of aerial experience with players over the Internet.
After two weeks of Battlefield 3, I'm still enjoying the game. It provides all sorts of different ways to battle with other people. The humongous maps provide me with all the space I need to hide around. The special uniforms allow my soldier to blend into the environment.
I still have all sorts of gadgets to unlock. Battlefield 3 is quite possibly the best multiplayer game I have ever played. The single-player mode is easily forgettable, but I couldn’t possibly trade this game away. Besides, I still need to unlock the upgrades for my jets.
Does Battlefield 3 live up to the hype? Is the multiplayer mode all that it's cracked up to be? Or is Modern Warfare 3's arcade-style intensity better? Post your thoughts in the comments below.
