House of ZAN Forum

Ravage · Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 4:55 pm Post subject: Battlefield 3 Review

So I wanted a game to hold me over until either Old Republic, or Diablo 3 come into the picture and take what non-girlfriend free time I have left! Hence, I threw down the coin and bought BF3.
In a nutshell, for those few who might get it...here's the breakdown.

The Graphics - With my GeForce 6900, I actually fall below the factory suggested hardware. The game automatically adjusts to recommended settings for your hardware, and for me it set everything to horrible. That said, the graphics look solid (about on par with Half Life 2 at this stage), and I'm positive that when I upgrade my graphics (which I will need for Diablo anyway) it will look gorgeous. There are very few if any graphics glitches ingame.

The Network - For the most part, servers are much like they are for TF2. Some good, some bad. The only times I've ever had issues with stutter-stepping, rubber banding, etc. has always been related to network problems. I've played in several HUGE 64 player maps with planes, bombs, and whatnot going on constantly, and never experienced a bit of lag related to this (this also includes draw distance and terrain). For my out of date pc to run it this well is, frankly, suprising.

The Gameplay - If you played BF2, then BF3 is the same. There's really nothing to add here. Great gameplay.

The Unlocks - You can now customize guns and items as you go. There are only 4 classes, and you further specialize the classes by equipping certain items to augment the main weapons, or change out accessories. For example, I play mostly Support, and I can either equip C4 or Claymores (or more, as I unlock more). I can also choose between different gun sights, silencers, etc. You can also customize your camouflage through unlocks. You unlock mostly by usage...there are "levels" that give you rank and various other unlocks, but most weapon unlocks (as well as vehicle stuff) are gained only through using THAT item. It's a good system.

The Balance - Here's an issue. Some unlocks are obvious upgrades, and higher "level" people have access to way more stuff. You WILL get dominated by high level dudes. The nice thing is, almost every gun kills instantly. You can easily kill higher level guys, you just have to be better than them or get the drop on them. So it can be irritating when 1 on 1, but really, this game is about squad combat.

The Teamplay - I can't seem to find voicechat, honestly. I'm still working on that one, but the potential for great teamwork is there, and there is a very solid automatic system built in. For example, if I spot a sniper, my "guy" will automatically say on the radio "Enemy sniper detected". It works very well. I'm still totally befuddled on getting voicechat set up.

The Interface - Does "horrible as shit" sum it up? When you start the game, it opens a WEBPAGE for the game. This webpage has, first, a facebook-style profile of your character, with all ribbons, medals, unlocks, stats, etc. This is really cool. However, the website is also where you browse for servers. You pick a server, click "join", and then it starts the game immediately into the server. Consequently, changing servers if you don't like the one you're on just became irritating as hell. In addition, think about changing controls/video options/sound/etc. You have to be INGAME to change these...meaning you need to join a server to change settings (or start a campaign, but who does that?). If the server boots you while adjusting settings, oh darn, you get to start over.

The "STEAM" - Yeup, EA wants to be Valve. It doesn't work. "Origin" is their version of Steam, and you MUST play the game through origin. Thankfully, I have not noticed any software issues with running Origin, even concurrently with Steam. I haven't tinkered with it much, but it is, as you might expect, NOT as good as steam.

The frustration factor - Basically, you have to expect to die. A lot. You seldom can see your opponents if they are in areas appropriate to their camo. Thankfully, respawn timers are short (they need to be in this game), and respawning allows you to change tactical position more quickly than roaming through these huge-ass maps. Grenades are still irritating as hell, and responsible for about 50% of my deaths. Tanks are also tougher to take out in BF3, and engineers are much better at repairing vehicles. You'll often see teams of 5-6 engis hanging around one tank, basically making it a megatank. Thankfully, you cna just bomb the crap outta those engis, but it's still really effective. Also, tanks can now shoot machine guns at close range, so C4ing them is much harder.

That's my take so far. I think it was worth the $50, but if you didn't like the series before, this won't be for you. Oh, did I mention there seems to ALREADY be an expansion? Yeah - Fuck EA.

Plague · Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 5:25 pm Post subject:

already pre-order Modern Warfare 3 since it included local LAN server functionality. from what I have read from Nexus and LANOC they have fix a ton of the issue with the beta (THANK GOD). But still isn't on my list to buy.
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Jared Sellars (a.k.a. Plague)

Grand Master Sef · Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 5:46 pm Post subject:

i LOVED BF2 & I REALLY wanna get BF3...but EA & no money = I'm playing TF2 & PS3 right now. I have NO idea why someone hasn't tried to fill the VOID that in the last six years since BF2. Everyone makes ground shooters but no one makes full on combat with vehicles & objectives, etc.

Enter BF3 & yeah, more EA crap. I'm so sick of them & I don't wanna support them. If I get BF3 it'll probably be some combo with all their 499 expansions that they'll make for the game OOOOOOOOOOOOR, I'll just get the BF2 expansion/game combo & play that...cuz its still going.
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Ravage · Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 6:23 pm Post subject:

BF2 was followed by several BF:Bad Company's...hence the delay before BF3.

Plague · Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 11:08 pm Post subject:

Ya, I have BF: Bad Company and Bad Company Vietnam
_________________
"Never fear, I is here!"
Jared Sellars (a.k.a. Plague)

Grand Master Sef · Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2011 3:06 pm Post subject:

yes I know ALL about the Bad Company games because they were bad. No vehicles = COD rip off. Who cares? Again, I don't get the void for a game like this.
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Ravage · Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2011 4:28 pm Post subject:

I think DICE is the only company that really makes a game like this. According to the IGN and Gamespot reviews, a few other companies have attempted and fallen flat. I do agree, only the Battlefield series has really nailed tactical vehicular military shooters. The balance, given all factors, is very very good, and the tactical play is unparalleled.

That said, I'm not sure why more companies haven't tried. I bet Valve or Blizzard could turn the genre on its ear. I personally would LOVE to see Starcraft done in the style of Command and Conquer: Renegade, which was arguable the ORIGINAL "Battlefield" game.

Grand Master Sef · Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2011 7:58 pm Post subject:

Erik Dodd · Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 4:19 pm Post subject:

I got BF3 for xbox and I'm not impressed. Gonna trade it in for MW3.
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Ravage · Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 3:19 pm Post subject:

for a console? There's your problem. Battlefield has REALLY complex controls...not good for consoles.

commandertracker · Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 10:55 pm Post subject:

Prometheus · Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 11:41 am Post subject:

I think I will be getting MW3 for 360 I did not enjoy the vehicle combat in earlier games so I think this game is not for me