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Battlefield 3 PC Beta Impressions September 30, 2011 Jacob Vandy VanDerWerf |
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Summary: The Battlefield 3 open beta is upon us! Available now on all three platforms, it's a chance for you to get a sneak peek at the upcoming military FPS that EA/DICE hopes will dethrone Call of Duty. It's also the public debut of the new Frostbite 2.0 game engine, which requires DirectX 10 and looks more than a treat. 32-player infantry-focused Rush map Operation Metro is being served to thousands of gamers around the world as we speak; soak in some impressions of that map and the game in general, as well as the limited-time run of 64-player Conquest map Caspian Border, in today's article!
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The Battlefield 3 open beta is upon us! Following the super-exclusive pre-order bonus of 48 hours early access (which wasn’t really that exclusive or early), every Tom, Dick, and Harry can jump in and join the fun of playing an early build of DICE/EA’s upcoming military shooter. This is the one they hope will dethrone Call of Duty, and while its success in that endeavor is yet TBD, it’s already quite clear that BF3 is one hell of a ride. The beta is available on all three platforms, but PC players can grab it from the Free Games section of the Origin store. Of course, the Origin client and use of the Battlelog website (with its browser plugin) is required, as is a DirectX 10-capable graphics card and Windows Vista or above.
We meet again, Metro…
As in the closed alpha test, the main focus of the open beta is Operation Metro, a 32-player Rush map that takes place in and around a Paris subway system. It consists of American soldiers assaulting Russian forces that seem to have garrisoned the city and are defending it with SAM sites. The attackers must plant charges on the M-COM stations and disable them, then proceed in similar fashion through the subway tunnels before emerging in the city proper. The fighting rages fiercely along the lush, green park, dark tunnels, and urban streets alike, with the linear design resulting in very defined front lines, choke points, and defensive positions. Teamwork and coordination is key if the attackers are going to succeed; sadly you will probably find such qualities to be in short supply among the throngs of camping snipers that would rather watch from afar as you make one vain attempt after another to complete the objective.
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As anyone who’s seen videos of Battlefield 3 in action knows that it is perhaps the best-looking game to date, thanks to the brand spanking new Frostbite 2.0 engine. It was built from the ground up to natively support DirectX 10/11, with super-realistic lighting effects and real-time destruction and terrain deformation bringing to life some of the most detailed environments ever seen on a computer screen. Being an unfinished build, the beta does not offer all of the bells and whistles that will feature in the final product, which makes how good it looks now all the more impressive. The landscape is covered with foliage that sways with the wind (or explosions), trees are casting dynamic soft shadows as dust, debris, and embers float about… The first time you play, you’re likely to be killed several times while you stop to smell the roses!
Once you decide you’re ready to take combat seriously, you’ll be awe-struck a second time when you realize how intense and satisfying it is. No other game comes close to reproducing the sights and sounds of war as accurately as BF3, not even last year’s Bad Company 2. Explosions and weapons firing are so pronounced, audible throughout the map and modeled so accurately, you can not only tell what direction it’s coming from, but whether the bullets flying past your head are hitting stone or dirt behind you, as well. This constant symphony of destruction combines with existing background noises and vistas to create a convincing feeling of being in a full-scale war, as opposed to some isolated skirmish in a sterile arena.
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The ability to go prone makes a very welcome return to the franchise in Battlefield 3, completely changing the way you fight on foot. Hit the deck when you’re shot, run across a road and dive into cover on the other side, or slink slowly and methodically on your belly through the bushes to catch defenders unaware -- I feel options such as these are worth letting the campers have a lower profile (it makes it easier to hit them in the head, anyway). Although, crawling does seem to exacerbate one of the biggest issues with the game right now…
There’s some kind of issue with the terrain geometry and how it detects your movement across it, leading to a type of quicksand syndrome, where you’re liable to start sinking into the ground at any moment. The phenomenon is all too common in the first stage of Operation Metro, with some areas capable of swallowing you whole and getting you stuck under the map (where you can see up through the bottom and shoot people). Oddly enough, some servers don’t have the problem at all.
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| Caspian Border Gameplay | Page:: ( 2 / 2 ) |
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Even though DICE/EA saw fit to have most people in the beta playing the linear, infantry-focused Operation Metro, there were about 30 servers running a much bigger, much awesomer map: Caspian Border. This one is the real Battlefield deal, a gigantic, 64-player expanse with enough room for dozens of vehicles, including jets (and that’s not the biggest map in the game). Despite the servers being password-protected, everyone and their mother was trying to get in, thanks to the code words being leaked everywhere, including the Battlelog forums. Succeeding was like winning the lottery, and boy, the jackpot sure was sweet.
If you’re wondering why I’m referring to it in the past tense, that’s because all the Caspian Border servers were closed down today, with the announcement that its “testing has been completed.” What’s worse is that, once you get a taste of the true BF3 experience with 48 or 64 players and vehicles, Operation Metro seems so crappy in comparison! I couldn’t even begin to tell you how long I spent sitting here refreshing the server browser and trying over and over to join a full server that had a slot open just half a second ago... Like an addict trying to get a fix, the slim chance of getting into a laggy game of Conquest was a far better use of time than playing the same old Rush.
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Luckily, I was able to play a few hours of Caspian Border over the past couple days, and I have to say it was fan-effing-tastic. It’s the map they’ve shown in screenshots with the jets and towering antenna, plus rolling green hills and a forest complete with babbling brook. The map is so big that you need to use a vehicle to get around, at least from the spawn to the central area where all the control points are clustered together. Yes, this is Conquest, so the point is to capture and hold the flags, not stand around the runway waiting for the planes to spawn, you bastards… On the bright side, everyone wanting to fly means there’s plenty of stuff to shoot down with AA guns and missiles. I had a few lovely rounds where I spent the whole time in a Tunguska or stationary gatling gun, racking up points for “disabling” (I don’t know what that actually means, if they can still fly and shoot) and destroying jets and helos.
More conventional fun is certainly available if you’re set to looking after those flags. As I mentioned, there are dozens of vehicles on this map, including tanks, LAV/APCs, jeeps, mobile AA, attack helicopters, and jets. Each one has its use, but the real strength lies in numbers of boots on the ground, capping and defending flags. With all the foliage, clutter, and buildings, there is no shortage of places to hunker down. Stealthy players will love the ability to hide in the bushes or the shadowy corners of a building, where you can sit quietly while enemies move all around you. It helps that they neutered the “Spot Enemy” spam, and infantry markers will disappear if you don’t have line of sight. Almost makes me feel sorry for the guy in the tank that just couldn’t get a bead on me, despite laying RPG after RPG into him. If he had the sense to know when he’s outmatched and run away, his armor would regenerate just like my health does. Sounds controversial, I know, but it takes about 20-30 seconds after you’ve taken damage to start slowly increasing by about 2 HP/sec.
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Though the classes are the same four from Battlefield 2142, with the assault medics and resupplying supports, character progression in BF3 has grown immensely. You’re used to unlocking new weapons and gadgets for each class by playing them, but you also gain new universal equipment and perks by ranking up. Additionally, every primary weapon has its own progression, netting you a wide variety of attachments including scopes, silencers, flashlights, bipods, and laser sights for the weapons you use the most. Add all of that to the usual award ribbons for stuff like kill streaks, reviving lots of teammates, and winning the round, and your post-match report screen will make you feel really good about yourself. The sheer volume of unlockables means the obsessive completionists will take longer than a week to “finish” the game, while normal players might not ever do so.
Needless to say, anybody that is looking forward to the release of Battlefield 3 shouldn’t miss this chance to get an early look at the game. If you’re not dedicated enough to weather the glitches and lagginess, at least experience the technical prowess of Frostbite 2.0 for a round or two. Plus it’s a good opportunity to see if your gaming rig is up to snuff, which it probably will be so long as you’re DirectX 10-capable. You have until October 10th to try it, and after that it’s only a couple more weeks until the full game releases. Even though I’m sad to see Caspian Border go away (those console saps never got a chance at that one), I still plan to play some more throughout the weekend, so maybe I’ll see you out there, soldier!
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