Battlefield 3 - Xbox 360

Battlefield 3: Aftermath Trailer

2012-11-27T18:42:00Z

The fourth expansion for Battlefield 3, Aftermath, launches today for premium members on PlayStation 3. The content adds four new urban maps, a new Scavenger mode, a crossbow, ten new assignments, dog tags, trophies, achievements and more.

Below are the dates when Aftermath launches for everyone else:

PlayStation 3

Battlefield 3 Premium Members - November 27
Battlefield 3 Players - December 11

Xbox 360 and PC

Battlefield 3 Premium Members - December 4
Battlefield 3 Players - December 18

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EA Drops More Battlefield 3: Armored Kill Screens

2012-08-03T01:42:00Z

Continuing Electronic Art's media blitz today, we received some tasty new screenshot of the upcoming Armored Kill expansion for the company's blockbuster shooter Battlefield 3. Armored Kill will add five new vehicles to the game plus a new gameplay mode called Tank Superiority. Battlefield 3 Premium members will get access to Armored Kill two weeks before everyone else.

For an in-depth look at Armored Kill, check out Matt Bertz's hands-on impressions of the game.

Battlefield 3 Trailer Bonanza!

2012-06-06T17:06:00Z

We've got two new trailers for EA's Battlefield 3. One shows off the new Close Quarters expansion pack, which brings shooter fans hectic, up-close-and-personal combat. The second trailer details the game's new Call of Duty Elite-inspired Battlefield Premium service.

Close Quarters Trailer:

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Battlefield Premium Trailer:

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Battlefield 3's Wake Island Is The Star In Explosive New Trailer

2011-12-06T16:06:24Z

Fan-favorite Wake Island is back in Battlefield 3, as part of the upcoming Back to Karkand expansion. Check it out in this all-new gameplay trailer.

PlayStation 3 owners will be able to download the expansion today, with Xbox 360 and PC players getting it a week later. If you bought the game's limited edition, the content will be available at no cost. Otherwise, expect to shell out $14.99 or 1,200 Microsoft Points.

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New Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand Screens Show Off Strike At Karkand Map

2011-11-08T17:02:39Z

There is an expansion pack coming to Battlefield 3 called Back to Karkand and these screens are from the new multiplayer map, Strike at Karkand, which is slightly confusing. The first expansion pack will be releasing in December, and along with the new map Strike at Karkand you'll also get Wake Island, Gulf of Oman and Sharqi Peninsula.

The expansion will also have new dog tags, new achievements and trophies, new vehicles, 10 iconic Battlefield weapons, and a new persistence system that offers rewards for completed assignments.

Click here to read our full review for Battlefield 3, and get ready for some new content in December.

Battlefield 3 'Back to Karkand' Hits In December

2011-10-28T20:19:00Z

The first expansion pack for Battlefield 3 will hit in December, EA confirmed today.

The Back to Karkand expansion contains four "remastered" Battlefield 2 maps: Strike at Karkand, Wake Island, Gulf of Oman and Sharqi Peninsula. The expansion also contains five new dog tags, five new achievements/trophies, three new vehicles (DPV, BTR-90, F-35B STOVL jet fighter), 10 Battlefield weapons and a new persistence system where you can complete assignments to earn rewards.

Back to Karkand is available for free if you pre-ordered the Battlefield 3 Limited Edition. Pricing details were not announced.

Battlefield 3 Console Review: Smaller Maps, But Still Elite

2011-10-26T22:04:59Z

Modern first-person shooters have started to resemble big-budget Hollywood blockbusters in recent years, a trend that has received both praise and criticism from gaming audiences. Being shuttled from one explosive set piece moment to another can be thrilling, but when this formula is overused it feels you’ve boarded an on-rails Disneyland ride. While the Battlefield 3 campaign isn’t devoid of this feeling, its multiplayer offers a much more natural (and rewarding) sense of large-scale action. With dozens of players battling across nine massive maps in tanks, jeeps, helicopters, jets, and on foot, multiplayer matches feel like a genuine war rather than a small-scale skirmish.

Whether you’re playing through the tense campaign or spending countless hours in multiplayer, Battlefield 3 greatly benefits from the stunning Frostbite 2 engine. Playing Battlefield 3 on consoles is mostly the same experience as the PC version, but it’s not identical. The game looks gorgeous no matter what system you’re playing on, but you’ll notice more pop-in and framerate drops on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The framerate tops out at 30, but occasional dips will occur if there is a lot of concentrated activity or several incoming vehicles at the same time. During an intense firefight on a bridge, I noticed a helicopter chugging along at a drastically reduced framerate at one point. That said, character animations are smooth and realistic, explosions have significant weight to them, and environments get torn apart in showers of concrete and debris.

While the slight step down in terms of graphical quality might irk some, the only significant gameplay difference is the 24-player limit on consoles. These 24-player matches are great fun, but they don’t have the impact that massive 64-player PC battles do. Maps are scaled down to accommodate this lower limit, so PC players will be playing on giant versions of maps that console players will never see. Even with the lower player count, I noticed occasional lag during console multiplayer bouts that I never ran into on PC. Console multiplayer may not operate on as big of a scale as the PC version, but at least it doesn’t require you to deal with Battlelog every time you want to play the game or switch modes.

Rather than delivering sweeping changes to the series’ multiplayer format, DICE chose more subtle tweaks for Battlefield 3. As with Bad Company 2, players can choose from four classes, but the assault and medic classes are now merged (with the now-open fourth slot dedicated to the LMG-toting, ammo-dropping support class). I loved both classes in Bad Company 2, so the ability to throw medkits and revive teammates while blasting away with assault weaponry is ideal. In a move that should please snipers and potentially annoy sniping victims, the ability to go prone returns. It’s as annoying as ever to get picked off by camping recon players, but the kill cam and scope glint should tip observant players off to their locations.

Rush, Conquest, Team Deathmatch, and the squad variants are all solid modes. The size of the maps, variety of vehicles, and overall scale make for some fantastic moments that couldn’t be recreated if you tried. During a match on the Operation Firestorm map, I was taking out enemy tanks by performing sweeping runs with my jet. After the opposing team lost a couple of vehicles, they sent their own fighter into the sky to hunt me down. Once my plane took too much punishment, I ejected and parachuted down to a nearby rooftop. As my teammates battled for flag control a couple of stories below me, I pulled out a stinger, locked onto my airborne attacker, and took the plane down with a homing rocket. I watched it crash about 100 feet in front of me, then hopped down to join the battle for the flag. These moments make the experience.

All nine maps that ship with Battlefield 3 are fantastic regardless of mode, and unlike Bad Company 2, you can play each map in any mode right out of the gate. The petroleum refineries of Operation Firestorm and the creeks and grassy hills of Caspian Border are my favorites of the bunch, but the other maps maintain a level of quality that reaffirms DICE is unrivaled in multiplayer level design. Even with the series’ history of quality, I was surprised by the scale of these battlefields. At one point during a Rush round on Damavand Peak, I found myself in the passenger seat while a pilot struggled to maintain control of the helicopter. Fearing a crash, I bailed. As I parachuted towards the ground, I thought I was about to land outside of the map’s boundaries considering how far away it was, but the objectives shifted as I was in mid-air and revealed that I was already well on my way to the next M-Com station.

With no need to exit the game to launch a multiplayer match from a webpage like the PC version, jumping into the fray online is more streamlined on consoles. You can chat, manage your party, filter server lists, and look at your stats all from inside the game. The servers are also smart about grouping you with your pre-game party. Most matches I went into properly grouped me with my party, but if for some reason your squad gets split up, you can all exit the current squad and meet in one of the unfilled squad slots in the deployment menu.

Most Battlefield fans spend the majority of their time in the rewarding multiplayer, but this entry also delivers the series’ most ambitious single-player campaign to date. While players filled the shoes of the jokesters of B Company in the Bad Company campaigns, Battlefield 3 presents a dead-serious narrative about an imminent nuclear threat. You’ll primarily play as Sgt. Blackburn, a marine who’s being interrogated about missing warheads as the story plays out via flashbacks. As I progressed through the seven-hour campaign, I couldn’t ignore the numerous elements directly pulled from the Call of Duty format. By the time the end credits roll, you’ll have assumed the roles of several globetrotting characters, taken out ground targets from a circling aircraft, witnessed several dramatic slow-motion deaths, partaken in a tense sniping section with a fellow soldier, raced against the clock to stop a nuclear explosion, and sat through a scene clearly meant to shock players. While derivative, the campaign is consistently entertaining throughout. Tight gunplay, exciting set piece moments, and a more focused narrative than its primary competitor help to make this the best shooter campaign since Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Battlefield fans hoping for the most polished entry in the series won’t be disappointed by this massive sequel. Multiplayer maintains the high level of quality DICE is known for, and the campaign is the best in franchise history. Outside of a tacked-on, uninspired co-op mode consisting of six short standalone missions, the only downsides to the console version of Battlefield 3 are the lack of substantial changes to the multiplayer formula and 64-player matches. However, that shouldn’t stop longtime fans and newcomers from enjoying one of the best FPS experiences in gaming.

Launch Trailer Sets The Stage For Action

2011-10-21T14:33:36Z

In just a few days, DICE and Electronic Arts will be releasing Battlefield 3. A new launch trailer highlights some of the set piece moments that players can expect during their time with the shooter, including a speeding shootout through Times Square, carrier takeoff, and more.

Whether your allegiances fall toward Battlefield or Call of Duty, it's hard to deny just how great these scenes look. In a few short days, we'll all be able to determine whether the gameplay backs up these impressive visuals.

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New Battlefield 3 Multiplayer Trailer Shows Many Guns Fired, Many Explosions

2011-10-19T16:41:00Z

Battlefield 3 is less than a week away, but EA and Dice don't see that as a reason to pull back on showing off the game. The multiplayer trailer shows off all kinds of new vehicles doing battle on land, sea, and air, and we also get a brief glimpse at skydiving.

The trailer also showed off a few clips from the Back to Karkand Expansion pack, which will be available for free to anyone who pre-orders the limited edition version of the game.

Battlefield 3 releases October 25 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Click here to read our impressions of the multiplayer beta, and check out the full trailer below.

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DICE Reveals All Nine Battlefield 3 Maps

2011-10-17T20:55:00Z

Battlefield 3 players will be spending countless hours in the title's multiplayer when the game releases next week. So why not take a look at the multiplayer maps you'll be playing on?

Recently DICE revealed all nine multiplayer maps that will be included in Battlefield 3 when the game releases on October 25. In addition to screen shots of each map, the posts on EA's Battleblog give some insight into the play style each map offers.

You can find more information at the above links, but here's a rundown of Battlefield 3's maps.

Operation Metro: This is the map featured in the Battlefield 3 beta, so you can read our more detailed impressions here. Operation Metro splits the action into three distinct sections: A fight in a wide open park, a bombed-out subway tunnel, and the streets outside of the Paris stock exchange.

Operation Firestorm: In stark contrast to Operation Metro, Operation Firestorm is a wide open map designed for vehicles. DICE states that it's roughly three times the size of Bad Company 2's biggest maps. Construction sites littered throughout the wide-open desert give infantry the ability to attack vehicles with mortar fire and RPGs.

Tehran Highway: Players will have to contend with reduced visibility on this map, as it takes place at night. In Tehran Highway, players will start in the hilly area above the city, making their way down into the streets. This map features a balance between vehicular combat (in the beginning open areas) and on-foot combat (inside the city).

Damavand Peak: This unique map is based off of the concept of base jumping, and will have one Rush players plummeting off of a mountain ridge at the beginning of the map to descend to the mining facility below. It features the largest height difference of any Battlefield map ever designed. More vehicles open up later in the map.

Grand Bazaar: Taking place in the center of Tehran, this map is designed specifically for close quarter combat. Grand Bazaar is also one of the more symmetrical maps gamers will play on, with similar terrain and pathways for opposing teams.

Caspian Border: This large, wide open map is all about vehicular warfare. The forest setting stands in stark visual contrast to Battlefield 3's other maps, most of which are set in urban and desert locations. Caspian Border will contain nearly every vehicle available in the game.

Seine Crossing: France's famous Seine river runs down the heart of this large-scale map. DICE states that there will be a number of roads for patrolling vehicles to fight over, while smaller alleyways will allow infantry to sneak in closer to their targets. The final station in Rush mode takes place inside of a bank in Paris.

Noshahr Canals: The industrial setting of Noshahr Canals provides plenty of opportunities for on-foot combat, as well as land-, water-, and air-based vehicles. There are three distinct areas on this map: a train yard, dry dock, and airfield.

Kharg Island: The second map to feature boat-based gameplay, Kharg Island features more distance between objectives than Noshahr Canals. Multiplayer matches will begin with a beach assault, leading further up onto the island where the map opens up into wider areas.

In addition to these nine maps, players who pre-order the game will receive the Back To Karkand DLC pack, which features four classic Battlefield 2 maps that have been redesigned for the new game.

Battlelog Could Be A Boon For Stat Junkies

2011-09-30T14:37:33Z

Battlefield players have long been able to keep track of their in-game statistics through a connected web interface, and Battlefield 3 is no different. As DICE tells it, the new Battlelog network offers players a wealth of social networking features at no additional cost.

The developers provide a guided tour of some of Battlelog's functionality in the clip below. Battlelog allows players to chat in real time with one another, giving remorseless gloaters yet another tool in their psy-ops kit. In addition to monitoring your own stats and career progression, you can check out how your friends are doing in the game. Leaderboards can be sorted by friends as well, giving run-of-the-mill soldiers a chance to at least show their dominance among their buddies.

On the PC front, Battlelog has an additional level of functionality. There, it provides an interface for browsing available multiplayer servers and launching the single-player campaign.

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Look for Battlefield 3 on the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on October 25.

Battlefield 3 Beta Impressions

2011-09-28T00:47:16Z

It may only be one map that we've already seen in action, but for the Battlefield faithful the dawn of the multiplayer beta is still a monumental moment. So how is the game looking one month out from its release? We found out by jumping into both PC and Xbox 360 matches.

For the beta, DICE chose the same Operation Metro map it showcased on PC during E3. The 24-player per side Rush mode competition starts in a wide open park, funnels into the Parisian subway system, and eventually spills back into the streets at the feet of the Paris Stock Exchange.

I first jumped into the beta on Xbox 360, where I had several friends online itching to play together. I'm not sure if this is the interface that DICE intends to implement on consoles in the final version, but right now it's counter-intuitive. Your friends list and squad list are located in a different menu than where you look for matches, meaning the squad leader has to navigate multiple menus just to set up a round. Unfortunately, given the state of the beta at this time we couldn't get find one match where the entire squad was migrated into the session. The servers were so jam-packed with eager players that we decided to split up, and even then it took me several minutes to find a match by myself. Unless DICE ramps up the number of servers, this could be the status quo until the public beta begins on Thursday.

The first thing that I noticed once I finally booted into the level was how drastically different the Xbox 360 version looks compared to the PC. Right now the game looks more in line with Bad Company 2 than it does the PC version. You still see elements of the powerful Frostbite 2 engine in terms of the lighting system and destruction, but the texture resolutions seem to be turned way down. It will be interesting to see how DICE fine-tunes the console performance in the coming weeks.

As is to be expected in a beta, bugs are prevalent. During my first few hours I saw dead soldiers fall through the ground, enemies spinning across the screen after being killed, bullet traces staying in the world rather than disappearing, and glitchy knife kills. I also had my ability to aim down the ironsights freeze a couple times, but switching to my handgun and back to the primary weapon seemed to remedy the problem. Before you panic, overreact, and rush to cancel your pre-order, remember that DICE is running this beta so it can test real world performance, gather our feedback, and attempt to work out the kinks before the game ships on October 25. It's perfectly normal to see these kind of issues.

Though this 360 build may not look like the PC version, the sound design takes a backseat to no one. From the jarrring and powerful sound of machine gun fire to the earth-shaking sonic booms of RPG explosions, this may be the most convincing war audio I've ever heard.

The combat takes some getting used to for Bad Company 2 veterans. At first everyone was running and gunning like it was a Call of Duty match, but eventually the players in my matches settled into their squads and started working as a team. The soldiers seem to move much more quickly than in BC2, and the guns are very lively. It took me several rounds to get comfortable with the high amount of recoil, but once I got the hang of it (very short, controlled bursts) the gunplay felt strong. You can also switch the rate of fire to single shot if you're uncomfortable with the kickback. Unlocking the scopes will make all the difference in combat, as well. The first battle for crates in the wide-open park can be tough if others can line you up in their scopes when you only have the old ironsights. Make sure you make use of prone, too, because it can be your best friend in long-range firefights and when sneaking up to the M-Com stations. Verbal communication is key as well, because the information feed doesn't notify you when squad mates are downed.

The player progression moves quickly thanks to a generous experience award system that even rewards you for skill-less tasks, like having teammates spawn on you. In a little over an hour I had moved up four ranks and unlocked several useful weapon attachments. I should note that many of these these upgrade paths are linked to the weapon you're using, not your overall rank. If you unlock a scope for the M16A4 that you use as an Assault soldier while playing on the U.S. side, it won't be available when you're using the AK-74M as an Assault soldier on Team Russia. This distinction from Bad Company 2 should drastically increase the number of available upgrades and encourage players to master their favorite weapons.

When I switched to the PC version after tiring of the failed matchmaking on the Xbox 360, it was like upgrading from a Ford Fusion to a Ferrarri. It looks gorgeous, runs smoothly, and features a unique browser-based interface that allows you to track stats, talk to friends, and launch games straight out of Firefox or whatever other browser you have. The fact that the PC version looks a great deal better shouldn't come as a surprise, considering that the core engineering of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are several years old, while the PC technology continues to grow at a steady rate.

That said, the PC version has its share of front-end issues, as well. You can't load into the front menu to fiddle with your visual settings before joining a match. Instead, when you launch the game it opens both Origin and your web browser. From here you can look at the available servers, but the lists don't seem to be updating quickly, because every one I clicked was full. When I used the Quick Match option it took a couple of tries before a match launched, and after I finally got in I was surprised that it didn't launch me directly into a full screen view. Who wants to play a game through a small window?! You can change this setting in the options, but it would be nice if you could handle all of these types of issues before your soldier is on the ground and the bullets are live. The rest of the Battlelog functionality -- stat tracking, friends lists, and chat -- are much more polished. If you want to toggle between your progress on console and PC, all you need to do is find the tap at the top of the screen.

What are your first impressions of the beta thus far?

New Battlefield 3 Trailer Shows Xbox 360 Footage

2011-09-17T02:43:00Z

Last week Electronic Arts and DICE gave us a small taste of a new Battlefield level called Operation Guillotine. Today we're getting a longer look at this level, and we're seeing how it looks on Xbox 360.

This trailer shows us how U.S. Marine Sgt. Blackburn infiltrates the city of Tehran. As you can see, his methods include shooting, hitting the B button, and activating slow motion to win the battle of "I opened the door first" and "survive gas tanker explosion." Battlefield 3 is set to release on PlayStation 3, PC, and Xbox 360 on October 25.

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EA Drops New Battlefield 3 Screens, Game Still Looks Awesome

2011-09-16T01:30:09Z

I'm not going to lie; I don't really have anything new to say about Battlefield 3. But I do know this: EA just released 11 new screenshots of the game, and boy do they look good.

See for yourself!

If that gets you interested, check out our Battlefield 3 hub page, which has a bevy of insider information on DICE's upcoming military epic.

Operation Guillotine Drops In New BF3 Gameplay Video

2011-09-09T15:44:00Z

Excitement for Battlefield 3 is now at a boil, and DICE and EA are doing their best to stoke the fire. In this new gameplay video, we join U.S. Marine Sgt. Blackburn in Operation Guillotine.

In this night mission, the Marines descend on Tehran to capture members of the People's Liberation and Resistance (PLA). It's definitely one of those "blink and you'll miss it" videos, but DICE plans to release part two of the series next week. In the meantime, soak up this tiny chunk of shock and awe.

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Look for the game October 25 on PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.