Battlefield 3
Producer: Electronic Arts
Release Date: October 25, 2011
Platform: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, iSO
Rating: Mature
Genre: First-person shooter
Major Letdown
Written by Heather Spears
What do you get when you mix a great multiplayer game with one of the most appalling single player campaigns to date? Battlefield 3. As most of the world should know by now, Battlefield 3 has finally come and with so much hype about the newest first-person shooter, I expected better. Despite the outstanding graphics and awesome multiplayer, the game has too many flaws to count. Like most gamers, I anticipated the release of a game promoted as much as Battlefield 3, however the advertisements turned out to make this game flat out overrated.
Multiplayer would be the only reason to buy Battlefield 3. An online experience like this will keep gamers playing for months to come; still this experience comes with a cost. I regret to inform you that along with the sought-after multiplayer experience brings glitches, microphone mess-ups, separation from your friends, and, worse of all, a price. Do not bother to play Battlefield 3 if you planned on renting or buying a pre-owned copy as each game comes with an online pass code to allow one profile to access the multiplayer and co-op game types. This means you can forget about playing on multiple accounts or bringing the game to a friend’s house to play. Servers may cost money, but implementing a pass system is seemingly selfish to the gamers who rent or buy used copies of games. On top of having to pay to play for any sort of multiplayer, on the day Battlefield 3 was released, the online servers were down. Because the servers were down, EA apologized and asked people to revert to the single player campaign. I was frustrated that I had to stop playing multiplayer but even more disappointed once I found out what campaign mode offered.
The story starts off interestingly enough, with a dramatic scene of your character running through a subway car with a broken handcuff on one wrist; suddenly his pursuit is ended by an unknown enemy. The screen goes black and your character is set in an interrogation room and recalls back to prior events in his life; a storyline that seems all too familiar. The campaign then goes off into its own little world leaving the player confused as to what is going on. The campaign had no direction; it was unclear and felt impersonal. Parts of the story were seemingly left out, parts misplaced and on multiple occasions I was forced to restart a checkpoint or even a whole level in hopes of clearing up glitches. There were times when I was shooting at an enemy and all the sudden they would disappear. I was lost, confused, and disappointed with the single player outcome.
Overall, Battlefield 3 appears unfinished. The game seems rushed and under-developed compared to others on the market. Multiplayer was great, but with the constant shutdown of the servers and unforgivable glitches, I cannot advise anyone to put a penny down on this game. I would ask gamers to rent the game in order to get a feel of their opinion; but why bother when you are restricted in which areas you can access? Could EA have included a two-day online pass for those who want to test the game before buying? Not every game is as advertised, so save your money for a military-themed first-person shooter that we can trust to live up to its name.