Battlefield 3 is the type of game I expect to still be playing months from now because the multiplayer is so good. I have always thought the Battlefield series was superior to the Call of Duty games because the maps are bigger and more interactive, plus there is more diversity in the gameplay. It’s a personal preference for some gamers, but I think this is one of the best BF games yet.

The single player campaign for this game mostly takes place in Iran, and I have read that the locations are depicted with such realism that the game has been banned in that country. I think that’s hilarious! You’ll be fighting through a lot of downtown areas, as is the trend lately with games like Crysis 2 and Homefront. The story is about a group of terrorists who have come into possession of some Russian nuclear weapons and are planning attacks in Paris and New York.

I’ve found the campaign to be fun and challenging. You’ll often get stuck in shoot-outs where you need to act quickly to take down an enemy, but the game usually tells you what needs to be done. It’s a good primer for the online multiplayer action because it gets you used to dying a lot. Thankfully, the game uses frequent checkpoints so you won’t have to keep playing through the same battles over and over again. Once you finish the campaign, there isn’t much reason to go back and replay it unless you are PS3 Trophy hunting. There is also a co-op mode, but I haven’t been able to talk my wife into playing it with me.

The main reason to get this game is for the multiplayer online gameplay. This is one game where you won’t have to worry much about finding players since the series is so popular. You have different types of gameplay: Deathmatch type stuff where you kill all the enemy, Conquest where you capture flags and control areas, and so on. The maps are all very large and offer countless hiding places, so it lets you plan your attacks rather than just throw you in the middle of a small area and force you to run around shooting like in the Call of Duty games.

When playing online, some maps are littered with vehicles that respawn occasionally so you can jump in a truck or tank, or even fly a helicopter or jet. As with previous versions, flying takes a bit of practice. It’s all pretty well balanced as far as what can kill what, so you won’t have many problems with one player dominating the game because they got a tank. Multiple players can inhabit most vehicles, so you can get a lot of points driving a tank while a good machine gunner is on top. For me, this has always been why I prefer this series to CoD because I like being able to drive vehicles instead of just non-stop run and gun.

Another interesting aspect of this game is that most of the environment is destructible. If a tree is in your way, you can shoot it down. You can also blow holes in walls and even knock down entire buildings if you hit them with enough explosives. There’s nothing quite so satisfying as destroying an enemy sniper perch by taking down the building they are in. I really enjoy this added level of realism and it makes the game so that there is no safe place to hide.

A variety of weapons are made available in the game, but you have to work to unlock them. It uses an experience point system where you get points for kills and completing objectives, plus more for in-game actions like healing other players or repairing vehicles. There are four player classes with individual options that are unique to others, so you have to play as that class to unlock better stuff for that class. Even for an average player, you should unlock something new every hour or so of online play, so there is motivation to keep going for the better equipment.

As far as graphics are concerned, I’m starting to wonder how games can keep looking better despite being played on the same PS3 hardware. The most noticeable difference here is in the detail of the other soldiers, like with their different weapons and outfits. The vehicles also have a bit more texture to them, and explosions are way better than before. You’ll see fire shooting out from under a vehicle that’s close to exploding, and a lot more debris goes flying when you damage buildings.

My only complaint about the graphics is that the HUD gets in the way all the time. For example, if you are playing Conquest mode and trying to capture an enemy flag, you get a big box in the dead center of the screen and it’s only somewhat opaque, so you may not see an enemy from afar if they are coming at you head on. When you level up or unlock something, a giant box appears on screen and thoroughly obscures your view. This is a lightning fast game where you may not even see who shot you and things happen in milliseconds, so constantly having stuff blocking your view is not very helpful.

Some parents have been turned off by the excessive amount of profanity in this series of games, and this one isn’t any different. It has plenty of F-bombs and every other word you can think of, but it didn’t seem like quite as much as before. Just having one is enough to turn away some folks, so keep that in mind if playing in a house with younger children. Otherwise, the sound design of the game is great and even better if played with surround sound. One thing I noticed that was greatly improved was how engine sounds were portrayed, and it’s very helpful when you’re on foot and hear a tank coming closer. In the chaos of battle, you often need to rely on the audio to figure out where enemy units are hiding.

In the end, Battlefield 3 is an excellent new FPS and a worthy addition to your gaming library. It’s more of the same stuff that made the Bad Company series so much fun, and it’ll keep you busy for a long time.

Recommended: Yes