Battlefield 3 Beta Hands On (PS3/360)

I was lucky enough to get early access to the Battlefield 3 Beta last Tuesday, and I have sunk a good few hours into already, on PS3 and 360. Both versions have played more or less the same, bar slight texture and lighting differences here and there. Suffice to say, you will be getting essentially the same experience if you play it on either format. The important question then, is how does the gameplay in Battlefield 3 stack up?

No Through Road

The console Beta contains only one map and mode, which is Rush played on Operation Metro. This is a fairly linear experience, taking place above and below the Paris Metro system. Initially, you spawn into a park area, featuring a lake, bridges, statues, lots of rocks and some fairly spectacular background action taking place. This open section of the map originally featured a Light Armoured Vehicle in the PC Alpha, but it has now been removed, making Operation Metro an infantry only map from start to finish. An interesting move for a series that has historically defined itself by its dynamic mixture of vehicle and infantry gameplay.

The nature of the central section of Operation Metro is what stands out the most, with its tight claustrophic tunnels and corridors, filled with handily placed boxes and underground trains. Whilst there are alternate paths to choose here, it is a map generally lacking in flanking options, meaning that the win or loss is often decided by a series of intense infantry skirmishes. This atmosphere is a long way from the vast Conquest maps offered in previous Battlefield games, and first impressions place it more alongside series such as Medal of Honor and Call of Duty.

Lighting Effects

Despite my reservations about the frantic nature of this tunnel section, it is here that some of the new lighting effects in the game are shown to their best effect. The underslung lamp can be used to light up dark tunnels, and can also be brutally effective at dazzling the enemy. Likewise, the laser sight can be added to most weapons, giving a clear shot on the target, whilst distracting them with a red glare. These lighting effects are very well implemented, and they do add to the gameplay significantly. Quite how many maps will be suited to such attachments though, will only be known once the finished game is released.

Destruction

Upon leaving the Metro system, the last base to attack is in a built up area of Paris, which features a fairly wide but shallow play area, showing off the new destruction engine to best effect. Whilst Frostbite 2.0 can potentially be used to level whole buildings to the ground, here it is limited in its scope, with only the fronts of buildings being destructible, given the use of explosive weapons. The destruction engine seems somewhat limited in other areas of the map also, as my series of ‘experiments with RPGs’ revealed.

I was hoping that shooting an RPG at a car from 10 yards would be quite spectacular and was disappointed to find that it only resulted in the bonnet popping open. Handy if you need to change the oil, but not so great if you just like blowing stuff up. I did manage to send an industrial wheelie bin skidding across the map with a rocket, but it still stayed intact on its journey. Similarly, a rocket on an ATM machine resulted in lots of sparks and smoke, but the machine was seemingly still plugged in afterwards, displaying an ‘Out of Order’ notice on the screen. Damn, they make those things tough.

Serious Issues?

Despite the somewhat frantic nature of the infantry only gameplay on show, the Operation Metro map has at times proved to be a lot of fun, and the vast range of unlocks available look like they will open up an array of possibilities for weapon customisation. However, there are some areas of the game that distract significantly enough from the experience, that I would consider the Beta ‘broken’ in its current form.

Looking past gameplay and graphics glitches, which should all hopefully be addressed with patches before release, there are two larger issues that must be addressed as soon as possible. The first is the voice communication system, which is currently failing to work as it should on both systems. The second is the complete lack of an effective squad management system in the game.

Battlefield games are not meant to be played alone. Grabbing a group of gaming buddies, squadding up and taking on the world is what this game should be all about. Good teamwork and communication are the keys to success, but what has been shown in this Beta does not indicate that getting a squad together is going to be a viable option.

The squad invite system is only available in the lobby, but this doesn’t keep your squad together on entering a game. Once in the game, there is no invite system at all, which seems a glaring omission for such a team based title. Releasing the full game without a comprehensive squad management system would surely be inconceivable? I am hoping that these features are simply missing from the Beta but as yet, I have heard no official word from DICE or EA to counter these concerns.

To Beta or Not to Beta…..?

It is very interesting that DICE and EA have chosen to put out the Battlefield 3 Beta so close to the release date of the game. Whilst a Beta is not meant to represent the finished product, a huge proportion of people playing the game may well take it this way, being only weeks from launch. Some players might well look beyond any Beta issues, and find the frantic nature of the Operation Metro map pleasantly surprising. Personally though, the Beta has raised more questions than it answered about the game.

I am disappointed that there has been no opportunity for console gamers to play a traditional Battlefield style map, with both vehicle and infantry combat included. Some lucky PC gamers have been able to try out the Caspian Border conquest map as part of their Beta and that looks to be much more like a full Battlefield experience. This, more than anything I have experienced for myself in the console Beta, has helped to re-inspire my confidence in Battlefield 3.

Between now and release day, I will also be hoping to hear words of reassurance about the inclusion of a working squad management system. There is no denying that the new lighting and destruction elements will add to the mood and feel of the game immensely but I hope that DICE have not sacrificed the underlying stability of the multiplayer experience, in order to satisfy the demands of making something ‘pretty’.

For anyone not able to get their hands on the Caspian Border Beta, watching this YouTube video is probably the next best thing to playing it. Enjoy: