Battlefield 3: Beta Impressions

Overhyped, mayhaps?

The public beta for the highly anticipated Battlefield 3 launched earlier last week, and after a good few hours of hands on time with the demo (via the Xbox 360 version), I think I'm ready to share my thoughts and opinions of the so-called "COD Killer".

   The Beta contains one map, with one game type on, and provides players with an uncapped level limit within the four available classes to go nuts on. The map in question, Operation Metro, is based on a French metro line and the outlying areas. The gametype, Rush (which BF veterans will be accustomed to), has the 16 player attacking team destroying each base to move up to the next one, until all bases are destroyed (in this map's case, it's 5). The 16 player defending team meanwhile, must whittle down the attackers' 100 lives and prevent them from destroying the bases. Simple stuff.

     The map however, is somewhat lacking in "Battlefieldy-ness". By which I mean, it doesn't really contain the core things that Battlefield typically represents itself with, and what sets it aside from the likes of Medal of Honour and Call Of Duty. When entering my first match, I was expecting tanks and helicopters, maybe even a jet or two, to tear up the landscape with. Instead we get... nothing. No vehicles what so ever; not even a quad! Seeing as the vehicular aspect is one of Battlefield's biggest selling points, this really is quite the surprise.

Click To Enlarge

  Then there's the sudden disappearance of the great destructible environments that previous installments have prided themselves on. Don't get me wrong, they're still in there, towards the back end of the map, but it's very minimal all things considered. But still, the close combat corridors of a bombed out tube station provide real tense firefights between the dark, flamelit rails, and can usually more than make up for the sloppiness of the open ended park area at the start of the map.

Thankfully the core gameplay has stayed relatively the same from Bad Company 2. You pick from 4 classes; the heavy MG "Support", sniping "Recon", medical capable "Assault" and of course the "fix 'n' blow up" style of "Engineer". Each has a distinct feel to themselves, and gives a nice tactical element to the play, especially when teaming in a 4-player squad with spawning capabilities.

  New additions to the gameplay include the ability to go prone (very handy when going stealth) and lay down 'suppressing fire' to blur opponents screen. Although only minor features, these make for a more immersive and realistic experience, as you make a slow progressive crawl behind enemy lines or fire off suppressing rounds to cover team mates making a run for the base.

'Prone' to a little sniping, are we?

On the graphics side of things, I can't help but feel a little let down, and there's a good reason for it. You see, all the gameplay we've seen thus far through trailers and such have been taken from the PC version; a system harbouring graphical capabilities well beyond that of regular current gen consoles. And so, as the lack of detail and pop-in texture filters the screen, the sting of deception is naturally felt.


 Connectivity problems are to be expected and getting into a game with the squad you actually joined with is near enough impossible. More than a few times I've had the "loading screen of death", where by quitting and restarting is the only way out. Bugs are unfortunately commonplace throughout matches, with all manner of 'Under The Maps' and a rather hilarious Inception-esque glitch where all dead bodies slide slowly across the floor in a strange, unannounced gravity vortex.

The new Giraffe gametype was a blast

Of course, this is all in the Beta stage, and so most of these problems should be ironed out by the release of the full game at the end of the month (that is one of the main aims of a beta, after all). It just frazzles me why they'd pick such an uncharacteristically Battlefield map to basically sell their game upon. The logical answer is that they're trying to appeal to the Call Of Duty crowd, who just want to shoot at each other with no added gimmicks - but it's those very gimmicks that makes BF the preferred choice in many a gamers' collection.

Although it will undoubtedly sell  millions of copies, this beta has got me a little worried; has Battlefield 3 been overhyped? Can it really overcome the shortcomings of the beta to become the game it's been anticipated to be? Only time will tell; not much mind, as you can expect it to hit shelves (and swiftly leave them to become sold out) October 28th (UK).

ATR


More Games!

Trailer Tuesday: Games Special 2

As if I haven't said it enough already, the San Diego Comic-Con was on last weekend, and that means new game trailers to go along with it. So, like I did with the E3 ones, I've compiled a lot of them for your viewing pleasure.

First up, Battlefield 3:

Showcasing a new map based in and around the Paris Metro system, as well as tooting their own horn about awards, this trailer has me pumped for the explosive, vast and awesome multiplayer the game has to offer when it releases October 28th.

Zelda returns to Wii! Could this game make me pick up a Wiimote again after all this time?

After over 3 years in development, Star Wars: The Old Republic is finally nearing, and here's a trailer showing off the different classes the new MMO has to offer. I call Smuggler/Jedi! Hey, there should be Jedi Smugglers! *Jots down idea for future writing*

RE:View: Stacking

Russian nesting dolls.
 In a game.
 About child labour.

 Now I wouldn't blame you if you thought I was joking here. Seriously, the setup sounds ridiculous, right? Surely it can't work! Well, I'm not joking, because this is Stacking, the latest downloadable game from Tim Schafer's "Double Fine" studios, the creators of such titles as Brutal Legend, Psychonauts and The Secret of Monkey Island. An adventure-puzzler game at it's core, Stacking is a cute and approachable game that leaks charm out of all and every orifice with increasing style and fun.

  The premise: You play as Charlie Blackmore, youngest of a large family and the smallest doll in the industrial age of the world. But when the Blackmore father goes missing, the family comes in to debt and the evil Baron forces the children to work to pay it off, with the exception of tiny Charlie. So, embarking on an epic adventure which will take him on the likes of shiny zeppelins and grand cruise-liners, Charlie sets out to free his poor siblings from the dastardly clutches of the Baron, with the help of his rather odd ability to control other dolls by hopping inside them.

 From the off, the story sounds rather depressing with it's themes of child labour and debt, but luckily it's counteracted by the tongue-in-cheek humour used to portray the sadness, along with the silent-movie type cut-scenes that add charm and style to the presentation and narrative. Seeing the various dolls perform goofy animations a top some witty dialogue can often be a joy to watch and helps to distance itself from the heavy topics previously mentioned.

Childish but irresistible laughs

 
 In between these sometimes lengthy and frequent cut-scenes (which may frustrate some impatient players), is of course the gameplay. As you roam around the dainty little diorama settings, you're given various objectives, involving some sort of challenge you must overcome. But it's how to go about these challenges that brings the main gameplay mechanic forwards; stacking. As the smallest doll in the world, naturally you're not going to solve these trials alone. So, to get by, Charlie must hop into other dolls, all with their own unique abilities, and use their certain talents to complete the objectives. For example, to get a guard away from his gate, you can hop into the alluring female doll and use her powers of seduction to lure him away, allowing you to unstack and sneak through. But it's not that easy, as you need to stack into a doll exactly one size larger than your current one, so you can't go straight from little kid to heavyweight boxer in one fell stack.

A classic problem

 These challenges can then be revisited in a number of different ways, allowing re-playability and forcing your brain to think of several different solutions at once. You can move on after you've found an immediate answer, but I often found myself trying to find all solutions before continuing. However, if you do get stuck there is a helpful hint system, which, while handy, can ruin the puzzle aspect of game at times, as it's easy to abuse and the cool-down time is a joke.

  The scenery you find yourself stacking around is full of vibrancy and life, even though the things inhabiting it are essentially inanimate, wooden objects. The sweet cartoon style works well in this lavish world of wackiness and slap-stick, and the sluggish camera doesn't hinder the views too much, giving the player an incentive to explore the landscape to see all. Plus the sound is a quiet delight with some sweet little fanciful music and well matched sound effects to compliment the overall fun.

The visuals are definitely a treat 

  Though short, the experience definitely gives you 4-5 hours of enjoyment, especially since there are plenty of unique dolls to find and "Hi-Jinks" (little mini-challenges that are doll specific) to conquer once the main story has finished. Whether or not I'd revisit it after I'd achieved 100% is yet to be seen, but with no other modes outside of the story it's quite unlikely. But hey, it's a downloadable title, so what do you expect? At 1200 Microsoft Points or £10 on PSN, this is an absolute steal and an entirely unique experience that you wouldn't get anywhere else.

Summary:
+ Cute and Charming
+ Unique Gameplay
+ Nice Sounds and Visuals
- Short and Easy
- Lengthy Cut-Scenes (Impatient)
- Sluggish Camera

Stacking: 7/10

Well that was my first (kind of) game review. I hope you enjoyed it and yeah, I know I ripped all the pictures off of Gamespot. So what? Sue me. Wait, no, don't to that... I certainly enjoyed my time with the game and I hope this review might prompt you to want to try it as well. Remember, there's always a free demo for downloadable titles, so give it a go if you've got the time.

Before you go, please vote on my latest poll to have your say on what movie I review next. You've got until around 10 AM Saturday (British time) to have your say, so get them votes in now! Thanks for reading and I'll see you all soon, or at least my words will. Stay safe now!