Part 2 of BF3 review. See part 1 @ unfashionablylatereviews.blogspot.com
Well I have spent more than a month playing Battlefield 3's multiplayer since the release of the first part of my review, and my opinion has largely changed. While I continue to die after receiving only a few shots, this has taught me to be more careful, and keep an eye on the minimap whenever I enter into an open area. In Bad Company 2, I would love to play the one man army, carrying a shotgun into the flanks and cutting inward with one shot kills. This is still possible, but seems to require much more caution, as killing enemies will leave you on the enemy radar and ripe for the sniping.
The game also requires an absurd amount of teamwork, which is something which wasn't necessary in BC2. Gone are the days of spawning on your teammate and going your own way, the days of requiring a well spread squad to keep each other in the game are here to stay. It never ceases to amaze me what a squad of 4 using voice chat can accomplish, particularly in rush, as one member can run for the objective, and the other 3 will set up a perimeter around him to ensure that he is covered. A strong squad can control the entire flow of the match. This is something I can say from a firsthand perspective now, as I was drafted into a clan in BF3, and 4 or so of us on a team is easy enough for us to run the lobby.
The weapon situation that I had struggled with before has also been mostly resolved, as well. I have unlocked several strong weapons for Assault and Engineer as well, but the Recon class continues to trouble me, as it is fairly weak in close quarters, which I always seem to be stuck in due to my love for mobile spawn points and motion sensors, yet I have had several strong matches in that class as well.
One problem that I continue to struggle with is the vehicles. I loved land and sea vehicles in Bad Company 2, so I am out of my element in Battlefield 3, as the jeeps cannot be upgraded and sea vehicles are at a severe disadvantage as maps incorporate less or even no water. Therefore the majority of my time is spent tanking, and my score shows it. I have had a number of chances to use the jets now, but I have sadly realized 2 things: I suck at flying and the jets no longer interest me, and yes, these two things may be connected. I have also given up on choppers, as frequent flyers are good enough to put an end to me right after takeoff. The jets, however, affect very little on the actual plane of battle. They are one-seaters, so it is really just one person flying overhead, discouraging air travel. Choppers can be dangerous, as they have been used as spawn points to continually drop opposition into good places to attack behind enemy lines, but the jets are really just dicks in the air. They can't shoot individual targets very well because they only get one shot with each pass, so they just focus on vehicles. Even these aren't instantly killed and can be fixed by an engineer, so they are really nothing but a hindrance in most levels.
In summation, Battlefield isn't as bad as I made it sound in the first part of my review, but it still isn't the mega-hit that I have been waiting for. The campaign is weak but functional and the multiplayer is fun but not revolutionary. I look forward to months of fun in BF3's multiplayer, but this isn't a game that's going to stay in my library forever.
Gameplay…8
Sound…6
Graphics…8
Replayability…9
Story…5
Average…7.5