(As with my previous Battlefield posts, these are my thoughts on the singleplayer campaign only.)

It is somewhat baffling to me that DICE came out with such a good game only one year after releasing Bad Company 2. As someone with no previous experience with the Battlefield franchise, I’m not quite sure if what I’m saying is controversial, but I liked this game better than either Bad Company titles, even if I know this is a sequel to B2 (which I didn't play), not those. Chances are, by the time you're reading this, I’m already done with the rest of the saga, but as of today, I still have a ways to go (four more games to be precise). And so far, B3 is my personal favourite out of the three I’ve already played.

This isn’t to say it is even close to flawless. There are things about B3 that I consider to be a clear step down when compared to BC2. For starters, its tone. I’m okay with the shift to a more modern vibe, but this is the first time I've seen a Battlefield game take itself so seriously. And though I’ll later touch on why this ended up having a positive side, on the whole it directly removed some of its charm and unique narrative quirkiness - none of its protagonists are on par with Haggard, Sweetwater, Flynn, Marlowe, Redford, or Miss July. Alongside this, B3 (mostly) features an unapologetic military and patriotic tone throughout, something that’s so prevalent in so many of these shooters and that I'm not a particular fan of.

I’m also certainly not a fan of the introduction of QTEs. I know they were a staple at the time, but they barely add anything meaningful to the experience, and I find no real reason for them to be in the game other than some sort of industry trend conformity. These QTEs go in hand-in-hand with a higher amount of set pieces and a much more in-game cinematic approach. BC2 had already upped the ante when it came to presentation, but B3 clearly takes it one step further, dropping a hybrid movie-game vibe during most of its length. Another thing it doubles down on is its linearity. One of the things I liked about the first BC was its open-ended approach to levels. The sequel removed much of that feeling, and this third entry narrows it even further, to the point of sometimes even artificially locking the player in certain places to restrict or downright remove agency. Not a fan of this either. Finally, the destructible environments, which had been such a prominent calling card of the BC releases, were clearly toned down here, both in scale and usability. That, too, grinded my gears.

Reading back, I suppose all that looks like too much criticism for something I just labelled as a favourite up until this point. But that’s because, for all its mishaps, there are also a ton of things B3 improves upon, with a significantly positive impact. Visually, this is a clear step up. Texture work isn’t great, but the jump in atmosphere is obvious, with the lighting doing a lot of the heavy lifting here. The HUD is also improved, and I love that the unattractive radar circle has been replaced by a much more understated, slightly futuristic-looking compass, which now basically just tells you where your next objective is (meaning enemies aren’t pinpointed anymore). Aside from this, your squadmates are much more dependable this time around. Like, night and day. Squad AI was one of my main pet peeves in the BC titles, since on the battlefield they amounted to little more than dots on a radar. Here, however, they effectively help you in virtually all situations that don't require you to be the one triggering the next move / set piece, and the sense of fulfilling teamwork this sole change brings to the table cannot be overstated.

Shooting feels improved as well, and though I had my doubts in the beginning, once I got past the initial stage I quickly came to see the improvements in fluidity and fire exchange. The checkpoint system has also been redone with great results. It is now a lot more consistent throughout shorter action segments that effectively spawn you where you died, and because of that, it keeps the pace going better than the precious games. Likewise, the well-implemented vaulting is an important addition when it comes to action and pacing. Weapons are a bit of a mixed bag mainly in terms of sound, since some models certainly sound punchier than others, but there are a few really cool newly-introduced guns to play with, and things like thermal vision sniper rifles are a joy to use.

I want to dedicate a separate paragraph to the story due to its impact. Quite honestly, I didn't expect to be as engaged in it as I ended up being. I'm far from a military guy, so the usual jargon and terrorist-type plots that tend to feature in these titles almost never appeals to me. B3’s opening act was no exception, but with each stroke forward, I found myself more and more interested in its outcome, to the point where I was quite invested in it by the end. This, in a game such as this one, is quite a rarity for me. As I said before, the seriousness of the tone removes some of the charm found in both BC games, but at the same time, what it loses in charm it gains in narrative urgency. The story is pretty decent, not phenomenal, but it's the storytelling, due to its more mature nature, that elevates its beats above what you normally find in the genre. Because you sometimes jump from character to character throughout your playthrough, I initially thought I would become unable to form attachments with any of them, but I was wrong. As the story progresses, the stakes change, unexpected moments happen, emotions are brought out, and I found myself eating it all up as if I was an active participant in a Michael Man thriller. All of this, so far, has turned B3’s single player campaign into my own personal favourite.

I could say more about this game, but the main points are made. It certainly isn’t perfect, but the fact that I enjoyed it as much as I did, within a genre I’m not usually drawn to, is a reflection of its virtues in my book. It so far ranks a #1 in my short Battlefield journey, and I'm intrigued to see what the rest of the franchise has to offer. 8/10

One of the greatest multiplayer first person shooters to ever grace the virtual world, granted that nostalgia outshines reason and this game has made its time. There's probably only a couple of servers left populated now, but in it's prime a lot of fun was to be had. It's hard to overstate how much enjoyment the multiplayer component provided for so many players for so much time. Not many games in fact achieve the uniqueness and wonderment of running around a map populated with other 63 players, with vehicle warfare, close quarter gunfights and team driven gameplay being everyday occurrences. Even by today standards, the game is beautiful. The graphics may lack some modern amenities and the netcode has its obvious problems; the gunfight, though, still is one of the best the market ever produced. Suppression aside, the gun handling is snappy, smooth and satisfying. A feeling that subsequent entries in the franchise tried to improve upon, with the sole result of making it more clunky and dull.

There's also incredible variety in the maps. Different sizes, settings, designs and modes provide space for amazingly different styles of play. There is an option for everyone's taste. It's a matter of finding the right combination of maps and modes as, in a clear example of quantity over quality, the developer didn't give enough care in properly adapting them or allowing only the properly working ones. There's also the issue with some artistic director deciding to tint over most of the maps with a blue (or orange) shade; after a while you get used to it and maybe even like it.

Being set in the modern era, the guns menu is rich and diversified. From assault rifles, to machine guns and sniper rifles, you may still find yourself killed by a revolver, a defibrillator or, why not, a tiny EOD robot. Customization then extends upon the base mechanics providing attachments and sights to improve the handling to one's own preferences and abilities. The vehicles are no less. So unique in handling and gameplay that some players ended up dedicating themselves only to one type of them. Tanks, helicopters and jets each have their place, their maps and places, where to shine, building a layer of gameplay on top of the normal infantry combat.

But, for all that it does well, a lot should be said about the game's drawbacks. A lot of issues at launch; the ever laggy and buggy netcode; unnecessary balancing mechanics like suppression and a lot of unbalance between player classes and vehicles. Issues that many years later still exist and will exist for as long as the game is alive...probably not long.

This mainline BF entry is a visually stunning and ambitious FPS developed by DICE, powered by the Frostbite 2 engine, it delivered groundbreaking graphics, destructible environments, and immersive sound design for its time. This engine was, and still is, considered one of the best engines of all time and it set new standards by the time of it's release. Though it is still very impressive even for today's standards, and one of the biggest selling points of this game, even though it's first release was in the Bad Company titles.

The multiplayer mode is the star of the show, featuring large-scale battles with up to 64 players, diverse maps, and a deep class-based system with vehicles, jets, and teamwork-focused gameplay. It's chaotic, strategic, and highly replayable. It had an amazing balance between being a realistic shooter, and an arcade one, especially with mechanics such as the sniper rifles which needed aim compensation for longer range targets.

One downside in my opinion was the launcher application for the servers and lobby, you needed to use the browser in order to start a match, instead of having an in-game feature for this. And it was very very clunky, unfortunately this trait continued on to the next entry, Battlefield 4, and I admit that I decided to stop playing this franchise afterwards, so I cannot tell if this was improved or not.

The single-player campaign, however, is more linear and generic, borrowing heavily from modern military shooter tropes and lacking the freedom that defines Battlefield’s multiplayer, I would skip this title if the single-player is what you are looking for. Overall, Battlefield 3 was a major leap forward for the series and remains a landmark title in the FPS genre, especially for fans of tactical, large-scale online warfare.