Battlefield 3

Battlefield 3 is a first-person shooter video game, being developed by EA Digital Illusions CE and to be published by Electronic Arts. It is to be released on November 2, 2011 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Contrary to its name, it is the twelfth installment in the Battlefield franchise, and the real sequel to Battlefield 2, released in 2005.
Contents [hide]
1 Gameplay
1.1 Single-player
1.2 Removal of Commander Mode
2 Development
2.1 Beta
3 Marketing
4 References
5 External links
[edit]Gameplay



A US Marine readies an M136 AT4 rocket launcher in a Middle Eastern city, protected by his squad.
Battlefield 3 will feature the maximalist combined arms battles that made the series popular across single-player, co-operative and multiplayer modes. It will reintroduce several elements absent from the Bad Company games, including fighter jets, the prone position and 64-player battles on PC, while the consoles will support 24 players.[3][4] To accommodate the lower player count on consoles, the ground area will be limited for Xbox 360 and PS3. The jets and choppers on the other hand will have more flying space, and will have the ability to travel further outside the map boundaries.[5]
Battlefield 3 uses a new type of character animation technology called ANT. ANT technology is used in EA Sports games such as FIFA, but will now be used to create a more realistic soldier. Player models will appear more real with the ability to transition into cover, and turn their head before their body.[6]
In the March 2011 issue of Game Informer magazine, they describe how an RPG can hit a building and cause ripple splash damage. The updated Frostbite 2 engine can realistically show how a seven story building would collapse during an earthquake in a pile of smoke and debris.[7]
Maps set in Paris, Tehran, Sulaymaniyah and New York have been confirmed.[4] As a whole the game will cover urban streets, metropolitan downtown areas, and open landscapes suited to vehicle combat.[8] The single player campaign takes place in the year 2014.[9]
[edit]Single-player
A new animation system will allow players to "drag fallen comrades into safety and mount weapons on almost any part of the terrain".[8] For part of the campaign, the player takes control of Staff Sergeant Henry Blackburn [10]
Trailers of the gameplay in pre-alpha stage development have been released on the EA.com website http://www.ea.com/battlefield3/videos
[edit]Removal of Commander Mode
In a Question and Answer session on GameInformer Magazine, EA have stated that Commander Mode will most likely not be included[11] . There has been strong criticism[12] from the fan base about the decision, particularly from players on the PC platform who have been expecting a true sequel to Battlefield 2 with features unique to the Battlefield franchise remaining intact.
[edit]Development

Unusual for a contemporary big-budget shooter, Battlefield 3's lead platform is the PC rather than a console. The reason being that the Battlefield series started on PC and DICE is staying true to its biggest target user community.[4] Battlefield 3 will use an updated version of their Frostbite engine. Known as Frostbite 2, it will deliver more advanced destruction, sound, and graphics than previous versions.
[edit]Beta
On 30 July 2010, EA announced that purchasers of the Limited Edition and Tier 1 Edition of Medal of Honor for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 will receive an invitation to the beta contingent on Beta availability within 1 year of Medal of Honor's release on 12 October.[13]
[edit]Marketing

Pre-orders of the Limited Edition of the game grant access to a DLC pack called "Back to Karkand", a reference to the "Strike at Karkand" map (one of BF2's most popular maps, featuring some of the game's most intense battles), to include four maps and several weapons and vehicles brought over from Battlefield 2.[14] The offer will end when BF3 is released, but leaks from EA indicate that the pack will become available for general purchase after one month.[15] EA CEO John Riccitiello stated that Battlefield 3 is aimed at competing with the Call of Duty series, "This November, we're launching Battlefield 3. It's going up against the next Call of Duty, which is presently the #1 game in the game industry," he said. "A game that last year did $400 million dollars in revenue on day one. Battlefield 3 is designed to take that game down." EA is planning on spending over $100 million dollars on a marketing campaign for Battlefield 3. [16]
In April 2011, an official trailer was released on Youtube featuring the song "My Life" by the Swedish band jj.[17