Battlefield 3 (not Bad Company)

[Family Fry]

I don't think I will sell BC2 just yet, not played it in a while but always good as a back up just in-case and for a quick dash around Arica Harbour, man that level
Onward the 28th, actually going with a mate to a midnight launch for the giggles as I be out drinking that night too.
Think Batman and this will keep me going til xmas OH and Rayman Origins of course.

[MisterBubbles]

IGN has the PC review going up on Sunday/Monday 12.01 am, http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/121/1210387p1.html

[nonny]

I've also sold BC2 and I've just been informed that I'm getting a review copy of this but not sure when exactly. If its before the 27th I'll be chuffed.

[PeteJ]

Loads of SP console footage on youtube if you want to check it out, I won't link as I'm sure people don't want it spoiled. I saw about 3 seconds and thought it looked incredible. Crysis 2 levels of incredible.

[Spatial]

Always hard to tell because of Youtube's ****ty compression rates, but with that HD texture pack installed it looks pretty much

[englishbob]

Shopto now Instock and processing. Now begins the usual dispatched (i.e. you cannot cancel your preorder) / not actually dispatched (sitting in a envelope in a warehouse somewhere) emails, probably starting from Monday.

[Rossco]

I watched a 3 minute video of a train level on 360. Looked sweet, was only 720p though and craptube quality so couldn't tell how good it looked. But as I've said before, the lighting makes the game. So as long as the textures on the HD install disc are decent then we're onto a winner.

Can't wait.

[nonny]

Yes it does look rather good... a decent site is www.bf3blog.com, they seem to have a wealth of information.

I actually crumbled yesterday and watched the first three campaign levels from the 360, most of which is stuff we've already seen in the E3 demonstrations. I only did this because I know the campaign isnt something I am particularly needing to be surprised by but from a technical standpoint the 360 holds up pretty damn well by all accounts. Game-play though... well it looked like a cross between BFBC2 and COD which isnt all that surprising.

All I can say is that if the 360 campaign looks that good graphically then I hope the multiplayer matches it because it was definitely a major improvement on the beta.

Btw... there are some HD texture install comparison videos circulating as well, showing early campaign footage. No-one in their right mind would be playing this without the textures installed. It's ugly and blurry without them, but crisp and lovely with them. I am sure this is just to please the small percent of 360 owners who dont have a HDD in their console at this stage.

[Rossco]

You watched the first three levels!? I couldn't do that.

Here's a shot of the comparison from that site you linked. It's not just textures though, some geometry is lower poly and some is missing altogether. Shows how much a cut back it is on the 360 without HDD. I pity anyone in that position.



IGN review is up in the morning. Not sure if other sites will be too. Just for PC though so need to wait for full opinions of console versions.

[nonny]

Yep I saw that comparison. There is another comparison video on Kotaku I think showing early level footage with the HD textures on/off. Agreed it makes a huge difference and adds extra geometry but as DICE have said they couldnt make it mandatory on the 360 because the HDD is an optional add-on (albeit in this day/age you'd want to have a HDD).

Yes about the early levels. I'm not expecting much from the campaign as DICE have clearly stated they're still learning how to really do a campaign narrative justice. To me this is very much a multiplayer game with an added campaign than the other way around. The focal point for me (and most) is the multiplayer.

That said... from the early levels the campaign looks like it'll be fun, if popcorn entertainment. Much like COD in that respect. I am sure it's going to be well above average even if it doesnt tax the grey matter and raise the bar for FPS stories... Given how long till launch I'd advise in not looking but hell I couldnt help myself last night!

At least what that glimpse has shown me is that the 360 (and therefore PS3) versions arent as far off the PC version as the beta would have you think... at least where the campaign is concerned. I now just hope the console multiplayer looks as good. The obvious caveat of lower player count aside it should still graphically compare to the campaign footage.

Slowly my concerns of the beta are fizzling into insignificance.

Cant wait either. Now I just want to see a few reviews (even PC) come through to see how it measures up. Either way I could have the 360 version (review copy) by wednesday here.

[Neon Ignition]

Yeah, it's well worth keeping expectations lower for the singeplayer as previews haven't been enthusiastic however it's impressive how much difference the HD textures make

[PeteJ]

IGN – 9.0
Joystiq – 4.5/5
Game Informer – 9.50
GameTrailers – 9.2
FZ.Se (Swedish) – 5/5
1UP – A-
GameSpy – 5/5
Everyeye.it – 9.2
Gamearena – 9.5
AusGamers – 9.8
GameReactor Sweden – 8
GameReactor Denmark – 9

[Neon Ignition]

Joystiq's review is interesting, largely wiping out the singleplayer experience as unworthy. It'll be interesting to see how tighly the mutliplayer has been wrapped up from the beta as if it has the required fixes it'll be great and worthy of the scores. If the problems persist from that then the scores will be unjustified.

[PeteJ]

Single player sounds like a dud, surprised they've made it so linear when the series is all about freedom.

Multiplayer should be great though. Bit worrying that even IGN are refusing to review the console version until the day-one patch is out...

[Neon Ignition]

Given the spread of scores for the PC version I imagine a lot will hinge as well on how cut down the experience is on console. I'd imagine we'd be looking at 8's on average