5 Things We Want from Battlefield 3

The elephant in the room for 2011 in the shooter department is Battlefield 3 for many fans. We all know it’s coming, yet details have been sparse to this point. The Game Developers Conference is coming in late February 2011 and it has been announced that Battlefield 3 will be on prominent display there.

The elephant in the room for 2011 in the shooter department is Battlefield 3 for many fans. We all know it's coming, yet details have been sparse to this point. The Game Developers Conference is coming in late February 2011 and it has been announced that Battlefield 3 will be on prominent display there. The ever waging war between rival game makers Activision and Electronic Arts is fought on many fronts, the FPS genre is one of them.

In 2011, Battlefield 3 will be released and with it Electronic Arts will once again set sights on the Call of Duty juggernaut. Whether the game can outsell Call of Duty remains to be seen. And as a gamer, I could care less which game sells more. But as a fan, here are 5 things that simply must be in Battlefield 3. Or at least we hope are in Battlefield 3.

1) The return of destructible environments -

In all likelihood this is a near certainty for inclusion in the next Battlefield and why not? It's one of the main features of the game that seperates it from all other shooters. The ability to use explosive weapons to alter the environment is a feature that need be seen to truly appreciate. It made Battlefield Bad Company and Bad Company 2 two of the most dynamic FPS experiences in recent memory. Not to mention it's just really cool. Having a crumbling building be your demise is something that is just not seen in many games and this is certainly a must include in Battlefield 3. With so much work having been invested in the Frostbite Engine Battlefield 3's iteration may be the best one yet.

2) More Players

Playing the multiplayer component of the most recent Battlefield games on Xbox Live, PSN, or Steam you can tell right away that most maps are large sprawling war canvases ready to be painted red. Huge in size and scope, many of the maps feel like they could host double the amount of players that they currently hold. Would there need to be retooling to avoid 30 focusing in on all choke points? Yes, but can you imagine the marketing buzz that 30 v 30 online multiplayer would generate? It would be an instant must buy for people that aren't even interested in the game.

3) Game Modes

As much as DICE tries to avoid it, people like simple game modes like Team Deathmatch. Giving players options to join groups to fight objective based battles such as Conquest or an option to jump in a TDM lobby for a quick game would be nice. A full two round session of Battlefield Bad Company can be quite lengthy. Not exactly bite sized gaming that everyone can swallow, even if it is phenomenal, it just doesn't cater to everyone.

But even further with this, Battlefield Bad Company isn't fun for everyone. If you have a communicative group to play with, it's a blast, if not well it's kind of dry. And since online communication has pretty much reached the point of muting each and every person that you don't know IRL, it's neccessary to have game modes that a solo operative can hop in and play.

4) Weapon Drop, Uber Weapons

We get it, you're a proud developer that doesn't need to take from anyone or anything when desiging a game. But you've shown in Medal of Honor that Killstreak rewards don't have to be these super unrealistic death machines. Roll with that. One of the best features of Medal of Honor Multiplayer were the Killstreak Rewards: they were realistic hard to achieve, and turned the tides of many battles that I played. A similar system in Battlefield 3 would give the game a much needed shot in the arm as far as I'm concerned.

5) More Players + More Vehicles = Bigger Maps

We already said we wanted more players in Battlefield 3 and a byproduct of that would probably be bigger maps. With bigger maps, you could certainly integrate more vehicles to accomodate all of the new players. Battlefield has always been a game about mini skirmishes taking place throughout huge maps. We want to see multi class levels of tanks with upgradeable options. Flight, and not restricted to just helicopters. I would love to fly a supply drop or troop drop to an objective, call me crazy but that would be fun.

Battlefield 3 is coming in 2011. First details will be revealed at the Game Developers Conference in Feburary. How about you reader? What do you want to see in Battlefield 3? Leave your response in the comments section below.

By Bill Hess on January 12, 2011

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GreenRIngs

Xbox Exclusive content will be nice. I hear its probably coming. But either way, if it does not exclusive it will still be better on Xbox. Why? Stupid questin u can look at black ops and fing your answer to that.

PS3 isnot good for online games at all. Probably becuas of crappy psn free service. i tiink.
- frank
  
  LMAO You’re retarded. MW2, Battlefield Bad Company 2, MAG, and many other online multi-plats have played the same as their 360 counterparts. PS3 not good for online gaming? MAG has a 256 player per game limit, NO LAG. What can 360 do at most? 32? HAHA Resistance 1 had 64 player online and that was a launch game. Plus, EA has been very friendly with PS as of late, so exclusive content will be heading to the playstation, not shitbox.
- Scott
  
  So your answer is to refer the reader to Black Ops. Okay, I’ve played Black Ops online for over 12 hours recently on the PS3 and your answer therefore means that the Battlefield will be an amazing experience on the Playstation 3 and I will have hours of fun. Thanks, I completely agree.
- Mercy55
  
  Greenrings, You basically destroyed your argument by simply trying to say it. You are the kind of person that makes me worry about what the world will be like once the last of the smart people are dead.
  
  In relations to exclusive content, which there will probably not be, it would most likely be on PC since that is the Battlefield flagship platform. (That wasn’t anti-console, I’m a ps3 player)
  
  I hear there’s single player in this one. That may be cool, but I think DICE should save their single player efforts for Bad Company 3 or another game. I don’t know why, but the thought of playing a single player DICE game that doesn’t feature Bad Company feels… dirty.
shank

bollox mate the psn network is fine and not robbing us blind like xbox !!!!!
Bow to the better machine and i own both i know !!!!
Dust

OK first up Id say I hope it follows the BF2 & BF2142 pedigree rather than the bad companies. They are “battlefield lite” IMO.Yes they brought destructible terrain & structures but I think that is more a by-product of the technology becoming available rather than a direction of the series. The proper BFs already had 64 player vehicle heavy maps & they totally changed the style of play. Next id like to see the commander screen made more intuitive & extra in-game comm channels added. A channel for each vehicle so you can talk to the driver even if he isn’t in your squad would have saved a million lives. Also a command channel available to all squad leaders & commander instead if relying on the commander to relay info between squad leaders. “killstreaks” have no place in BF. they imply your goal is to aim for a good KDR, which anyone familiar with the choke points of camp gibraltar will tell you its a retarded idea. Instead a squad bonus based on achieving objectives would be smarter. Maybe the commander could gain a decrease in arty or scan recharge times whereas squads could gain supply drops or remote vehicle drops.
Robert

Maybe the next version of Battlefield could incorporate: When you walk in the snow in the winter maps or even on sand you leave foot prints, at least for a short time, this goes for vehicles too. Also if you get injured you should be leaving a blood trail and your reaction time should be slowed untill healed, not just a bad and bloody eye sight. The ability to use timed explosives could be a game changer as well. The ability to “spy” or “gather inteligence” by being a spy pretending to be an ally and communicate with your “commrads” on the opposing team. These could make for some interesting game play.
NoMercy

dice shpuld add f-15s or a-10 thunderbolts to battlefieldbadcompany3 this is the future gaming not no damn 120mm shells comin down its good but it gets borin. ive played battlefield ever since it first came.
NoMercy

iagree wit u rob that would be more intresting gameplay
Drop Dead Jack

My five:
1. Prone- enough said
2. Theatre mode- Battlefield has the most intense multi player battles I have ever witnessed. To watch an entire team defend bravo as the opposition rolls tanks and infantry is amazing. Sometimes I just want to sit back and watch it unfold…then I die. Give this to us and you will expand the popularity of the game from of a small niche group of machinima to thousands of videos on youtube uploaded daily.
3. Better spotting system- I love the spotting mechanic but it has to be reworked. The magic arrow the alerts an entire team to you EXACT location for 5 seconds is too much. Dilute its power just a bit. Keep the arrow for direct line of sight spots but once the player moves out of view let it mark his last known location. I believe 1943 did this exact thing.
4. 30 v 30…shoot, I’d take 20 v 20.
5. I hate to say this but…A cod lvling system. ugh as much as I despise the mindless killing of COD I can’t help but love the leveling. I’d envision this as 2 separate leveling mechanics- You can level your class and you can level your weapon. Perks for class can be lightweight, ballistic armor, mag ammo, ect ect. Weapon leveling would let player focus on a separate leveling challenge- getting different scopes, gun camo, extended mags and such. Plus it would show just how much time and effort you put into your weapon…screw platinum stars. I want tiger stripes!
Dramiel

I think some of you are getting bf3 confused with bfbc3: battlefield’s strength has always been it’s focus on tactics & teamwork, whereas bad company seems to be trying to muscle in on MW’s straight action territory. If we Look at bf2 & bf2142 they would give a better indication as what to expect.proper coordinated teamwork (yes, that’s what the mic is for), 64 player games, massive vehicle orientated maps, fix wing aircraft & even going prone have been standard fare for 6 years now and should go without saying. In saying that, there are a few things I would like to see added/improved.
1) Command interface upgrades. This goes for both the commander & squad leaders. Fix the pan/ zoom lag on the commanders screen. Color code squads for quick reference.Increase the range of orders available: request/ task armor & air support, set post spawn rally points & hold area orders for example. There is a lot mire that could be done in this area of the game to help get your team really working as one.
2) Aircraft. I would like to see aircraft return, but in a much more balanced manner: in BF2 you could have half the team queuing for a jet because they pwnd so much! I think this can be achieved by having 2 distinct classes- fighters & attack. Fighters are single seat, strictly air-to-air with cannon and guided missiles, while attack aircraft are 2 seater: pilot gets cannon, weapon operator gets either tv missile or area effect bomb. Reducing ammo capacity could also help. As I mentioned earlier, I’d like to see aircraft used more to fill commander & squad leader air support requests also. Perhaps a target painter as a gadget for one of the classes or the squad leader could help in this respect.
3) leveling. On top of the weapon/ item unlocks, perk & stat upgrades could increase the depth if the game. Hell, why not even go into RPG territory with this one? This could apply to vehicle skills & stats too so players could focus on being career pilots or tank commanders. In the interests of balance, noobs would get a big XP bonus for killing an experienced player and vice versa.
There is probably a lot more if I really thought about it but I think I’ve said enough for now.
Ricky

I’m afraid they’re going to screw up BC3.

BC2 is damn near perfect. With some bug fixes, simple enchancements and new maps – BC3 will be good to go. If they mess with it too much, get to full of themselves (like call of duty) – they will screw it up.
Kurt

Somehow better, smoother graphics, more detailed graphics didn’t make this list…. BFBC2 is the best FPS ever! But, it doesn’t hold a candle to the detail and the smooth play of Black Ops.
Luke

detail? smooth play? Black ops’s graphics were shitty as fuck. I swear mw2′s graphics seemed better. Black ops was too bright, too cartoony, it made my head hurt, and the explosions looked like shit. Smooth play? were talking about call of duty right? All i get when i play is choppiness until the host migrates.
chica chica

” And since online communication has pretty much reached the point of muting each and every person that you don’t know IRL, it’s neccessary to have game modes that a solo operative can hop in and play.”

And this is why I have always loved PC gaming with battlefield. And I have a PS3, but I won’t be using it for this game. Too many morons yelling at their mother over their mic, or singing to some rap song, or bragging about how good they are, even though I look at them in the scoreboard, then look back at me…and see I am at the top, and they are not. The bottomline is to have fun and work together — you just don’t get that when there are console morons running around.

Not to mention the added power of having clan-hosted servers with excellent admins on it…or if you are an admin on it yourself (I always hate it when no admins are around and ).

Haven’t played with my clan in a long while, since I’ve been busy and there haven’t been games I’ve been interested in. But now I really have a craving for it…this game looks like it’d be AMAZING for excellent teamplay, with urban warfare and all of that good stuff.