So, as you may or may not know, Battlefield 3 recently went into open beta. This is the public-at-large’s first hands-on experience with what has been hyped to be the biggest thing in warfare gaming since Tank. And if the Battlelog (whoa, suddenly I feel really queasy) forums are anything to go by, the reactions are… should we say… critical?
So the first thing you are met with is the Origin client. Thankfully, I have not a lot of bad things to say about it, but not a lot of great things either. It loads quickly, and gives you access to games you have ordered via EA or Origin. And that’s about it. It’s definitely not a Steam killer (or competitor. Seriously, not anywhere near the same league). The speeds I experienced when the BF3 Beta was release were fully saturating my 1.6Mb/sec ADSL2+ line. But from the beginning, or… “Origin” (shoot me now), the downhill slope in user-experience begins…
If you would prefer to skip the gory beginnings and actually hear about a game, skip to Chapter 6. Otherwise, read on.
Foreword)
I am very critical of the Battlelog experience. To me it seems like a backward step in getting users into the game. After doing some reading around, the beta is definitely dumbed down in terms of graphics and sound, so take any harsh words I have for them as ones expecting a little more from one of my favourite franchises. There are promises from DICE and EA that the actual final release is going to be immersive and impressive. So, keep in mind this is a review of the BETA, and in no way reflects my thoughts about any final, finished product.
Chapter 1) Launching The Game
So you get home from a shit day at work. The only thing you wanna do is blow up the fuck out of some non-descript enemy faction. So let’s play BF3…
Dun dun, dun-da-dun dun. Got my trigger finger ready... wait...
... what? Why am I on the Internet? This is not where I parked my car...
Why am I on Facebook? Where's my guns n shit? Where did these abdominal cramps come from?
Chapter 2) These Are Not The Menus You Are Looking For…
So this is Battlelog (ugh… that must have been some bad pizza. I feel so VIOLENTLY ILL…). Allegedly, from what I know so far, this is the ONLY way you can play Battlefield 3. Gone are the days where you launch up your Battlefield of choice, watch the sweet-ass intro videos, listen to the testosterone-welling intro and menu themes, and get into some bloody warfare. No, DICE and EA would prefer you took the scenic tour, picked a nice bouquet of daffodils, maybe some roses and tulips, and tell your friends about your awesome picnic down at your local resting place. This… thing… is the target of so much hate, repulsion and utter disappointment of so many beta players right now. DICE, you’re really dropping the ball with the REQUIREMENT to load the game through a web browser plugin. What kind of hard drug were your executives on when they came up with the crack-pipe notion that for some crazy reason, every single PC gamer in the world suddenly hated their game’s ingame server browser, and much preferred to dick around on the internet just so they could start a game and blow up some afghans. I myself am disgusted by the idea we are apparently being forced to rely on a web browser plug-in (and by proxy an Internet connection) in order to play a game. This is not Zynga. This is not Farmville. It’s a fucking war game with guns and blood and body parts flying everywhere. Fuck you. Moving along…
Chapter 3) Standing In Line At A Gay Bar
OK, so you’ve had a few trips to the porcelain throne by now. All the acidic vomit and your earlier kebab are happily residing in your city’s sewerage system. You’ve found your way back to the bar, and are keen for another drink. So let’s choose from the fine selection available;
Um... I'll have that one? Will it get me drunk?
To be fair, this also does what it promises. But why am I looking at a server list in a browser? Where is Battlefield 3? Why the hell is my “Game Manager” telling me everything is OK? WHY WOULDNT EVERYTHING BE OK? It’s not like your website, servers, or even the internet could EVER HAVE ANY PROBLEMS. Problems that might, say, hamper my ability to see a list of servers, or maybe, I dunno, launch my game on my computer… Having the requirement to be online, and on a particular website, with particular plug-ins, to play a game, is simply dumb. Stupid. Retarded. The most illogical thing any game developer could have come up with, even at a board meeting where everyone had their own line of coke. I can’t write anything nice about Battlelog. So I’ll move onto something I can.
Chapter 4) Do You Feel Lucky? Well… Do Ya?
I wanted to write something nice about the process of joining a server. But I just can’t.
This image sums it up.
Fuck. You.
Chapter 5) So, About That New Battlefield Game…
So after EA’s server infrastructure overlord deems you worthy to be a part of the rest of the online gaming community, it decides to get you connected to the server of your choosing. But wait, where the hell is Battlefield 3? Didn’t I load the game back in Chapter 1? Ah-HAH! Of course not! You simply wanted to let DICE/EA know you had a desire to play it. God forbid you have the freedom of choice, and privilege of spontaneity! Gosh, it’s like you think you can do whatever the hell you want, when you want. How primitive of you. But don’t worry, Game Manager has got you covered…
Wait... that launching box looks familiar...
*insert Picture-In-Picture Snippet*
Neo: Whoa! I saw a black cat, and then another one, just like it…
Chapter 6) Didn’t You Hear, There’s A War Going On…
So after all this dickery, you’re left wandering what the point in time was, that someone in the game design decision making process at DICE, decided that no, you know what, screw history. Screw the tried and true, screw what our audience, the gamer, is accustomed to. Let’s rattle the cages. Let’s get the dogs barking. Fuck having in-game menus. That’s for pussies. Fuck customisation. Why should anyone want to tweak their settings to their desire before jumping in? No. Fuck you simple horde gamer. Take this!
But I’ll stop hating here. The game… the actual meat beneath the mouldy, gag-reflex-inducing crust that is the user experience, is warm, delicious and moist.
Interface – The first thing you notice is the HUD, or more specifically, the lack of it. In the beta, your view of the battlefield is minimally obstructed, you get the essentials, your ammo count, the mini-map, your objectives. Basically it’s BC2, which is a great thing. I love the design and game-play of BC2, which could be the reason why I find this new-age bullshit frustrating.
Gameplay – The game-play is… a little different. But it’s still Battlefield. With the updated graphics, the wanton destructibility of your surroundings, and the sheer scale of the environment, it’s very easy to get distracted and find yourself with a few neat bullet holes in various places around your body, as you get shot up by the near-invisible enemy. Seriously, camouflage has a re-found importance. No more running headlong across an open field. You best be finding some bushes or a tree to hide behind. Or lay down behind. Yes, prone is here, and it actually works. Gun-attachments are OK, however, their idea of “blinding” the enemy (or team-mate) with a flashlight or laser leaves it wide open to griefing other players. And the ridiculous flashlight, er, scope reflection… effect when looking at another player with a scoped weapoin. What were you thinking DICE? Might as well put a neon sign above the player saying SHOOT HERE.
Audio Visual – The sounds are somewhat lack-luster in the “wow i’m being shot up and things and exploding around me” department. But I get a feeling that this is deliberate for the beta. Least I hope so. It definitely isn’t on-par with Bad Company 2′s cinematic experience yet. The textures seem very washed out and bright, but again, I’m hoping this is a deliberate ploy by the beta release team to not give too much away in what is essentially a time to test things for balance, fix bugs and improve the experience.
Performance – My machine is an AMD Phenom X4 955 @ 3.2Ghz, 8GB DDR3 @ 1600Mhz and an NVIDIA 9600GT. The game is smooth, however can get a bit jumpy in places, and the frame-rate leaves a lot to be desired. Even on the lowest settings, the game doesn’t move ast 40FPS at any point. I am hoping this is simply because my video card is getting old, and is not anywhere near current-gen technology levels. I imagine an upgrade to an NVIDIA 560TI or AMD/ATI 6850 or similar should sort these issues out.
Chapter 7) What I Think
So far I feel that the user experience is completely shit-house. There is no other way I could describe it. To get into the game is an unnecessarily long, convoluted and drawn out process for what should be a simple click of an icon, a loading screen and into the nitty gritty. Battlelog (I just got some bits of vomit on my keyboard) is the dumbest thing to ever happen to gaming, let alone a hardcore wartime first person shooter. But once you wade through the “social gaming” cesspit that you are forced to experience, the game is pleasant, but seemingly unpolished and very raw. Of course, it’s in BETA and one would hope that the near-cinematic experience of Bad Company 2 is mirrored, if not improved upon, by the time it is released. Right now, I’m a little concerned that I have paid $80AU for this…
