The Battlefield 3 beta is officially over, and I had fun. I hope all of you did as well. Now that it’s over let’s hope they take that data and crate a game that is going to take Modern Warfare down a couple of notches. Also, on another note, now that the beta is over you will see posts on other games. Wooo! other games. So check back often, and remember NYCC is this week so keep an eye out for pics and tweets from the show floor. Follow me @SPS_usdates
On Monday (if you didn’t read it go back and check it out) I posted a rather long review on the Battlefield 3 beta. In that review I only looked at what they did wrong and what they need to fix. This is the second half where I talk about what they did correctly, or rather what is already complete for the release.
The fist thing that stood out at me was the sounds in the game. They are phenomenal. Everything sounds crisp and clear. The guns sound like the actual guns the player is firing. The game balances the the sounds properly, for example gun shorts aren’t the only thing you hear. If you’re a sniper, camping out on the little island in the pond, between head shots you can hear wild life like bugs crawling around and birds. There is also the occasional breeze. Maybe I find all of this amazing because I’m using really good headphones, but I’d like to think they took the time to get all of this right. My absolute favorite part of the intricate sound is when another player spots an enemy, you hear chatter between NPC soldiers. This also happens when you move from one MCOM group to another. For example, when you destroy the first two stations in the park you hear a jet pilot radio in ” Be advised I just blew a big f*cking hole in the ground, we should be able to enter the subway system through there.” Lastly, something I find cool, if you are defending and you are about to deplete all of the attackers re-spawns the song from the trailer starts to play and get louder.
I’m posting this late, because I saw an article on another website quoting EA/DICE claiming that “the sound in BF3 is going to be better than it was in the beta.” Now this may be only for the console visions, but in my opinion its flawless.
(Note this was written before the server maintenance that was preformed on the 3rd.)
(Reactions and thoughts are about the PC build.)
Well the Battlefield 3 beta has arrived and I have had some time to play it, and well, it’s in a not so good shape. There are huge problems with the title that I thought would have been addressed before they let everyone get their hands on it. Now the game is playable, and I know that it is still in beta phase, (I know the difference between a beta and a demo) but still lets get started.
First problem I found with the game is the issue with the servers. Now, when they announced that there was going to be an open beta I originally thought that is was going to test the server strengths, and work out some kinks. I feel I was correct in assuming that, which makes the horrible connections forgivable. But in terms of not being able to play for most of the first day, it was frustrating. Now that isn’t the only problem with the servers. For some reason it is extremely hard to join a server with friends, let alone change who’s in your squad. Now for a game that prides itself on being different that modern warfare, because you have to work as a team and not be a lone wolf, I would think that it would be extremely easy to join with friends. Every time three friends and myself tried to join as a group, (Four being the proper size of a squad) it would only place the party leader and one other person in the game leaving the other two people looking puzzled with nothing to do. To add to the problem my other two friends couldn’t join the server after we entered. They would receive an error message that claimed they already have a reserved slot in the game, but there was no way other way to enter the server. So after that, one person entered a server and we all followed them individually, but again this just created more problems. Now we weren’t just in different squads, but some friends were now on the other team. (Note: this was still fun because we then got to shoot, and blind each other with the power of the heavens.) But like I said betas test server problems, so all of this I can deal with. On to problem 2.
Now the video above is from alpha, But I can show this because even thought the game is now in beta this glitch is still present. There are a whole lot more where this came from. For example there is a problem with the map, you can fall through it. Now that is a huge problem. Now I’m not a programmer, but if I was, I would worry about moving around on a map properly before I worked on anything else. (Note: it is really hard to defib a partner when he has just been flung across the map or he had just been consumed by the earth.) Now there is also another problem with the map. For some people the screen flashes green, and for others some of the textures flash. Now unlike the previous glitches these don’t ruin the game for you.
For some odd reason the battle log doesn’t work with opera. Needless to say, I use opera, and hate the fact I can’t use my favorite browser. Now don’t get me wrong, this may not be EA/DICE fault, but why do we have to launch the game through the browser in the first place. They made me download and install Origin, why not just run the game from there and have an in game menu. They had to make an in game menu for Xbox and PS3 why not use one for PC. Unfortunately there is an answer for that, They make you use the “battle log”, AKA facebook for Battlefield. So, now because opera wont work I am using IE because I don’t want to install another browser just to play a beta. Even if I wanted to use another browser, Firefox is a memory hog. So I’m stuck with IE and now I don’t have to just worry about Battlefield.exe crashing I also have to worry about IE crashing.
There are also tons of small bugs that are just really annoying, and ill just rush through these.
Now don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of good qualities to the game, and I will be posting that on Wednesday. For now I’m more disappointed than thrilled. I’m sorry for thinking that the game would look more polished seeing as it is going to be released in about four weeks. I’m also disappointed with the whole idea of this beta in general. If you are going to put out a video saying “going above and beyond the call” (a clear shot at call of duty), have the beta show off your good qualities. Ya know, huge maps, 32 vs. 32, tanks , jets, and other vehicles. You don’t put out a camp fest that is nothing new and isn’t going to wow the players you are trying to win over.
check back here tomorrow for an update on our review of the BF3 beta.
For all of you who who don’t know Battlefield 3 is going to be running an open beta for everyone, and I mean EVERYONE. This beta is not just going live for PC, its going to be available for all platforms (sorry Wii no one loves you anymore). The beta is going to be simple, it is only going to consist of one map and one game type. The map is called “Operation Metro”. This map take place in the street of Paris with what seems like a large underground section to play in. The game type is everyones favorite Rush. I’m okay with that because I assume they are going to be testing their server strength, but I would have liked to been able to try out more multiple maps. I say this not out of greed, but simply because I believe EA/Dice could get valuable data from players and might want to change the maps a bit before release. Gears 3 did this and it worked. Okay now lets recap:
Map: Operation Metro
Game type: Rush
When: Starting tomorrow September 29th
Where: On all platforms (so you have no excuse not to play it….Again sorry no Wii)
How: If on PC go to Origin, The rest should be on your consoles store/marketplace
So remember people this is a beta not a demo, if you want this game to be great remember to give feedback about glitches and problems. Also remember this a Battlefield, work as a team and have fun.
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