Battlefield 3: How the open beta will affect our experience of the full game

War is coming. To some it has never stopped and day after day the rattle of gunfire echoes through snow-capped radar domes and open, tank churned, farmland. To others the memories remain even though they have moved on, trigger fingers itching and waiting for the conflict to begin anew.

As we head into autumn the feeling gets ever more intense. Skirmishes have already begun and the first combatants are already out and fighting. The alien killing system exclusives serving to whet our appetites. Across the conflict zones the two behemoths of this war sit back, knowing that their time is soon to come. On one side the imposing form of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 prepares itself. On the other, the tanks and jets of Battlefield 3 roar to life as DICE fire the opening salvo.

In this year’s war of the wars the stakes are high. The games are set for release in a matter of weeks of each other so the build-up beforehand has been more important than ever. As with the release dates, DICE have got in there first and given the world the Battlefield 3 open Beta, comprising a single map and game type available to all and in theory being used to fix any bugs. For us gamers though it’s a great opportunity to get our hands on one of the big games a little earlier.

Here I take a look at some of the notable changes in Battlefield 3 as experienced during my time with the beta.

[Disclaimer: The version of Battlefield 3 I am discussing is the PS3 version so I haven’t had a chance to play Caspian Borders as some PC users have. Also I’m not reporting on bugs, graphical glitches or anything else like that. I’m concentrating purely on gameplay changes.]

Lying down on the job.
Big change number one, you can now go prone. It’s amazing how much this affects Battlefield 3 and how much it was missing in Bad Company 2. Even in the close confines of the Metro map it’s still useful for a sniper to get on his belly to reduce his profile. Even for an Assault or Support role it’s great to hide in the bushes, on a rock or behind a bench to cover an objective. The reduction in mobility is really a small price to pay for the greatly reduced profile.

While on the floor you may experience yet another of the changes, the bipods for the guns. These little attachments allow you to set up your weapon on its front legs and greatly increase the stability and accuracy of your shooting. It’s used automatically when you aim while prone or when placed up against a bit of cover that is the right height and is great for setting up covering fire or creating a defensive position.

The bipod is just one of the many types of attachment you can enhance your weapon with thanks to the new and more detailed weapon mod system. Battlefield 3 weapon mods include handles, sights, under-barrel attachments, and there are also perks. Yes, Perks. For instance better sprinting ability or stability. There is definitely a little nod to Call of Duty in there somewhere.

How you unlock the attachments changes slightly as well in Battlefield 3. Each gun has it’s own unique set that you unlock with kills, while experience in each of the roles earns gadgets and more weapons. Finally, the experience ups your multiplayer rank, which in turn grants access to more perks and weapons across all roles (such as shotguns). The roles themselves have undergone a bit of tweaking - Engineers and Recons remain fairly similar while Assault troops now have the medikits and de-fribs and Support types take up the ammo packs and machine guns.

Blinded by the light
One of the great new attachments is the torch and you will certainly see a lot of this in Battlefield 3’s close combat maps. Actually, in reality you’ll less see it and more be blinded by it, and not see much else at all. The light may give you away at distance but the close and fast nature of the underground section of Metro means you can ignore such concerns in favour of knocking out your enemies’ sight for a bit. The torch is an effective weapon in itself.

Speaking of lights, it’s not just the torch that gives out a new glow. Red dot laser sights can be seen dancing on their targets and walls as soldiers try and get a bead on their man or machine. These lights can also be used to disorientate the people they’re pointed at. You can also see glints off the scopes of snipers and the like, a great way of balancing the fact that marksmen can now lie prone and enjoy approved accuracy from their bipods.

Another sight-disorientating effect if the new suppression fire mechanic. Hiding behind cover and getting shot at causes your sight to go blurry and your movement sluggish (or at least it seems to). If you’re the one popping shots at a cowardly foe you even get experience points for suppressing the enemy. A nice addition and one that allows some more tactics to be employed.

Bits and pieces
There are several graphical changes for Battlefield 3 which work quite well. Being able to see your own hands and feet when you take certain actions is a prominent one. Vaulting over things is now smoother and flows a lot better than before while knifing shows a short animation of slitting a guy’s throat. Nice.

The end result is that the Battlefield 3 beta is our first view of what one of the biggest games of 2012 has in store for us but the majority still have to wait for the open conquest maps that are staples of the series. There are videos out there along showing the rolling Caspian Borders and the use of jets, which I for one am looking forward to piloting. Just see the Battlefield 3 video below for how fun it could be.

In the meantime the Beta is open until 10 October. Why not give it a go for yourself? We’ll be right here to report on the final release later this month and see how Battlefield 3 compares with Modern Warfare 3 in the clash of the year.

Words: Ellis Covington (Twitter: @evilshed)

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