Battlefield 3

Did You Know?

• Battlefield 3 introduced the Battlelog, a cross-platform social service with text messaging, voice communications, and game statistics.
• The game features 64-player battles on PC, with lower player counts on consoles and limited ground area on Xbox 360 and PS3.

Synopsis

In March 2014, U.S. Marine Sergeant Henry Blackburn and his squad Misfit 1-3 are deployed to Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan. During a mission to defuse an IED, Private First Class Jack Chaffin is wounded in an ambush by the People's Liberation and Resistance (PLR), an Iranian paramilitary group, moments before an earthquake devastates the city. The squad escapes. The next day, the PLR stages a coup in Iran, prompting a U.S. invasion.

In October, after a U.S. Navy airstrike on Mehrabad Airport, Misfit is deployed to Tehran to capture PLR leader Faruk Al-Bashir. While investigating an underground bank vault, they learn the PLR has acquired Russian suitcase nukes, with two missing. Overrun, they request backup from an M1 Abrams column. Sergeant Jonathan Miller facilitates their helicopter extraction but is captured and executed by Al-Bashir and a man named Solomon, with the event filmed and posted online.

Development

Development on Battlefield 3 began in 2009 after the release of Battlefield 1943. The lead platform was originally the PC but was switched to consoles midway through development. The Xbox 360 version shipped on two discs due to disc size limits, while the PS3 version used one Blu-ray Disc. It is the first series game not to support Windows versions prior to Windows Vista, requiring DirectX 10 and 11.

The PC version was exclusive to EA's Origin platform, later arriving on Steam in June 2020. The game introduced the Frostbite 2 engine, which allowed realistic portrayal of building and scenery destruction and supported dense urban areas. A new character animation technology called ANT, adapted from EA Sports games, enabled realistic soldier movements such as transitioning into cover and mounting weapons on terrain. Commander Mode was unlikely to be included, drawing criticism on EA forums.

At E3 2011, EA expressed interest in the Wii U, but DICE stated no games were in development for it and a port probably would not happen. A soundtrack album composed by Johan Skugge and Jukka Rintamäki was released on 24 October 2011.

Marketing and release

Battlefield 3 was revealed on 3 February 2011 by Game Informer, with coverage including developer interviews and trailers such as the 'Fault Line' gameplay series. At Gamescom 2011, co-op gameplay and a 'Caspian Border Multiplayer Gameplay Trailer' were shown. In the week before release, EA released a multiplayer trailer showcasing maps and a launch trailer highlighting single-player missions. EA CEO John Riccitiello stated the game aimed to compete with the Call of Duty series, with over $100 million spent on marketing.

Electronic Arts claimed Battlefield 3 was 'flat out superior' to Call of Duty and went on the 'offense' with early marketing. Viewers of the film Act of Valor trailer through the official website could receive free downloadable dogtags. In January 2017, the game became backwards compatible with Xbox One and was added to EA Access. It was delisted from PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 storefronts on 31 July 2024, with online servers shut down on 7 November 2024.

Pre-orders of the Limited Edition granted free access to the 'Back to Karkand' DLC pack, which included four maps from Battlefield 2, ten new weapons, four new vehicles, five new achievements/trophies, and Assignments.

Reception

Battlefield 3 received mostly positive reviews. IGN gave it 9.0 out of 10 across all platforms, praising graphics and multiplayer but noting occasional glitches. Joystiq awarded 4.5 out of 5 stars, calling the campaign 'tactically linear' and criticizing AI as 'murderously un-fun to fight', while finding multiplayer destruction less than in Bad Company 2 but the multiplayer experience 'unmatched'. GameSpot gave 8.5 out of 10, praising deep multiplayer, vehicle variety, environments, and team play rewards, and viewing co-op favorably except for its limited number of missions.

Official Xbox Magazine gave 9 out of 10, commending multiplayer but criticizing the solo campaign; its UK counterpart gave 8 out of 10, calling it 'the most expansive, refined Battlefield multiplayer yet'. At Sony's E3 2011 press conference, Jack Tretton announced the PS3 version would include a free copy of Battlefield 1943, but it was not included at launch. EA offered timed-exclusive DLC instead. In November 2011, law firm Edelson McGuire took EA to court over the change of plan. After the threat of legal action, EA offered PS3 owners a free downloadable copy of Battlefield 1943.