Battlefield 3’s multiplayer component is playable at E3 this week, and details are beginning to stream forth.<\/p>\n
As expected, everyone’s favourite multiplayer mode, Rush, is there in full force. Conquest is also back. In Battlefield 3 however, these match types will take place accross even larger maps than we saw in Bad Company 2, with even more consecutive objectives. <\/p>\n
Less expected, is the confirmation of a team death match mode, which has been absent in the Bad Company series. Of course TDM is an absolute necessity if EA wants Battlefield 3 to take a bite out of Call of Duty’s market share, so it shouldn’t really come as a surprise. <\/p>\n
DICE is implementing what is being called “Battlelog”, which will essentially track stats and serve as a social networking platform for BF3 players. It will be totally free, unlike Call of Duty Elite. <\/p>\n
Having played the game, most journalists agree that it “feels like” Battlefield, and not Call of Duty, which will come as a huge relief to staunch Battlefield fans, but probably less so to CoD fans who were hoping to get stuck into BF3. <\/p>\n
Dog tags will return, and will once again be awarded for getting knife kills. In Battlefield 3, however, each tag will include its own customized imagery and stats. <\/p>\n
On to the multiplayer classes, which have been tweaked significantly since Bad Company 2. The class layout in Battlefield 3 will be the same as Battlefield: 2142<\/p>\n
Assault <\/strong><\/p>\n Of course the core combat class remains the Assault class, however, in Battlefield 3 Assault will also be responsible for healing. There won’t be a “Medic” class in Battlefield 3. Assault players will be able to drop med kits and revive fallen team mates.<\/p>\n Engineer <\/strong><\/p>\n From what we can gather, engineers will not change much from Bad Company 2, specialising in healing and destroying vehicles. Engineers will also carry torches, which will be useful in dark areas. Although carrying a torch will make a player more visible, they will be able to use it to startle enemies by shining it in their faces. Get caught on the receiving end of a flashlight to the face and your screen will go bright white for a few seconds. <\/p>\n Support <\/strong><\/p>\n The Support class is an interesting addition. Support players will earn points for laying down suppresion fire with a heavy machine gun. In order to lay down suppression fire, players will have to first set their weapon up using a bipod for stability and M145 optics for spotting. When other players are in the vicinity of suppression fire, their vision will be compromised via a shaky camera affect. Support players will also earn points for sharing ammunition. <\/p>\n Recon<\/strong><\/p>\n Those who don’t regularly play as the sniper will revel at the fact that DICE has nerfed sniping slightly in Battlefield 3; specifically, quick scoping will be far more difficult as players will have to hold their breath before firing if they want to be remotely accurate. Recon will also have C4 explosive packs.<\/p>\n Nobody knows what the individual soldier load outs will be like at this point, as DICE has limited demo access by locking soldiers to their default equipment.<\/p>\n More changes<\/strong><\/p>\n – Players may opt out of being revived.<\/p>\n – Players can mount heavy machine guns and sniper rifles to surfaces ti increase accuracy.<\/p>\n – Destroying tanks won’t kill everyone onboard, only the person sitting in the part of the vehicle directly hit by the explosive.<\/p>\n \n