- The game looks fantastic. Runs smooth, the lighting and details, the shadows are spectacular, whether indoor or outside. We dunno what hardware it was running on, but BF3 is absolutely gorgeous.
- After you die, a screen pops up that shows the custom dog tag and rank of the enemy that killed you — great little detail.
- Teams were USMC and Russians.
- Prone is back, it feels like it takes a second or so to go prone. Not too fast, not too slow, just right.
- The map offered a lot of variety: you can enter lots of buildings, go up to the second floor, camp etc. We already saw a few campers who loved the new buildings.
- Destruction is extensive and a lot more detailed. Even shooting a wall looks amazing in BF3.
- Weapons feel and sound like Bad Company 2 (on first impression), meaning they feel and sound fantastic.
- Player animations are far better than Bad Company 2 and other Battlefield games. Very fluid and lifelike, almost as if you are watching someone run in real life.
- The scoreboard looks a lot simpler than in Bad Company 2. We dunno if it was finalized or just alpha.
- We had a few awards pop up during the game (ribbons) which looked a lot like those in BF2.
- No commo rose. It wasn’t bound to the “Q” button. We looked, couldn’t find it anywhere.
- You can op-out of being revived.
- There is a health bar, but regenerative health is back.
- You can select fire mode (e.g. single shot, full auto etc.)
- 4 players per squad, squad leader is indicated by a star. Squads work pretty much like in Bad Company 2, and you still get squad point bonuses.
- In support, you can use an M4 with a flashlight.
- You can mount LMGs on the ground and on most surfaces, but the gun can only pan approximately 90 degrees to left and right, which feels realistic.