I am here to make a review of the BETA and voice my opinion. I will talk about origin and battlelog. Can contain spoilers. If you don't want to be spoiled, don't read on.

First, I have to say that Battlefield 3 will be a good game. And the BETA is quite good. I know that most bugs and glitches are fixed. Most of the gameplay problem I see is client side or player side. BF3 will be explosively good.

Battlefield 3 BETA is a very good game to get into despite the bugs and glitches. It's addicting! It plays well and does what it does. It's a teambased game and it requires teamwork, including the sniper. I will talk about this later. I don't like COD gameplay, where one person dominates. I prefer tactical teamwork, realism fun. And I base all my SP maps on this.

I mention a lot of BF2 so beware.

BF3 plays just like BF2 and BC2. For like of BF2, you get the traditional weapons for each team and not like BC2, you have the xm8 gun, which I don't like all that much. I prefer the traditional m16, m4 and AK-47, though it's the AK-74 but doesn't matter. And you have a health bar. It's more of a percentage but it's the same as the bar from BF2. Not like BC2 where there's no indication of the health at least not that I know of. It plays like BC2 b/c of the obvious, the M-COM/Rush type. I don't like this, I will tell you straight out. It's more for the hyped up COD players, eh, just being one of the COD players make me sick. I prefer Conquest with vehicles. It lives up to its name, Battlefield. There should be tanks, helicopters, jets, jeeps, etc. When I say COD, I mean the MW series, yuck. Wish it was still WW2 and COD players would never exist and BF will rule like always. COD4/MW series never came out till 2007. The only modern version of BF came out in 2005, so BF has the edge and they should continue to have that edge. So if COD4 never came out, BF would rule the modern era FPS games and king of the FPS games. And if you ask about BF2142, well that's different. And BC2 would not exist like it is now, and BF3 would be like BF2 with commander feature, etc.

Anyways, so BF3 plays like BC too. HUD, kill cam. Medpacks, defibrillator. Rush/M-COM. Point system. Not much to say.

And BF3 still has that teamwork gameplay and rewards you for it more than ever. Even the little things the game counts them as teamwork, like teammates spawning on you. And healing players and giving ammo, assist kills, suppression assists. I actually like the suppression assist, a nice new addition. Snipers should be the role as assistant. They shouldn't dominate the field. Snipers should be for defense. Snipers should hold back and not run up straight. And snipers shouldn't really hide too much. It's not easy talking about snipers. Snipers are just too powerful. It should be 2 shot kill like BF2. They should not hide in bushes or running and gunning players down. I like the reflection for the snipers so it's easier to tell. I wouldn't say it's unfair to snipers b/c it's totally fair. Who likes being sniped at all the time?

And it definitely easier to get points for the mentioned above. I remember BF2 is buggy on this. Sometimes when you heal, you don't really get the points right away. There is a delay or worse, you don't get anything.

And it is easier to rank up. Though I still like the ranking system of BF2. It felt more realistic. BC2, eh, it's easy but not as easy as BF3.

And BF3 gameplay is fast. It's fluid. Maybe too fast. Overall, it's enjoyable when it is fast. Still like the realistic pace of BF2. I don't want to mention BC. The tone is too heavy. The FOV is too close. The animations are weird.

I like the accessories for the weapons and gadgets. It's like BC2, I can't complain, it's a good idea. I like the idea of choosing but I don't see much use of the gadgets, like Flak or Explosive, sprint. I didn't notice much.

I like the ability to have the bipod. I always use it. I like to use the m16/m4 or any weapons with just the ironsight. Much easier to use. Felt like BF2.

Insane bullet drop. I am serious. I shoot something far or in the air, I can see the bullet just falls hard. It's pretty cool.

Suppression blurs your vision. Like this new addition. Feels realistic.
And fires can hurt you when you step on them.

I like shooting. It felt good when you hit someone. Not intended to be weird.

That's about it for positives.

Negatives:

It's not the game's fault for being too COD. It's the players. No one is doing teamwork! I am pretty much the only guy reviving and healing people! When my character died, no one revived. Seriously, no one? During some occasions, there are still team players out there. There is barely anyone dropping ammo packs or medpacks. And I don't like the medpack model. It's like BC2, I like the BF2 version. Even the defibrillator. It's too big and the sound delays or no sound like BC2! I like the BF2 version, it's small and look right. And everyone is running and gunning. Even worse, people are sniping. Too many snipers! Seriously, everyone is horrible. Don't know if it's the map or gametype, but I do know it's the player. I remember BF2 where there aren't that many snipers. When I played BC2, wow, they are everywhere!

Lag. Major lag issues. I hate lag kills. Like my character is running and all of a sudden he dies and flies to a place and fall. I am not even there! There used to be glitches like falling under the ground now there seems to be no more.

Flashlights. Too bright. Your teammates can point flashlight at you and blind you. It's annoying. Why flashlights? It's cool but too much advantage. I thought it was for engineers only or support but all classes have it.

Insane weapons. I am serious, the UMP-45 is the most powerful gun in the game. It kills from a distance and even in close range. And the AK-74 is weak. M16/M4 is a bit more powerful. My character got killed by UMP-45 so much.

Character model. Friendlies and enemies look the same. There are times I can't even tell if it's friendly or not. I had a chance to kill but I didn't know. And I don't like the US uniform. It doesn't look like US uniform. It should be like BF2.

Lack of Q or commo rose. I know it's in the final but I want it in the BETA! I wanna be able to tell players what's happening.

No options in game. I hate having to change my options when I spawn! It's annoying. I want to change the options when my character dies, is that too much to ask? I want to spawn and fight right away.

Crashes/freezes. My game always freezes from time to time and quite often. It's annoying. I tried to update my drivers to the BETA versions but doesn't work. I did everything, uninstall, update, etc. I don't want to reformat to install the driver. I find it pointless. I have a pretty powerful computer. I meant most of the recommended requirements. Quad core, win 7 Ultimate x64, 6 GB of ram and Nvidia GT 240. The GPU is good. I contacted Nvidia support and I will receive a reply soon.

And I hate the players. There's too many whiners, haters, insulters and COD players on the battlelog forum. Too many people are swearing, bashing each other and the game. There is a lack of decency. Seriously, grow up. Like it, play it. Hate it, leave it. There doesn't seem to be any moderators on the forum. And like all FPS games, there are too many good players!

Lack of squads! Not able to select or create squads!

And there should be all 7 classes from BF2. Spec-ops, Assault, Sniper, Support, Engineers, Anti-tank and MEDIC!

It's all balanced out. Having Assault for medic is just cruel. Like I mentioned, no one heals or revive players! So disappointing.

Little effects when shooting in water. Not even a ripple effect. Destruction are not as good as in BC2. Might as well not have any like BF2.

That's about it for the BETA.

Origin:

Good: sell games, play games, chat, everything like Steam (I hate Steam).
Independent distributor and application.
I do like the tech support feature. Live Chat is pretty cool. They do help. I watched the MODSONAIR yesterday and Foyleman seems to hate the tech support...well it's ok to me, at least for my issues.

Bad: Spyware! It spies your computer! It's ok but still, I like my privacy.
It's like Steam. I don't like having to launch another application just to play something. It's annoying.
Ever since I pre-ordred Bf3, from the site, not origin client, the origin client doesn't show my actual order in purchase history. Instead everyday there is an unsubmitted order. Really annoying. Tech support says its' like that since they had the origin client. It's been so long, needs fixing!

Battlelog:

Good: Able to see stats, ranks, info on guns, etc. Forums, news, friends. Pretty cool. However, the forum is out of control!
Find servers quickly. Another good thing is that I don't have to launch the game again to find servers when the game freezes. I can just pick another server from the browser and launch and get in and play.

Bad: No main menu. It can be annoying to launch the game every time when you join a server. It's tedious. I want to be able to hear the soundtracks, etc. Change options in game. I hate changing options when I spawn. I mentioned above.

They should put all the battlelog stuff in the main menu.

Overall, I do like the BETA and the new distribution methods. Origin is ok but does have flaws. Battlelog is good but tedious. BETA is good but buggy and the players are just meh, no manners or not play as the game as intended to play. I still have to penalize and give a lower score b/c of the players as players are the important factor of the game.

Overall, 7.5/10

If there is a main menu, options, battlelog in the main menu and more real BF, tactical players, I can rate it higher. I can't add Origin into the score as it's not really anything that affect me. It's like Steam.






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Good review Sam. And I have some comments on your thoughts...

It's too easy. It's COD easy. It's "good job. even though you died the most and lost the game for everyone, here's a bunch of medals to make you feel good. now get back in there and continue to suck." I like rewards, but not this many rewards. It invalidates those truly earned.

This is a major flaw that I expect they will fix in the final release. If they don't, they are fools.

The flashlights are so ridiculous that this might be a breaking point for me. It's not just the enemies, but I can't see my own teammates who blind me. They go prone and crawl, and their flashlight blinds me behind them. These lights need to be toned down if not tossed altogether.

Aside from those points above, I like the game too. I expect it to improve and it hopefully the new maps will add staying power to this game unlike BC2 whos maps lost my interest too quickly.

Thanks foyleman.

And I wrote it late at night when I was tired. If I don't make sense in some areas, don't mind it.

Yes, it is too easy to rank. However, I think it's ok to feel good with rewards when you lose. And yes, I do agree with "we have to truly earn it". However, looking back at BF2, some of the rewards, like Assault Veteran badge/medal (forgot which), are buggy. I did get 20 kills and played for a certain amount of time, etc, and I got nothing. I hate it. I worked so hard to get it and I didn't get it. I guess the devs is making it easier to get the rewards, then again, like you said, too easy.

I am sure the devs will fix the squad issue. If they are fools, well...

For the flashlight, I suggest that when your teammates point flashlight at you, there is no light. It's like turning the option off for teammates pointing flashlights at you. Breaking point for you, eh. It is annoying but I will live with it until they remove it or patch it.

edited on Oct. 3, 2011 10:46 am by sam_fisher3000

I am sure we will love all the remastered original BF2 maps. I love the Strike at Karkand, Gulf of Oman, and others. I may only play on these maps, along with Caspian Border. I would only play Conquest, sometimes Rush. So I will feel empowered again and feel BF is powerful again. Rush from BC2 is just disgusting. Never will I play this again, knowing Conquest is back. I say this because the Conquest in BC2 is just stripped down, same as Rush, just with vehicles.

edited on Oct. 3, 2011 11:24 am by sam_fisher3000

Also the battlelog is good for checking out your stats, forum, new away from your computer. I can be at somewhere else and access it. :D Like right now. And I can play somewhere when I am not on my computer. Thought, it's the same as a friend actually having the game and you can play it, but...still valid for this point.

I have to add that I have beef (lol?) with the controls. The controls are bugged! I switch to the defibrillator then to the medpack. Then I press 1 to switch to my rifle and it switches to the defibrillator, every annoying. There are enemies around while I heal my buddies, I don't wanna switch to something that I don't need to use. And I don't like that you have to throw the medpack once. I wanna be able to throw it more than once without having to reselect it. Again, like I said it is too bugged, I won't be able to select the medpack again.

And I hate the killcam, the BC2 killcam.

And other stuff.

I like the proning.

I may have to start deducting points.

The breaking points for me are the constant freezes and crashes and terrible players.

I have to add that I have beef (lol?) with the controls. The controls are bugged! I switch to the defibrillator then to the medpack. Then I press 1 to switch to my rifle and it switches to the defibrillator, every annoying. There are enemies around while I heal my buddies, I don't wanna switch to something that I don't need to use. And I don't like that you have to throw the medpack once. I wanna be able to throw it more than once without having to reselect it. Again, like I said it is too bugged, I won't be able to select the medpack again. Controls should go back to BF2! Way easier to select stuff as the numbers are associated with the items, not buggying controls that mixes 2 items for one key.

And I hate the killcam, the BC2 killcam.

And other stuff.

I like the proning.

I may have to start deducting points.

The breaking points for me are the constant freezes and crashes and terrible players.

edited on Oct. 4, 2011 02:23 am by sam_fisher3000

Spawn on snipers only? Wow, no wonder the lack of squads (to some degree). Spawn only on snipers only at times. Most of the time you barely spawn with teammates.

I conducted a little experiment.

1) Stand somewhere open but completely covered when your prone (like behind a wall). Stand there till you get shot at and hit then prone. I counted 2 seconds that i was still getting hit whilst i was prone and consequently died.

2) Shoot behind someone running... Easier to hit them then aiming at the actual player models

The hit boxes are by far the worst i have seen, the latency is set way to high, maybe its just a beta thing but it can't be based on latency as my ping was around 20ms.

I must admit i did enjoy it more now i leveled up a bit and have a few goodies for my weapons but its still not at a good enough standard. Also they hand medals out like candy, I increased 2 levels in 1 round!?

200points just for finishing the map, plus medals for everything else you do. ''Killed a guy with a grenade, well done here's 200 points''

I am furious! I am going to deduct points because I just remember some more cons and the game is just killing me.

There is lack of realism, even the tiniest little thing. And the players! The devs claim it's going to be the most realistic game. Yeh right...

-wall adjacent to door is blown to bits and the door is still standing. Should fall!

-vehicles can be healed on its own. Listen to yourself, DICE, can vehicles heal themselves? That's what the engineers are for. Human regenerating health is ok, it's somewhat realistic, but I'm talking about days, months, years, not minutes. And the health bar is too light. I can't see it. I like it and it's realistic but too light, make it more visible!

-too many snipers! ARRGH! Seriously, I believe DICE is encouraging snipers to hide in bushes and....
Sniper Camper.

-when you die and are revived, you still have a death. Seriously unrealistic and destroys your stats. Should be like BF2, where you don't die yet and doesn't show a death yet until time is up.

-lack of team play. Seriously. It was fun when a couple of teammates and I are hiding in a room, locker room and enemies outside. We shoot the enemies and enemies shoot at us. It's exciting, hectic, tactical and fun. Like in BF2 when you and some teammates run to an objective, notably in Strike at Karkand, where we always cross the river to the warehouse areas to capture the flags. Just being together with your buddies, moving together and covering/watching each others back. So it was fun in the locker room helping each other. Then your buddies get killed. I revive them. I am the ONLY one reviving and sending out medpacks (with the exception of one guy. He healed but died and I revived him)! I got so much rewards for this! Medic reward +200, promoted, kills reward, revive reward, heal reward. And when my character finally died, no one revived. Everyone is so selfish. No teamwork! Might as well play COD. When I play BF, I play for teamwork not domination/lonewolf.

-unrealistic "perks". Like cover. "with experiences, blah, blah, suppression is reduced." Can suppression really be reduced? Can you actually not get hit for a few seconds, seeing that's what the perk is.
increases explosive damages. Really? Well it didn't really work, not that I have seen, it's ok but the idea itself is just wrong.

-Overpowered weapons! UMP-45 is the most powerful weapon in the game for long distance and short. Well, why not just give this weapon to everyone! No need for other guns!


-too many COD styles players and gameplay. Self-explanatory.

-freezes, crashes!

You ask me why not post on the feedback section of Battlelog. I can't stand the ignorance and the lack of manners.

I am still going to receive my copy of BF3. I paid for it and I intend to get it. To add to my BF collection, which turns into the Battlefield of Shame, starting with BC. I agree with this. Here

The highest score for the final version of BF3 is going be is 7 to 7.5/10. There is no way it is getting an 8 or 9. BF2 is 9/10. Don't get me started on BC1 and BC2. It's too late to change everything to BF2. It would take a miracle. If it did happen, well, call me crazy. It would deserve an 8/10. And that's being generous, if it happened sooner, it will deserve an 8 from the start but depending on how deep it is into BF2. 9/10 is only when BF3 is exactly like BF2.

So for the beta, it deserves...*drum roll*....

4/10


7.5/10 was too generous. 4/10 is the final score. Seeing there is only 5 days left to play, there is no way there will be updates to the beta that would change it dramatically and better. So 4/10 is the final score.

Tough "luck", DICE.

Only 4 positives for the beta to make up the score of 4.

1. It's fun, despite the flaws
2. It's BF. (more like BS now. lol. joking only)
3. New features - animations, shooting, well, that's about it.
4. Rewards you immensely for rewards (it's ok, not bad. It's an indication of you doing teamwork, that's how I see it. Don't prefer the excessive rewarding, but ok, keep it this way, stay it.)

Well still hoping the final game would be good and more enjoyable. I know I will enjoy SP.