It’s hard to state the challenge of the task that faced Battlefield 3. I mean, how do you really take on an unrelenting juggernaut that is not only the most successful selling pieces of entertainment in history, but managed to do so by surpassing the previously highest grossing release of all time from just a year early. With it’s last two releases, Call of Duty has solidified itself as the biggest annual release of the calendar year, across all platforms of entertainment. Just how do you compete with that?

Well, Electronic Arts certainly had a plan in effect, with an advertising campaign spreading multiple quarters, monstrous billboards, TV commercials left, right and center, and seemingly the takeover skin for the majority of the gaming press. However, no amount of glossy magazine advertisements, glistening gameplay trailers or thumping soundtracks will alter the actual game – and when it comes down to it, that’s all that really matters. Thankfully, DICE have created a shooter that, whilst may not set the world alight, is a fanfare of everything a modern first person shooter aspires to be.

Firstly, let’s take a look at the single player portion of the game, something that at around six hours in length, will provide an enjoyable and powerful experience – one that will certainly have you pumped and ready to jump online from. It’s, like the brethren it tries to better, a rather narrow and linear experience that directs you through from location-to-location, clearing rooms, windows and alleyways of enemy combatants in order to complete your mission. Throw in some rather splendid set-pieces, the now seemingly obligatory sniper-based level, a few outings in a variety of vehicles and you’ve pretty much got a modern-day shooter in a nutshell. All that was really missing was an overuse of slow-motion and some bulking protagonist.

“One things for certain though, the game is stunning; a visual treat at its finest with some stunning use of lighting, crisp textures and superb character animations.”

Instead we have the slight build of Staff Sergeant Blackburn, whom, for the most part, fills the shoes of the lead role of the story. It’s a surprisingly well told one as well, using the increasingly common ‘flashback’ approach to piece together the plot whilst playing out your tasks along the way. There’s little to have you at the edge of your seat in regards to both dialogue and character empathy, but it’s delivered in such a fashion that keeps you entertained at least.

One things for certain though, the game is stunning; a visual treat at its finest with some stunning use of lighting, crisp textures and superb character animations. There are some obvious effects that DICE have utilised in several areas, but they only solidify the colossal achievement that the shooter displays. There’s little in the way of frame rate slowdown with it consistently running at thirty frames per second, which is even more impressive when you consider the masterpiece atheistics that DICE have managed to deliver to consoles.

Something that is quite remarkable then, is that the sound design is really the defining aspect of Battlefield 3. With no reservations and no doubts, I can safely say that there is no game out today with a better auditory experience than this high-octane shooter. Every bullet hit, every explosion, the whoosh of a missile flying past your head, the ringing in your ears after a near-by tank fired off a round, the emotive yet pounding soundtrack; it’s all simply breath-taking.

Gunplay is sharp and precise, whilst bringing that real feeling of weight – you can feel every recoil that pounds into your chest as you fire and the kick-back from an RPG – giving one of the slickest experiences on the market.

“The campaign offers a well-paced, action-packed experience – albeit a rather safe one; filled with impressive set-pieces, solid gunplay and wrapped in a glorious visual finish. Multiplayer however, is a completely different beast.”

It doesn’t come without some issues though. Loading times between levels, or after the unfortunate passing of our Staff Sergeant, is a tad lengthy – seeming adding further punishment to your untimely death; there are some frustrating checkpoint positioning and at times, quite brutal difficulty spikes. The latter is primarily due to the accuracy of the enemy who are either oblivious to your presence or have you firm in their scopes as they bury you with rounds. Something that in its premise isn’t particularly a problem, given it’s closer interpretation of real world warfare, but in the confines of a game parameters it can make things a little tricky. Probably in an attempt to hide loading, you have to play the frustrating ‘wait for your team to catch up and storm the door’ game far too often, and your teammates, whilst mightily useful on the battlefield, will, at times, have predetermined cover locations that disregard you entirely, pushing into the full view of a thousand oncoming bullets.

There’s a few graphical quirks as well. Lip-syncing is often misplaced, facial animation can be a bit disjointed, there’s some clipping issues and, on one particular level, there was a major lighting bug from a landed helicopter that filled my screen bright white, ensuring I couldn’t see a thing and proceeded to get filled with lead. This was then further compounded as a poorly place checkpoint just previously guaranteed the same issue every single time, resulting in the my necessity to moonwalk for the remainder of the level.

Despite these quite noticeable flaws, Battlefield 3 it simply fantastic when it comes to the front line.

The campaign offers a well-paced, action-packed experience – albeit a rather safe one; filled with impressive set-pieces, solid gunplay and wrapped in a glorious visual finish. Multiplayer however, is a completely different beast.

Fast yet measured, frantic yet refined, powerful yet subtle. Battlefield 3 takes all of the shining lights from the single player campaign: combat, visuals, sound design; and mixes with some incredible map design, addictive progression system and thoroughly entertaining modes to create one of the best online shooting experiences. DICE is well renowned for their impressive multiplayer titles and Battlefield 3 is no different, it is a superlative multiplayer experience that’s the unequivocal pinnacle of the franchise.

The variety of maps are intricate and expansive, spanning great lengths whilst never feeling overly vast or empty. With a half kilometre drop to base jump from in Damavand Peak, funneled battles along a subway in Operation Métro, and the war zone of Operation Firestorm, these really are some of the greatest multiplayer maps to grace this generation’s consoles.

Customisation options are vast and the unlock tree is rewarding and adaptive, spreading across many facets of online play, focusing on the things you do most frequently. There’s obviously ranks for an overall levelling system, but with class based, weapon based and vehicle based progression, it’s all down to how you want to play. Vehicles have seen a minor alteration than previous Battlefield’s, with an engineers ability to repair a damage vehicle, as well as the need to disable a vehicle before its impending destruction all contribute to their beautiful balance between help and hindrance.

“Will it take market share away from Call of Duty? When it’s this good, who cares.”

Newcomers are well catered for with bonuses for kill assists and suppression fire, but ultimately, take a more cautious approach to the run-and-gun snap-shot fire fights that Call of Duty employs and you’ll do just fine.

The ability to prone makes a welcome return, allowing you to either drop to the ground when the bullets come raining down, or take up a more tactical position to pick off the enemy. Much like the vehicles, it’s finely balanced by the inclusion of muzzle flashes from snipers as well as torch attachments and laser sights to blind the opponent, giving you that slight advantage in a head-to-head firefight. Additionally, shots that are landed in your approximate vicinity will blur your vision and disorient you, making it harder to pick off a target if you’ve been spotted.

The most apparent thing about multiplayer is the necessity for team work. With Rush and CQ being the two most popular game modes, locking down a room with players at each entrance or ambushing a corridor with the right combination of weapons and tactics is vital to success. Thankfully, the majority of players seem to have taken to these requirements like a fish to water, with teamwork being prevalent throughout most games.

Any of the issues from the beta, graphical or otherwise, have been stricken off, leaving a multiplayer portion that is accomplished, accessible and so very assured. Gameplay will see that you rarely feel out of your depth, all the while maintaining an incentive for the more hardcore of players to latch onto. Whilst there are still a few launch week teething problems in regards to connecting to a game, once you’re in it’s an incredible smooth, generally lag-free experience.

Finally, there’s the co-op missions which allow you to team up, with just a one other, to complete whatever task is afoot. Whilst they are certainly great fun to partake in with a friend, the lack a noticeable inclusion in the progression system – there are a few guns here and there that are attributed to co-op – and its restriction to a team of just two is disappointing. The missions themselves are enjoyable, albeit a tad challenging, but a squad of four would’ve been far superior.

Battlefield 3 was always, always going to be compared to Call of Duty, despite the noticeable differences in both style and gameplay; however, DICE have successfully created a shooter that, despite the lack of originality in the campaign, defines itself in the online arena with a deafening roar. With a more than serviceable campaign mode, a co-op mode to enjoy – for a while at least, and a multiplayer experience that blurs the line between accessible and hardcore with such ease, Battlefield 3 is one hell of a shooter. Will it take market share away from Call of Duty? When it’s this good, who cares.