Battlefield 3 Review (7/10)

Newsflash, developers: great multiplayer alone just doesn't cut it anymore. DICE and EA have led us to believe up to this point that the campaign portion of Battlefield 3 had just as much effort put into it as the online modes, but just a quick glance at the cookie-cutter modern levels, which insist on holding your hand through cutscenes and quick time events for the most part, shows that this is not the case. The plot, every bit as convoluted as Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops, is standard popcorn blockbuster Michael Bay-esque fare, completely predictable and therefore completely devoid of innovation and the true thrill of surprise. Yes, the scale of destruction in the city built on a fault point in America is quite incredible to behold (well, on a high scale PC- on PS3 and 360, to get the graphics beyond the standard of a last-gen shooter you'll need to install a 1.5GB visual update), but it's impossible to justify the quality of the single-player portion as anything above average based on the gimmick that Battlefield has been milking ever since its Bad Company days. What about the multiplayer itself though, I hear you say? To be fair to DICE, the intense 28-player battles across sprawling landscapes you can partake in online are incredible, truly replicating the thrills and utmost fear of the war experience to the most realistic sense that a video game can. If you're in this for the online segment, then you really won't be disappointed with Battlefield 3- however, if you come expecting a substantial and unique single player campaign that at the very least complements the real draw of the package, as I think we should as gamers expect in this day and age, then you will understandably be left wanting. The wasted potential of this latest instalment is a real letdown when you think that had the overall offering been a bit more well-rounded, it might just have helped EA overtake Activision's Call of Duty franchise in the 2011 shooter competion. As it is, while the multiplayer is typically brilliant, sure to keep Battlefield 3 on top of the 'Most Played' online lists for months to come, the single-player campaign very much lets the side down, and guarantees that if the tide doesn't change soon, this franchise won't be getting a shot at FPS of the Year (and certainly not Game of the Year) for a long time yet!