I really wasn't sure what to expect coming into Battlefield 3. I've got a pretty good history with the Battlefield First-Person-Shooter series, I enjoyed Battlefield 2 on the PC, as well as Bad Company on the consoles. Both were good games, but always seemed a bit too slow for my tastes. I much preferred the fast shoot 'em up action and explosions in games like Call of Duty 4 from around the same time. However, when Battlefield 3 was in its pre-release period, there was much talk that it was going after the Call of Duty crown, in both sales and post-release success. Everyone has their FPS preferences, so I will refrain from comparing the two in this review. Although I am a Call of Duty player primarily, I was still able to enjoy this game very much, and there's no reason that others can't too.

.:Single Player:.
The first Battlefield games to feature a single player campaign were Battlefield: Bad Company and Battlefield: Bad Company 2. I can't vouch for Bad Company 2 since I have yet to play it, but as for the first Bad Company, I found it enjoyable yet repetitive. Add on top of that the fact that it really was not meant to be about the single player so much as the multiplayer, and you get essentially the same result with the Battlefield 3 result. The campaign is good, but there's nothing really remarkable about it that will make you want to play it more than once. The story is loosely thrown together in an attempt to justify the random changes in scenery and locations around the world, as well as to help explain the huge explosions and nuclear bombs going off everywhere. Unfortunately it really does not do a good job at this, so it becomes extraordinarily difficult to follow the storyline or to get into it and become attached to characters or feel effected by the events that occur. All in all, the single player portion of Battlefield 3 is worth a rent for a weekend. What's cool though is if you don't play online, the single player comes on a separate disc, so if your buddy has a copy you can simply borrow it from him.. and return it a few hours later when you're finished, for while the campaign isn't necessarily bad, it is very brief.

Battlefield 3 also features special missions separate from the campaign that you can complete with a buddy. If you have played "Special Ops" mode in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 or Modern Warfare 3, then you'll be right at home here (I know I said I wouldn't compare the two series but I really can't think of anything as comparable for this.) Missions are very varied, just as with the campaign. You can choose to play with people off your friends or random players online. Friends will probably make it easier though, regardless of skill level, because you will need a lot of communication and teamwork to get through these, and even then the harder difficulty levels will still make you pull your hair out at times.

.:Multiplayer:.
And now we've reached it- the bread and butter of Battlefield that we were all waiting for. If you've played previous Battlefield games, then expect things to work a little differently this time around though. Battlefield 3 is much more fast-paced than the action you saw in games past. This is true whether you are playing the new Team Deathmatch mode (with large portions of the massive maps cut out to make for very tight engagements) OR the traditional Conquest / Rush game modes. Developer DICE has just done an awesome job of solving the problem that plagued their work before... no longer will you have to wonder where the action is, or have to sprint around for 10 minutes to find an enemy. Furthermore, the maps are very well done so that they can benefit any type of player. If you like to sit back with a sniper, it's still possible, but watch out for people that like to rush with shotguns, because the maps are set out to help them now as well.

It's really kind of admirable- no matter what kind of weapon you like to use, it can be done if you navigate any of the maps correctly. Assault Rifles, Submachine Guns, Shotguns, Snipers, Light Machine Guns, they all have a purpose. Of course, sometimes in Battlefield your weapon is not as important as your equipment and your knowledge of it, and that is no exception here either. The Assault and Medic packages have been morphed into one setup, and it works far better than I ever expected it to. Personally I think it makes the game far more fast paced. As Assault players rush up and leave medkits behind, support players can be healed as they progress through the map as well. Teamwork has always been a key part of doing well in Battlefield, and that value has not been lost in the flurry of changes DICE has worked out in their newest release. You are still far better off helping the team then trying to lone wolf it yourself, even if you are using one of the more powerful (perhaps even a bit overpowered?) guns like the F2000.

If the vehicles is what you love about Battlefield multiplayer, don't despair, they are still here and a key part of the gameplay. Some of them may be a bit tricky to use and will require quite a bit of practice (I died as a chopper gunner many a times due to my friend flying our helicopter into buildings or mountains) but a good pilot on your team will still benefit everyone greatly, as the air superiority is still very important to the success of your mission. There are plenty of land vehicles or standing turrets to man as well, and they all vary from map to map. Furthermore, if you purchase the Back to Karkland DLC expansion pack (included free with the pre-ordered Limited Edition of the game) even more maps with new vehicles and things to explode are introduced.

.:Close Quarters DLC:.
I know that I only briefly went over the Back to Karkland DLC. So why am I dedicating an entire section to the second DLC drop- Close Quarters? It's simple really- it completely changes the game. If the reason you prefer Call of Duty to Battlefield is you like the fast-paced action, then I encourage you to purchase the Close Quarters DLC. This makes it truly possible for players to enjoy Battlefield in the same way that they enjoy Activision's blockbuster gaming hits. Close Quarters is a series of small maps without vehicles, which may seem rather counter-productive... what's Battlefield without vehicles? However, after playing Close Quarters more and more, and continually dumping hours into these new maps, I've found that Battlefield without vehicles just ends up making for a really exciting game. Turns out DICE's new Frostbite 2 engine will work just fine for both tight shotgun battles or cross-map sniping.

.:Overall:.
I can almost guarantee that if you go into Battlefield 3 with an open mind you will enjoy it. It doesn't matter if you enjoy Call of Duty, this is a fresh break from it, and Battlefield boasts exciting moments in its multiplayer that are both different yet still a blast to play out in their own right. It is perfectly possible (and contrary to popular belief by fanboys of either series, healthy) to enjoy both of these multiplayer series. Battlefield 3 showcases enough new content, and brings more than enough to the table to make it an enjoyable shooter for any type of player.