Talk about an epic war. This fall, come October-November pre-Christmas buying season, players will have not one but two huge military combat games to choose from, both high-quality sequels to long-running franchises. In one corner, we have Electronic Arts’ highly anticipated (and much hyped) Battlefield 3, a game that’s already garnering attention thanks to television ads and a terrific Game Developers Conference showcase. On the other, a game that’s been known about for some time, but only most recently revealed – Activision’s Modern Warfare 3, which is now confirmed to arrive on November 8. This will no doubt be a tremendous battle between two of the biggest publisher’s out there, who have been at each other’s throats for some time. There has been small jabs back and forth, but perhaps the huge blow that put each of them at a heated pace was the so-called defection by former Infinity Ward team leaders Jason West and Vincent Zampella, who were hastily fired when Activision believed they were conferring with EA. (The two now head up a new studio called Respawn Entertainment, who is working on a new project for EA.) A court battle is currently in the works, with both sides accusing the other of doing wrong. But that’s another battle for another day. Today’s focus is on Battlefield 3 vs. Modern Warfare 3, so let’s weigh in and see just what both games have to offer.
What We Know So Far:
Battlefield 3 - DICE is putting what we believe to be their best work into a console release to date, judging by the ten or so minutes of footage we’ve seen from the game thus far. The lighting detail is absolutely extraordinary, and the game features unprecedented combat that even puts Battlefield: Bad Company 2 to shame – and that was a damn good game to boot. The variety of weapons appears to be quite staggering, and the situations range from infiltrating an enemy compound unnoticed to a huge scale assault that involves the destruction of a building. It’s really quite impressive, though we’re wondering if the footage we saw came from the PC build, and whether the Xbox 360 version can keep up.
Modern Warfare 3 - Well, we know that even with West and Zampella’s departure, three studios have been working around the clock to assure utmost quality in this sequel. Infinity Ward is heading up the development, assisted by Raven Software (the team behind Wolfenstein and X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and Sledgehammer Games (featuring talent behind the Dead Space games). We also know that the story will somehow tie in with events that concluded Modern Warfare 2, with the Russians attempting to mount a full-scale invasion on the United States. As for returning characters, we’re not sure who’s coming back, though “Soap” McTavish and Captain Price are probably safe bets.
Any Hitches Getting In the Way?
Battlefield 3 - Well, again, we’re not sure how the game runs on a console, and whether DICE is up to the task in making the game looking extraordinary across three platforms. Plus, it’s not like DICE is invincible, as some thought that the multiplayer portion of Medal of Honor was disjointed, since it was developed separately from the single-player part of the game (handled by Danger Close). Still, DICE has more hits than misses, and even its smaller games, like Mirror’s Edge, have an appeal that most gamers can catch onto.
Modern Warfare 3 - The fact that game development is separated between three studios has us wondering if the project can be as neatly done as the last two games. Infinity Ward solely handled development of Modern Warfare and its sequel, though we’ve seen that Treyarch can handle the existing engine for that game just fine with Black Ops. Plus, without West and Zampella, we’re left wondering if the story will be the same, or perhaps written better with more exciting combat in mind. We’ve only seen slivers of it, with locations and a little taste of the new destruction engine going into the game, but needless to say, we’re still intrigued.
How Will Multiplayer Fare?
Battlefield 3 - Battlefield has always been about excellent multiplayer options, thanks to a variety of maps (we love the Vietnam ones for Bad Company 2) and the number of modes, including Conquest Mode. Battlefield 3 will have no shortage of multiplayer brilliance, and might even introduce a few new tricks, such as a powerful upgrade system, the ability to use more vehicles and perhaps even newer stuff than that. Maybe we’ll get an idea what to expect at E3. Fingers crossed.
Modern Warfare 3 - C’mon, it’s Call of Duty. For years it’s dominated multiplayer, and we expect it to do so yet again here. Expect some exclusive Xbox 360 maps to entice that particular crowd, at least for a month or so. Also expect plenty of new modes, possibly even co-op related, as well as more purchasable extras, new weapons and more. Plus, the destruction angle could very well play a part in all of it. Maybe you could bring down a building with a few soldiers inside. Tempting…and a great way to take out a camper, if you ask us.
Overall:
Battlefield 3 - The premise is promising, and we have to admit, the new engine, if DICE can pull it off, looks absolutely mesmerizing, especially when you see the explosions. It’s just a matter of seeing how it plays on a console and whether DICE can bounce back from its slight Medal of Honor misstep. We believe they will.
Modern Warfare 3 - We haven’t seen any gameplay yet, so, yeah, we’re concerned. Still, if Activision can play its cards right, it’ll be dominating the holiday season yet again, just like Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops did. It’s just a matter of seeing what Activision presents at E3…and we have a funny feeling it’ll pick the Microsoft press conference to do it. Hell, we would.
And the Winner is: Only time will tell, both games are shaping up to be some of the best first-person shooter’s ever created; once we get to spend a day or two with each game after release we can finally make the call of which 3 is better.
