The Xbox 360 version (and most likely the PS3 too) is simply not  packed with as much action as we anticipated it to be.  Bad Company 2 was more intense, more fun, more engaging.

Maybe it’s because BF3 was primarily designed as a PC game like BF2. I suppose that with more players per match things are  more exciting…

I’ve been playing mostly the Rush mode until now, which was pure mayhem back at BFBC2. Instead of that, you can spend 30′ or 40′ playing a single round and only shoot 5 or 10 enemies. Not because you lack skill, but because either the enemies don’t attack and camp in the hills sniping, either because you try to attack but the rest of your team doesn’t follow and your squad keeps getting decimated then spawning back at your camp, etc.

Maybe the situation will ameliorate as soon as the most motivated players will remain, those who truly intend to play the game. But it’s not only a matter of motivation but also the maps are also to blame: most of them  are too open and the  action is too loose. Maybe all of them are not fit for Rush after all?

Operation Metro, Tehran Highway,  Seine Crossing are fun. Other maps like Caspian Border or Operation Firestorm can be excruciating, spending most of the time running  where the action is supposed to be, or waiting for the enemies to get their shit together and finally attack.

Possibly it’s too early to issue a final verdict, but right now I am playing more and more Modern Warfare 3, eventhough it doesn’t feature dedicated servers, eventhough match making is flawed. That’s an irony knowing that I abandoned the COD series overnight when I first played BFBC2… I hope to be wrong.

The reason I got into multiplayer games is that after playing the  single player campaign of Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, I couldn’t get enough and needed more. Eventhough the host-based networking of the console version has largely disappointed me and made me switch to Battlefield, I am still a fan of the Modern Warfare series and reckon that Infinity Ward (with the help of Sledgehammer this time) knows at least how to craft some of the best single player campaigns…

Modern Warfare campaigns are all about big, blockbuster spectacle in a world where all hell breaks loose. Nukes explode, the old cold war fears come true with the Russians trying to invade the western world, new York becomes a battlefield, the Eiffel towerin Paris collapses, unlikely twists and turns  happen all the time… and in my book that’s irrestible!

Modern Warfare 3′s campaign is better than Modern Warfare 2′s. The scenario is better, the action is more intense, and a lot of flashbacks are made to COD4 giving a sense of completeness to what appears to be a trilogy. There’s new weapons, gimmicks and gadgets, as well as a new protagonist, a russian named Yuri alongside with the old gang: Captain Price, Soap, and Nikolai. There’s a lot of great locales, and some levels appear clearly to have been created according to the fans feedback on the previous campaigns. This means that are obvious references to the popular parts of the COD4 campaign. For example, there’s some fighting in an aircraft, which is an obvious reference to the Mile High Club stage (and which I take pride to have completed it in Veteran difficulty).

Having started but not finished yet the BF3 campaign, it’s hard not to make a comparison. The MW3 single player campaign is a roller coaster sort of experience, an action movie in which you are participating with a big smile on your face from start to finish. BF3 tried to mimick it, but one of the reasons that DICE has failed is that by trying to be pseudo-realistic they have failed to make it fun.

Take for example the cut scenes between levels. In the MW series they are bombastic, a visual and audio feast with great dialogues. In BF3 it’s just the old soldier-accused-of-mutiny-getting-interrogated rehash that has been already done in the past and better, like in Black and COD:Black Ops.

I haven’t played the Spec Ops mode yet, but if it’s as fun as MW2′s (and I am sure it is), then it’s safe to say that Modern Warfare is the best single player and co-op experience out there, as far as military shooters go at least.

Instead of writing a plain review, I have started the BF3 multiplayer Q&A page, which I will update regularly… Check it out,  feel free to comment and leave your own questions to be answered.

In the EU & expecting a #BF3Beta early access email? It should now be in your inbox (or spam filter). If not, contact support.ea.com #BF3

That’s an official Battlefied tweet.  Guess what? I live in the EU and I still haven’t received my code…

I am in the support chat queue at support.ea.com for 30′ now, and I still have to wait at least 40′. People in the official forums report that they’ve been advised to … wait and if they haven’t received their code by tomorrow (!!!) to contact support again.

That shall learn you a lesson:  never buy an EA game hoping that it will earn you an early beat access!