Battlefield 3

Battlefield 3 (BF3) is an upcoming Battlefield game made by Digital Illusions CE, and is a sequel to Battlefield 2. It is scheduled to be released in Fall/Autumn 2011 for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Beta access for Battlefield 3 was packaged with every Limited and Tier 1 Edition of Medal of Honor (2010). DICE have announced on the 3rd of February 2011, that the release of Battlefield 1943 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2's Onslaught DLC were cancelled for PC to concentrate all their workforce on Battlefield 3, and that they will make it their biggest Battlefield release yet, even going so far as calling it "the best Battlefield game ever."

Battlefield 3 was revealed on February 4th, 2011 with a teaser trailer and will be the cover of the March 2011 issue of GameInformer. It will be showcased on March 1st, 2011 during GDC 2011.

Content
Battlefield 3 will include both a singleplayer & co-op campaign and multiplayer modes.

Its multiplayer will most likely feature similar gameplay to the classic Battlefield 2. It was announced that jets will make their return as usable vehicles, that prone will become an available stance and that the PC version will be able to support 64 players in a same multiplayer match. As seen in the Battlefield 3 gameplay trailer, it is confirmed that the player can now drag fallen soldiers and heal them from cover. It will also use a completely new engine, named Frostbite 2, which will be the successor to the Frostbite Engine used in the Bad Company series.

With the help of the Frostbite 2 engine, Destruction 3.0 will be introduced into the game. A step up from Bad Company 2's Destruction 2.0, 3.0 allows for a much larger range of destructible objects (aside from buildings) and more realistic destruction. In the earthquake prone city of Sulaymaniwah, players will experience tremors and earthquakes that will display the destructive capabilities of Destruction 3.0.

Audio is another focus for the game. There will be audio cues that, for example will let the player know if a tank is moving towards or away from them, or if it is having trouble climbing a slope. The developers have recorded real life sounds of vehicles and weapons from a military training exercise; their goal is to create "cleaner and brighter audio."

Single Player
A single player mission was hinted at in the latest Game Informer.

The only confirmed playable faction at the moment are the US Marines, where the player will assume the role of at least one Marine, Sergeant Black. The campaign, set in the year 2014, will take the player around the world, but the only confirmed location for one mission so far is Sulaymaniwah, Iraqi Kurdistan. The only confirmed enemies in the game so far are a fictional group known as the PLR, or People's Liberation and Resistance, which the player will first engage in said city, in an earthquake prone area that player will witness. The single player features pathfinding and reactive AI that has been heavily updated from Battlefield: Bad Company 2. As Battlefield 3 is not a sequel to Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Marlowe, Sweetwater, Haggard and Redford will not make an appearance in the game.

Gameplay debut of the Campaign level mentioned above entitled: "Fault Line Series - Episode 1: Bad Part of Town" was released the morning of March 2nd, 2011; 1 day after a reveal event by EA and DICE showcasing 15 minutes of gameplay.

Multiplayer
The locations of the multiplayer maps, just like the Campaign will include Europe, Middle-East and North America. In the very same Game Informer, it was also hinted of various tweaks some of which were mentioned above (player count, prone, etc). There will be a better character customization system, with possibilities of limited personal soldier customisation, although such a system would be limited to avoid players shooting their own side. The "Commander" position of Battlefield 2 may return, though it has been hinted that there will be open-access benifits for all players, as in Battlefield: Bad Company 2. The streamlined four class system and killcams of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will continue, and a Hardcore mode will be present in the game, whilst a better pre-game lobby will be implemented (for squads and parties). A replay mode has been hinted at, to allow players to capture one-off moments from games, and a Co-op mode will be included, but it is unknown whether it will be in the style of Onslaught from Battlefield: Bad Company 2, or a local split-screen gametype.

Limited Edition
There will be a Battlefield 3 Limited Edition, which will be formally announced at GDC 2011. A post on the Battlefield Blog confirms it will include early access Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand, a multiplayer expansion based on Battlefield 2 content, including 4 classic maps including a remake of Strike at Karkand, vehicles, and weapons, at no extra cost. For those who haven't preordered the Limited Edition, the content will be released for all platforms approximately a month after the game's release.

Trivia

 * Frostbite 2 will features new tools such as, "...deferred lighting, real-time radiosity, and dynamic shadowing."
 * One lighting probe, "...contain(s) more lighting information than an entire level from Bad Company 2."
 * This is the first game to utilize ANT, an animation program that powers EA games like FIFA, to create realistic animations and smoother transitions for AI and multiplayer characters.
 * A profile system, possibly similar to Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 1942, will be present.
 * Sounds will be different in different environments, different angles and different distances, and will be realistic due to sound recordings taken by DICE during a military excercise.
 * A dev console will be present.
 * "Fault Line Series Episode 2" will premiere March 14th, 2011.

Videos
Video:Battlefield 3 Official Gameplay Footage|Fault Line Series - Episode 1: Bad Part of Town

Video:Battlefield 3 Premiere Gameplay Trailer|Premier gameplay trailer

Video:Battlefield 3 - Teaser Trailer|Teaser Trailer

Video:Battlefield 3: Teaser Analysis|An analysis of the teaser trailer

Video:Battlefield 3: Released Screenshots|Scans of a Game Informer article

Video:Battlefield 3: Gameplay Analysis  New Screenshots|Gameplay Trailer Analysis + New Screenshots