EA’s latest installment in the Battlefield series is one of the most anticipated games of the year and it has finally arrived. But can it live up to the hype?

EA decided to make a much more agressive marketing campaign than ever before. They entered a direct competition against Activision, especially during the last few months, replying to every move they made with a bigger and better one. As much as I would like to avoid it, it is impossible not to mention Call of Duty when I talk about Battlefield, even though there are many differences between them, they are also very similar. This isn’t a comparison between them and you will hopefully notice the unbiased character of this review.

Campaign

Most reviewers agreed that Battlefield: Bad Company 2 was an unbalanced mix between a forgettable, cliched campaign and a very solid and long-lasting multiplayer experience. DICE tried their best to balance things out this time, but there still is room for improvement.

The writers’ aproach is similar to the one in they had in Medal of Honor. It’s realistic, plausable and sometimes over-the-top (similar to the campaigns in the Call of Duty series). I won’t spoil key story elements because they should be discovered as you play. The action is set in 2014 and it takes place in various locations, mainly in Iran, USA and France. Every mission has its own atmosphere, whether it’s the iranian desert, Tehran, New York or Paris, you always feel immersed and that is a very important factor in video games. The main character is Sgt. Blackburn, who is held in an interogation room by two CIA agents. Throughout the game you get to play as different characters as well, as the interrogation moves forward and you relive Sgt. Blackburn’s memories. Almost the entire story seems familiar, some events look like they were inspired from Call of Duty’s Modern Warfare games, which might be true or it might be just a coincidence. There are several dramatic moments, but sometimes it feels like there is not enough emphasis put on them. This is both a pro and a con at the same time. It may not be enough for some players to feel the drama, but on the other hand it also avoids becoming cheesy (soap-opera cheesiness).  I don’t know if their goal was not to become cheesy or they tried their best to create drama but didn’t go that far, but the end result is alright.

All in all, there’s not much that you never seen before in the singleplayer campaign, but the plot is good enough to keep you hooked for 4-6 hours, depending on the difficulty and the experience of the player. It’s short, but intense. Could have been better?  I would say it could, especially if it was longer. They went head to head with Call of Duty this time, and when you try to create a better product by trying to make it very similar to the competition, the audience will most probably not like it more than the original. I personally enjoyed the campaign and I consider that it acomplishes what it wants to, but being more original wouldn’t hurt.

Presentation (graphics, sound, menus, cutscenes)

As soon as you hop into the game you are greeted by the stylish logo and the distorted sound that we all seen, heard and loved in every single trailer of the game. The menus are slick, simple and intuitive.

During the campaign, the pre-rendered cutscenes between the missions take place in the interrogation room. Seeing the same location over and over again is becoming stale over the course of the campaign, but there are plenty of savorous  in-game dialogues, during the missions. Many of you might remember the Modern Warfare 2 references regarding the heartbeat sensors and the snowmobiles. This time I noticed a single reference to Call of Duty: „History is written by the motherfucking victor!”, but the humorous aproach from Bad Company 2 is gone. There’s another line that caught my attention, which I won’t quote. There was a reference to Bin Laden before breaching in to capture a target, saying that they need him alive and there’s no need for a Bin Laden style resolution. Making a reference to such a recent event adds to the authenticity, even though the story conflict is fictional. The voice acting is solid, as you would expect from such a big title.

EA has a solid history with great-looking games, Crysis, Mirror’s Edge, Bad Company 2 and Crysis 2 being the more recent titles. Battlefield 3 follows the same pattern, creating new standards in the industry. The level of detail is amazing and it looks surprisingly well even on low settings. People who don’t have high-end gaming rigs shouldn’t be discouraged, because the game runs fairly well on mid-range rigs. A dual-core processor and a AMD 3870/Nvidia 8800 GT are enough to have a decent experience on low to medium settings. Multiplayer requires more power from the CPU, especially when it comes to 64-player games. DICE did a great job by both making the game look great and making it playable on a wide array of computers. This is the result of having the PC as main platform in development, which is a rare thing nowadays. Thumbs up to the developers for that.

Some locations look very familiar to people who played Crysis or Mirror’s Edge before, there were a few rooms during one of the russian side missions that looked like they were transfered from Mirror’s Edge with almost no modification (see the screenshots at the bottom), but the environments are varied and they don’t get old over time.

The sound design is definitely one of the best I have ever heard in a video game, aside from Bad Company 2. Every single step, movement, bullet, grenade, environment elements sounds crystal clear. The explosion sounds are breath-taking, the engine roars of a tank or a jet get your adrenaline pumped, the entire sound system is a big factor of the immersion level that Battlefield 3 achieves.

Multiplayer and Co-op

-to be reviewed

Conclusion

When we talk about the first person shooter section of the gaming industry at the moment, it all comes down to two giants: Battlefield and Call of Duty. Both have very large groups of fans who eagerly await a new installment in the series year after year. Battlefield 3 improves over its predecessor and achieves what I consider to be today’s highest standard when it comes to what it stands for. The campaign could have been longer and better, but the multiplayer is what will keep gamers coming back for more and more. Large maps, plenty of weapons, unlocks and equipment that will keep even the most determined collectors busy for a good amount of time, the variety of vehicles which can be used for both transporation and attack, the necessity of working together as a team in order to win, the graphics and sound design, all these elements make this game a long-lasting experience that won’t go old in a few weeks or even months. Another must-buy coming from EA.

Final score (not average): 9.5

Gameplay: 10 Story: 8 Graphics: 10 Sound: 10 Multiplayer: 10

http://www.battlefield.com/battlefield3

The voice actor and the classic soundtrack are vital and revive great memories , but the game needs something more than that to avoid turning into a failed sequel, which would be terribly sad. Rockstar Games is a respectable studio so I hope they don’t make this wrong. Some noir elements, comic-book style cutscenes are needed to make us remember it’s Max Payne, not some ordinary guy killing other guys. Anyway, let’s hope for the good.

You can watch the first trailer below:

Prezentare (grafica/sunet/continut)

FIFA. Ca si in anii precedenti, prezentarea este un punct forte, in primul rand datorita continutului extrem de bogat. EA Sports detin licentele pentru aproape fiecare campionat la care te gandesti cand auzi cuvantul “fotbal”, iar cele precum Premier League, Primera Division, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 cuprind si ligile inferioare. La capitolul “nationale” nu se poate spune acelasi lucru, astfel ca destul de multi jucatori pot fi dezamagiti ca nationala lor nu este disponibila in joc, iar unele tari, desi au fost incluse, sunt realizate destul de sumar, precum nationala Romaniei. Sunt disponibile peste 50 de stadioane. Comentariul oferit de Martin Tyler si Andy Gray, este cel putin la fel de bun ca si in anii precedenti. Efectele sonore sunt la fel de bine realizate, momentul inscrierii unui gol fiind o experienta de neuitat atunci cand simti entuziasmul in glasul comentatorilor, acompaniati de un stadion intreg ce striga din rasputeri. Jocul e la fel de incantator si din punct de vedere vizual. Animatiile sunt numeroase, variate si extrem de naturale. Fetele jucatorilor de la echipele importante sunt realizate foarte bine, insa multi jucatori destul de cunoscuti au parte de fete generice, acest lucru putand fi deranjant pentru unii. Un plus este reprezentat de diferitele modalitati de celebrare a golurilor, care pot fi foarte distractive.

PES. Anul acesta, Konami a facut un pas mare in fata la capitolul “prezentare”. Dupa ce incepand cu anul 2009 detin licenta UEFA (un mare plus pentru fanii fotbalului european), anul acesta si-a facut aparitia si Copa Libertadores, o competitie care desi nu e foarte populara in Romania, aduce un plus de prospetime in joc, in special prin prezenta unor jucatori precum Ronaldo sau Roberto Carlos. Comentariul este aproape identic cu cel din anul precedent, in general lipsit de entuziasm si monoton. Jon Champion nu aduce decat cateva fraze noi, iar in locul lui Mark Lawrenson avem parte de Jim Beglin, care insa nu este suficient de activ. Vizual, la fel ca in fiecare an, Konami prefera o abordare mai realista, fara culori puternice. Jucatorii sunt realizati cu o atentie deosebita la detalii, modelele fiind cele mai bune pe care le-am vazut intr-un joc de fotbal. Fetele, frizurile, la fel. Desi foarte sarac din punct de vedere al continutului, este la fel de modabil ca si in anii trecuti, astfel comunitatea ridica mult nivelul jocului la capitolul “continut”, prin echipamente, logo-uri, fete, frizuri, ghete, mingi, stadioane, chiar campionate intregi create de la zero. Astfel,  desi jocul implicit nu este nici pe departe la fel de bogat ca FIFA, cu ajutorul comunitatii se poate apropia, si il poate chiar depasi, cel putin in preferintele anumitor jucatori.

Gameplay

Cu siguranta cel mai important aspect este gameplay-ul. Unii prefera ca jocul sa fie cat mai aproape de realitate, sa simuleze cat mai bine un meci vazut pe stadion/la televizor. Altii nu dau importanta simularii si prefera un joc distractiv, in care pot realiza cu usurinta faze spectaculoase. Pe scurt, FIFA = arcade, PES = simulator. Daca detaliam, lucrurile stau putin diferit.

FIFA. Miscarile jucatorilor sunt foarte naturale, iar fiind completate de tranzitii bune si de un control cu timp de raspuns foarte mic, ofera o experienta unica. Fizica mingii permite o diversitate mare, fiind complet separata de jucatori si de gazon. Pasele pot fi controlate atat pe spatii foarte mici cat si pe distante mari. Driblingurile sunt incredibil de naturale si instinctive, dupa cateva ore de antrenament le stapanesti ca si cand stiai combinatiile de ani buni. Acestea sunt impartite in 5 categorii, in functie de dificultate/complexitate. Jucatorii cei mai talentati (star rating: 5) pot realiza toate driblingurile, majoritatea mijlocasilor si atacantilor pot realiza driblinguri de 3-4 stele, iar fundasii le pot realiza doar pe cele simple, de 1-2 stele, cu cateva exceptii (Patrice Evra). Loviturile de cap sunt imprecise, uneori fiind destul de greu sa nimeresti poarta chiar si cu un jucator liber in careu. Cele trei profiluri (assisted, semi-assisted, manual) satisfac preferintele oricarui jucator. Assisted este destinat incepatorilor, atat puterea cat si directia paselor si suturilor sunt usor controlate de AI, astfel mingea ajunge intotdeauna unde doreste jucatorul chiar si dupa o simpla atingere. Semi-assisted este cea mai potrivita alegere pentru majoritatea jucatorilor, pastrand o asistenta relativa din partea AI-ului, insa oferind libertate mai mare jucatorului iar unele pase si suturi pot sa nu ajunga la destinatie. Manual este destinat jucatorilor hardcore, carora le plac provocarile. Asistenta este dezactivata complet, oferind control total dar si o rata mult mai mare de esec, fiind o provocare destul de mare chiar si trimiterea unei simple pase. Virtual Pro permite crearea unui jucator, cu o multime de posibilitati de personalizare (asemanatoare celor din Sims), caruia ii poti atasa si propria fata prin sistemul Game Face.

PES. Animatiile si controlul au fost imbunatatite vizibil fata de jocul precedent. In sfarsit exista contact fizic intre jucatori, se lupta pentru minge, iar faulturile ofera caderi mai naturale si mai spectaculoase, desi sunt destul de putine posibilitati. Noul sistem numit “power gauge” este foarte similar celui din FIFA, ofera control sporit asupra mingii, a carei fizica este destul de ciudata. Uneori, pasele puternice se opresc brusc, ca si cand mingea s-ar fi impotmolit intr-o balta. Aparent, controlul este total, insa dupa cateva meciuri constati ca engine-ul isi arata din nou limitarile, fazele devenind destul de repetitive, in ciuda unicitatii specifice seriei PES. Cu greu veti intalni doua goluri identice, insa constructia fazelor este in general aceeasi. Noile driblinguri functioneaza destul de bine, desi combinatiile nu se simt atat de natural si de instinctiv ca in FIFA. Orice jucator poate realiza orice dribling, desi cu cat este mai putin talentat, cu atat este mai mare rata de insucces. Totusi, nu de putine ori veti constata ca un jucator precum Pique sau Vidic este capabil sa combine un roullete + un rainbow ca un brazilian veritabil. Sistemul Link Feints ofera posibilitatea de a combina pana la 4 driblinguri, un concept bun, dar care in practica nu functioneaza la fel de bine ca pe hartie, pauzele facute de jucator intre driblinguri rezultand deseori in pierderea posesiei. Controlul 360-degree a fost introdus si functioneaza, insa sunt destule momente in care jucatorii sunt rigizi, fac intoarceri greoaie. Ritmul este mai lent iar mingea trebuie plimbata mai mult, verticalizarile fiind deseori ineficiente. Astfel, creeaza impresia de simulare. AI-ul triseaza, in special in aparare, prin sporirea abilitatilor fundasilor, astfel sprinturile devin aproape inutile.

Cei de la Konami inteleg mai bine conceptul de fotbal, insa nu sunt la fel de buni ca EA Sports la aplicarea ideilor. EA Sports au o viziune mai simpla asupra fotbalului.

Online

FIFA. Modul online este solid. Quick match, lobbies, Pro Club (unde poti juca cu Virtual Pro-ul). Totul este bine structurat, lagul nu este o problema. Singura problema notabila este aceea ca destul de multi jucatori abandoneaza meciul de indata ce se vad condusi.

PES. Modul online a fost imbunatatit vizibil fata de anul precedent, insa tot mai sufera de problemele specifice. In general meciurile sunt jucabile, insa lagul isi face prezenta in aproape fiecare meci, cel putin pentru cateva secunde. Master League Online este un concept interesant, caruia inca nu i-am acordat timp suficient. Competitiile reprezinta un plus, in frunte cu Champions League. Sistemul de calificari este acelasi, sunt luate in calcul cele mai bune 3 rezultate in serie, de multe ori este nedrept, ar trebui regandit, poate implementarea unor grupe ar fi o alegere mai buna.

Verdict

FIFA 11 este complet diferit fata de variantele PC din ultimii ani. Trecerea la motorul NG a adus nenumarate imbunatatiri la toate capitolele. Este cu siguranta cel mai bun joc al seriei.

PES nu a reusit sa recastige inimile fanilor dupa esecul numit PES 2008. PES 6 a ramas jocul preferat al majoritatii jucatorilor, bucurandu-se inca de atentia comunitatii. PES 2011 este cel mai bun PES din serie, aducand numeroase imbunatatiri importante, insa engine-ul isi arata varsta si limitarile. Nu stiu daca peste cativa ani va fi privit ca “noul PES 6″, dar este un pas mare in directia potrivita pentru Konami.

Ambele jocuri au plusuri si minusuri, alegerea tine de preferinte, de ceea ce conteaza mai mult pentru fiecare.

Codemasters says that, from day one, making the title a sim-racer was always the aim instead of making it an arcade-type racer.

“The preference has always been to go down the simulation path,” said Chief Games Designer at Codemasters Birmingham, Stephen Hood.

“You can make a realistic sim easier to play for somebody but it’s very difficult to take an arcade handling system and make that appeal to people who prefer simulation handling.”

Un simulator realist, dar accesibil in acelasi timp. Asta promit cei de la Codemasters. Arata foarte bine.

Weather system

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Engineered for freedom.

Pentru mai multe detalii vizitati PesEdit Blog.

Trailer

Cei de la GameTrailers au realizat o analiza a teaser-ului, cu ajutorul caruia nu vom rata niciun detaliu.

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GT Preview

Detalii cu privire la noutatile aduse fata de TDU 1.

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/review-hd-fifa-world/64991