15 Minutes Of Battlefield 3 Multiplayer Gameplay

Devin Coldewey

Devin Coldewey is a Seattle-based writer and photographer. He has written for the TechCrunch network since 2007. Some posts he’d like you to read: The Dangers of Externalizing Knowledge | Generation i | Surveillant Society | Choose Two | Frame Wars | The User’s Manifesto | Our Great Sin His personal website is coldewey.cc. → Learn More

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011


I was lucky enough to be able to play a partial round of Battlefield 3 yesterday, but unfortunately DICE and EA were very insistent that no cameras would be allowed inside. That rule seems to have been laxified today, as there’s a pair of videos up showing off the very experience I got. Curious? Watch on.

I’d like to register here that I was by far the highest scoring in my group of players, with more than a 2:1 KDR. That said, it was pretty clear that the opposing team was letting us win, and if they were trying even a little bit, I’d probably be 0 and 20.

My impressions? It’s hard to say based on just a few minutes without customizing my guy or learning the map (plus it’s “pre-alpha” code), but it felt good and the map we were on had a nice “real” feel to it, not like a manufactured multiplayer map or anything. I was too busy trying to survive to test the destruction and guns in a clinical manner, but it felt right.

Biggest problem? Knifing somebody now takes forever. DICE is proud of their melee animations, but seriously, I’m liable to get sniped while trying to take a fool down that way.