Single player FPS campaigns have a reputation for often being little more than a safe training ground for players to cut their teeth on before being eaten alive in the world of multi player. You’ve seen this plot before, I'm confident that if I were to say, Middle East, interrogation flashbacks, Russia and nuclear weapons that you could piece together a good portion of the story without even touching the controller. A heavily scripted linear ride gets underway which aims to create a realistic representation of modern day combat.

The influence is immediately apparent when loading up the single player. This is DICE/EA brazenly trying to steal Call of Duty’s (COD) crown and while the titles are in fact actually quite different when played, the Battlefield vs Modern Warfare buying decision is one many gamers will be making this year. Rather than side step the elephant in the room I would prefer to look it directly in the eye. Bad Company was created to appeal to the console audience and with two successful releases and a now established player-base it’s time to see what DICE has learned from those diversions and how this will affect this main entry in the franchise.

Although we have had several releases with the Battlefield name, fans have been waiting since 2005 for a true sequel to Battlefield 2. As Battlefield 3 (BF3) loads up for the first time with its flashing logos made of static and electronica pulsing from the speakers it’s notably different in tone to the bright menus and catchy piano keys of the Bad Company spin offs.

Battlefield 3 xbox 360