#Battlefield 2 is from a completely different generation of games. Today, pc exclusive multiplayer-only first person shooters aren’t exactly commonplace. But this was before #Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was released, with a solid multiplayer mode and an equally compelling singleplayer campaign. It was also multi-platform, which changed the way we look at – and what we expect from – FPS games.

That’s why todays gaming climate is different. Call of Duty soundly trounces sales records with each new incarnation, and #Dice’s #Battlefield: Bad Company 2 showed that they wanted a piece of the multiplayer cake as well. But even though the game was successful on PC, many players are still very much looking forward to #Battlefield 3 – the game many believe will finally end the reign of Modern Warfare.

As one of the first sites in the world, FZ.se can now share our first impressions with you, and predict whether it will win the online manshooting world championship.

Striking a posé is often a multiplayer deathwish.

As Senior Producer Patrick Bach introduces the game to a small number of journalists, he’s very careful to stress that Battlefield 3 takes the series back to its roots. The Bad Company games were always meant for consoles, he says. In Bad Company 2 both shooter extremes finally met and he feels that it’s time for a full-fledged Battlefield experience on all platforms.

From Codename Eagle to Battlefield 3

Lars Gustavsson, who worked on #Codename Eagle during his time at #Refraction Games, is once again back at the helm of the multiplayer effort. He has been a vital part of the Battlefield series since the beginning, and he´s the one guiding us through the map we’re playing today. I expected some kind of Middle Eastern environment, perhaps even a look at returning fan favorite Karkand, but was surprised when the fighting instead centered around a lush park environment in Paris. No more pesky guards, rapid-firing french insults at you for inadvertently treading on the grass. Now: heaps of Russians. They have occupied the French capital’s stock exchange. Me and my battle buddies are supposed to fight our way through the open, green area with its slides, statues and reflecting ponds. Since we’re playing Rush, the game mode introduced in Bad Company, our goal is to knock out two targets; in this case two constantly firing rocket launchers.

Not a walk in the park

Just like in Bad Company 2 there are four classes to choose from, and as soon as I see their icons I’m ready to write down their specs from memory. But my mental note-taking is a bit premature, and Dice has made a few changes to the game plan. The pure Medic class has been removed, leaving the Assault class to pick up his medikit and defibrillator. And knock that image of an 80’s Sylvester Stallone in a nurses outfit right out of your head. Whereas in Bad Company 2 you could revive your teammates instantly, here this is a much more involved process. Even tossing an Aspirin Deluxe requires two key presses, which makes it harder to do in the middle of a firefight without getting perforated yourself.