» Fri Jun 08, 2012 9:49 pm Before you call me an FPS fan/troll, let me tell you that I am the furthest thing from an FPS shooter fan. Before BF3, I haven't played a shooter since 2001. That's more than 10 years with no FPS games. I have been playing single player RPGs, RTS, and a few (briefly) MMOs. I am also the hugest fan of the TES series since Daggerfall in 1997.
Here is what struck me about BF3:
1) It is actually fun. Wtf? I hate FPS shooters, I hate War, as I hate pointless violence. But the gameplay is so visceral and the combat is so engaging and fun that I almost forget I'm participating in a pro-militarism advertisemant.
2) the combat is fast paced and consequential. You can't just run in guns blazing and take hits like a tank, even if you are in fact IN a TANK! All healing takes place in real time. No pauses to chug potions and escape the consquences of bad planning.
3) the AI is actually challenging. Enemies will look for cover and use it intelligently. Unlike Skyrim where AI bots look for cover and then just stand there even when you flank them.
4) Speaking of AI, multiplayer "AI" is the best there is. It is likely that no computer bot will ever exceed a human in an FPS game in our lifetime, and the inclusion of multiplayer is really what gives BF3 its value. Nothing tests how well a combat engine works quite like multi-player... if you can play against other humans and have fun while using the same combat as single player that is.
I am not just a whiner who will complain about a game not meeting my expectations. I give full credit to Bethesda for making a wonderful canvas for modders to work their magic on, and I have serveral structural changes planned out for a series of combat mods. Hopefully the Creation Kit and the engine will allow us to implement changes that will make combat tactically deep and possibly make it so you can't bypass the games mechanics by chugging heal pots in a paused game menu.
