Friday 1 March 2013

Battlefield 3 Premium

Battlefield Premium is a one off payment expansion pack with all downloadable content like maps, new weapons and dogtags.



Battlefield Premium has a one off payment of $49.99 to $69.99 (depending on currency) while individual map packs cost $15 to $25 (depending on currency). There are five map packs. Call of Duty Elite has a yearly subscription fee of $49.99 while individual map packs cost $15 (Again, all depending on currency). Call of Duty map packs are released monthly for the next nine months after the release of the game. 

The first Battlefield 3 map pack was "Back to Karkand" released in December 2011. It featured four old legendary maps from Battlefield 2 = Karkand, Gulf of Oman, Wake Island and Sharqi Peninsula. They were based on voters' choice and have been redesigned with the Frostbite 2 engine. The assignments has ten new weapons with 8 guns designed for a specific class while 2 guns are for all classes. There are new vehicles like armoured personnel carriers, F-35B fighters and buggy jeeps. A new game mode was introduced called 'Conquest Assault' which one team will have a base while the other can only spawn on captured areas or squadmates.During Battlefield 3's development, DICE had a seperate team to develop this expansion pack.

"Close Quarters" is the second expansion pack released on June 2012 featured infantry only close quarter combat similar to Call of Duty's multiplayer. It's 4 maps are Operation 925, Scrapmetal, Ziba Tower and Donya Fortress. It has enhanced destruction as the walls are made of plaster and light wood enabling players to shoot through walls. The assignments also featured ten new guns with most designed for close quarters while others can be unlocked and used in the base game. It's new gamemodes is Conquest Domination and Gunmaster. 'Conquest Domination' is when there are three point flags around the map to capture and hold; very similar to Call of Duty's Domination gamemode. 'Gunmaster' is where every player starts with a handgun and advances to the next weapons after scoring a number of kills. A player is demoted to the previous gun if being a victim to a knife takedown. The weapons used in gunmaster can vary depending on the server admin's choice.

Third expansion pack is "Armored Kill" which is focused on all-out vehicle action released on September 2012. Its four maps are Alborz Mountains (mountainous snow map), Armored Shield, Death Valley and Bandar Desert which is the largest map in Battlefield history. The assignments are perks for the tank destroyers and mobile artillery like extinguisher for tank destroyers or anti-air missile for the mobile artillery. Both tank destroyers (2S25 Sprut / M1128) and mobile artillery (M142 HIMARS / BM-21) are the new vehicles appearing in the map pack. The AC-130 gunship will also appear to provide air support with a particular point flag needed to be captured in order to use it. With two players on board, it is equiped with the M102 cannon, GAU-12 25mm cannon and both players can use the two anti-aircraft guns to repel any enemy helicopters and jets. Gunship parajump is a mobile spawn point to allow players to spawn and jump from the gunship to paracute.'Tank superiority' is a new gamemode where there is only one objective in the middle of the map with both sides having plenty of vehicles with life tickets like Conquest mode.

The fourth expansion pack is "Aftermath" released in December 2012, is a post-earthquake Tehran and is loosely based on the single player campaign. Its four maps is Epicentre, Markaz Monolith, Talah Market, Azadi Palace. The assignments feature new dogtags and the all new crossbow and it's unlocks like scanbolt, explosive bolt and scope. The game was modified for the post earthquake environments which meant soldiers in the game look devistated from the quake with minor injuries and lost helmets and vehicles like the humvee looking like they were built from scrap. A new gamemode introduced in Aftermath is 'Scavenger' where every player starts with a handgun and a grenade. Weapons lie everywhere around the map with light weapons (Personal defence weapons) located in safe areas while more powerful weapons (LMGs and sniper rifles) are located in areas where the player is exposed to the enemy.

The fifth and last expansion pack is "Endgame" releasing in March 2012. It's four maps are Kiasar Railroad, Nebandan Flats, Operation Riverside and Sabalan Pipeline. It will feature new vehicles including motorbikes and rocket launchers from Humvees. 'Capture the flag' and 'Air superiority' are the new gamemodes introduced in the expansion map.