Battlefield 3 alpha impressions news

Gameplay

• Feels more like Battlefield 2 than Bad Company 2. The pace is a bit quicker than in BF2, but it appears it’s because of the map and the Rush mode.
• You can now strafe run, which adds a lot more than it sounds.
• You can see your legs/feet when looking down or jumping over things. It’s not as weird as it sounds.
• No bunny hopping or dolphin diving.
• 3D spotting has been revised. It feels like you need to be more accurate when spotting enemies than in Bad Company 2.
• Classes are a lot better and make more sense (Assault with med kit, Support gives out ammo).
• Everything ran very smooth at high frame rates, it gave it a bit of a “Call of Duty” feeling at times.
• The game appears to be ready for in-game advertising support (banners etc.). Although it could be just random BF3 banners posted.

Guns

• Hit detection feels much better than in Bad Company 2.
• Guns look, sound and feel differently from Bad Company 2. It’s more like BF2 than BC2.
• Muzzle flash on guns has been reduced compared to BC2, now is on par with BF2.

Audio

• Just as crisp and lifelike as in other Battlefield games. It sounds more realistic in BF3, kinda like “war tapes” in Bad Company 2.
• There’s still automated chatter from soldiers around you, including enemies (which reveals their position, like in BC2).
• No commo rose

Vehicles

• There was only one vehicle, the LAV-25 APC. Controls felt like Bad Company 2, but the cannon firing and sounds were much more realistic, as if you’re in a real APC.
• It felt like it took a few more rockets to completely destroy the LAV compared to Bad Company 2.

Graphics/destruction

• The game looks great, no way around that.
• Animations are way ahead of Bad Company 2 or any other FPS.
• Destruction feels more limited than in BC2. There are buildings you can destroy, buildings you can’t. There are walls you can destroy, and walls you can’t. There’s no real way of telling which is which.
• There is also a lot of cover that would have been destroyable in Bad Company 2, but isn’t in BF3. (UPDATE: according to some, destruction has been limited in the alpha for testing purposes, which would explain what we experienced).
• The lighting is amazing, both in doors and outdoors. Also, you can only shoot out some of the interior lights, not all.

Misc

• Award pins have been replaced by BF2-style ribbons.
• There are a bunch of new guns, like the G36C, MP7, M27.
• There are now faction specific weapons and rocket launchers.
• When M-Com stations are armed, a C4 device appears on it. When disarmed, the C4 disappears.
• 100 points are given for a kill, +10 points for headshots, +30 for kill assist etc. You get 200 points for arming M-Com, another 200 for destroying it.

Overall:

• The game feels a lot more like Battlefield 2 than Bad Company 2, contrary to what many people think. It was hard to comment on pace, since it’s Rush, limited to 32 players, with tight combat areas — so pacing will naturally be fast. On open, conquest maps with 64 players, I can imagine it feels a lot more like BF2. Also, note that these impressions are for an alpha version — it’s far from a finished product.

  Also from another article over at Gamespy there are some other interesting facts and additions

  Frickin' Laser Beams

  
  

  Ever looked directly into a laser pointer? Hurts, doesn't it? Battlefield 3 is going to give players the chance to blind their enemies with the next best thing -- red laser sights.

  As an underbarrel attachment, the laser sight offers increased accuracy by showing exactly where the next bullet is going to hit. But that accuracy comes at a cost -- shine the laser sight in the face of an enemy, and they'll receive a brief, bright red flash as the laser dot bounces off their retinas. It's not specific enough to give away your position, but it's strong enough to let them know that they're about to be shot, and will prompt them to take cover.

  A second underbarrel attachment for Engineers comes in the form of a flashlight. Not only does it illuminate darkened areas like the underground sections of the Paris metro, but it can be shone in the faces of enemies to temporarily white out a player's screen and blind them. This makes Engineers great at storming enclosed areas, as they can take advantage of the flashlight disorientation. Of course, in open areas flashlights turn the holder into a giant glowing target.

  Get on the Floor

  Lying down is the new crouching. The prone position, conspicuously absent from Bad Company 2, makes a welcome return in Battlefield 3. DICE deliberately left it out of the Bad Company series, as the developer intended for players to constantly be on the move -- not camping behind a piece of rubble.

  So what does its return mean for Battlefield 3? Slower, more tactical infantry movements for starters. You're not going to be able to burst into a room and take everyone head-on, as any enemy lying down with his heavy machine gun will pick you off before you have the chance to say, "Boo."

  But prone also brings with it a number of issues. Battlefield 2 veterans still suffer less-than-pleasant flashbacks to its dolphin-diving antics, while competitive players still swear by easy headshots thanks to the instant accuracy boost when hitting the deck. There's also that golden oldie of grass -- how does the game deal with drawing it? A prone player might think they're hidden comfortably behind these green blades of invisibility, but will they be seen by somebody on the other side of the map?

  To combat these problems, Battlefield 3 attaches a few conditions to its prone mechanic. Heading for the deck will cause the crosshairs to instantly and significantly expand, as accuracy goes out the window. Additionally, DICE has added a short delay between hitting the prone button and when the player can start shooting. It all adds up to dolphin diving becoming a fools errand - as it should be.