After months and months of the Battlefield community begging for updates, DLC and better communication from developer DICE, the Swedish studio has successfully given Battlefield 3 players a few things to look forward to. First, they released an insanely long list of upcoming bug fixes and tweaks, then in San Francisco last week for GDC, they announced the Battlefield 3 DLC plans.
We now know that there are three individual DLC packs (Close Quarters, Armored Kill, End Game) coming out later this year and they’ll all be more than just map packs, adding weapons, assignments, vehicles, etc. The first pack which we now have a trailer and screenshots for is, for better or worse, all infantry based with interior locations.
Battlefield 3 is all about massive teams of players on massive maps fighting with vehicles and more for objective-based gameplay but Close Quarters aims to bring players into up close and personal situations, giving fans of SMGs and shotguns a better killing ground. Close Quarters is infantry-only and limited to 16 players due to the nature of the maps, but we love the idea of tearing apart furniture and walls. Below is the Ziba Tower trailer for this DLC, followed by the official description and screenshots.
In Battlefield 3: Close Quarters, players are dropped into a frantic, infantry-only theatre of war. Frostbite 2 high definition destruction makes the environment come alive as everything from furniture to plaster gets shot to pieces. Players will feel the intensity of the world exploding around them as rubble and broken pieces pile up on the floor, while tight level design and vertical gameplay create a highly competitive environment. Battlefield 3: Close Quarters also introduces new weapons, assignments and unique dog tags to bring back to the base game.
While some will be disappointed with no vehicular gameplay, the Close Quarters maps will work well for assault class players and offer a change of place for squad and team deathmatch fans who don’t want armored vehicles in the party. For the rest of us, the second DLC pack ‘Armored Kill‘ add new tanks and armored artillery.
Battlefield 3: Close Quarters information:
- 4 new infantry-only maps.
- HD Destruction lets you reduce entire locales to ruin.
- Earn 10 new weapons and bring them back to the base game.
- Complete 10 new Assignments and equip 5 unique dog tags.
- Formats: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC.
- Release: June 2012 (1 week early access on PlayStation 3).
- Players: 2-16
- MSRP: $14.99 USD for PlayStation 3 and PC, 1200 MS Points
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oh damn, that’s freaking awesome! I love my TDM matches in some of my fav maps, but this..damn this should raise the TDM bar really high. I salute DICE for not just thinking about all the huge maps, which I am EQUALLY anticipating atm, for I play both play styles and love the hell outta them. Now only problem with this is…my parents don’t buy stuff online, specially for games and junk, and since I’m on the PC, I’ll need to somehow find a local dealer…does Gamestop/EB Games sell these Expansion Pack Codes? :S
Check out:
http://www.ea.com/1/game-cards
Looks like you can buy them at most major retailers of video games and they can be used to buy stuff on Origin. Good luck!
The trailer is a ton of fun, and I actually enjoy the close quarters mayhem in maps like Operation Metro so this will be fun and it’s a good way to compete with CoD.
@SV Ahhh, thanks a lot dude, now I’m pretty damn sure I’ll get my copy of this expansion pack, sweet.
D
@Rob Keyes Hell yes, because whenever I play TDM or in the close quarter maps, it reminds me a lot of the COD gameplay I liked back when I hadn’t touched BF, but even better with all the awesome stuff in Frostbite too and the whole realistic feel and gameplay of BF3 = awesome mix for those ho want to take a break from the epic sandbox battles and vehicle warfare and just want to slaughter baddies up close and personal.
I would much rather have a small targeted list of fixes more often then have to wait 3-4 months for bug fixes on one massive list, which is probably going to introduce more bugs/glitches/imbalances, which we will have to wait 3-4 more months for said fixes on those newly introduced ones not to mention any they miss.
I dunno, I think their update design and community relationship need allot of work.
My time with BF3 has seen allot of ups and downs. I think allot of the core gameplay is great. The game could have been so much more then what it was though. Some idiot at DICE said something along the lines of “Playing with your friends has never been easier” those lines are almost laughably stupid and incorrect, I mean I can count on one hand how many games my 4 man squad has been able to jump into a game and start playing, no team switching, no squad switching, no having to back out of a room to pick up a squad mate who was left behind, I think the number sits at 5 in over 215 hours of play. Halo 2 had it right, full room, no jumping between teams, no stupid (4 man) limit, just jump in and have a blast!
I could go on for hours about the poor user interface they have, the multiple inconveniences that you notice while playing and waiting for the next round.
It’s such a shame to me. I love the maps that this game has, Fantastic maps. I love the kits, I wish they were a bit more customisable, but they are all still very fun to fool with. I love the ground warfare.
Game was rushed, is what it comes down to.
BF3 Close Quarters = COD Frostbite 2 Edition! I’m sure hardcore fans won’t like it but I think its a good call. COD people think BF3 is slow and boring and this will show them that BF3 can do better than COD at what COD does best
I always enjoy variety so i’m looking forward to it! Besides, I need to get some shotgun kills! I feel so underpowered without the USAS-12 with the magic frag rounds that seem so effective at kills me >:(
*killing me
Yeah, agreed. Even the USAS-12 tidbit there. So feckin’ annoyed with that. Do I smell a NERF? No, just the over use of USAS-12 and frag rounds…
i totally agree…this DLC will be awesome.
Agreed, I personally don’t have much problem with the shotties and IRNV and stuff that most people are annoyed at. I mean if you just play effectively and pay attention to your every move and think strategically at where an enemy would come from and whatnot, not to mention get a good aim, you can slaughter any weapon or enemy.
Now..my only problem is these apparent ULTRA HARDCORE Jet pilots who kill you the moment they get their eyes on you and they NEVER miss…they end up with 100+ kills and 0 DEATHS WTF!!!?? idk if they’re legit or not, but they really stop all the fun of flying the jets and helis since they won’t let you last in the air for more than 10 seconds. Well I guess this map pack should atleast let us ignore the jets and whatnot. 
How much will this cost?
We don’t know but I would expect $15.
[Update: It's confirmed to be $15 or 1200 MS points]
I know this is out of topic, but this is directed at Game Rant editors. ArenaNet has announced Collector’s Edition and Digital Deluxe Edition for Guild Wars 2, just making sure you guys know.
Use the CONTACT US button.
You know, I was only interested in Armored Kill before and will decide about End Game when more details emerge, but after seeing this video, I’m kind of interested in this. I like how they actually modeled in drywall with the steel studs behind them. That’s actually very cool… If you can pretty much destroy the entire building like that, wall by wall, that could be pretty awesome, lol.
I’m excited for this DLC, but the map shown in the video looks too much like a CoD map, and I don’t want BF3 maps to become more like CoD maps. But with no outdoors or vehicles in that map, it looks to be just that.
And since the other maps in Close Quarters don’t have vehicles either, I hope they are at least partially outdoors. I know Close Quarters is supposed to be all about tight, indoor gameplay, but that’s just too much like CoD, which is bad.
Like I said above, I think they are going for variety and that’s almost always a good thing. And yeah its reminiscent of COD maps but with the ability to take down walls it adds a big strategic element as well as immersion that COD cant match. I agree that I dont want them all to be like this but with the Armored Kill DLC following, I dont think that will be happening B)
Exactly, I don’t understand why some people are “upset” over this. It’s not like they are forcing you to play it or replacing all of the existing BF3 maps with maps like these. This is simply more variety. And yes, the destructible environment does make the gameplay different from COD. It makes you think about what is concealment versus cover which is something you have to consider in real life. I hate when in movies, someone is taking fire and he takes “cover” behind a wall that’s obviously just dry-wall and somehow it’s stopping bullets… Looks like these maps will fix that problem…
bf3′s version of ‘small close quarter combat’ = some of CoD’s biggest maps, those clowns at infinity ward could learn a thing or 2 about level design from the guys at DICE (and every other company that’s ever even thought about making a FPS).
this looks really nice, but i wont be getting the game again, just cant stand the idiots that think k/d matters in a tactical shooter >:(
What system do you play in? Looks like you haven’t played the PC version, but even if you’re on console you can just go on to do your own thing lol, it’s still hella fun just going lone wolf if no one else cares about you. xDD
that’s the thing though i expect people to play the damn objective in objective modes like rush and conquest, not turn it into tdm like they do in CoD and only worry about k/d. people need to realise that the world doesn’t revolve around a f***ing numerical digit in a game that most people don’t care about, once they do that we can have epic team play (i had one good game on 360 and that’s b/c alot of the people where noobs and listened to my every order(we wont rush in less then 15minutes)).
i played it on 360 and was pretty pissed off at the stupid people playing the game. they either spawn trapped and spammed with mortars, camped like pussies or went rambo on all game types >:(
LOL aww…that must suck…well I have encountered a few matches like on the PC also, but most of the time everyone is doing what they must. Or maybe it’s just me, and since I have had my share of COD gameplay before BF, I can handle all kinds of players, and when they want to mess, I go and mess too, lol. But I never see them as “GOING FOR KDR!!” I just see them as killing people in the way and rushing the objective in RUSH. Though I must admit, RUSH is my least favourite mode, TDM and Conquest is where I’m beast at, RUSH with too many people gets extremely chaotic and unplayable. :S
Ah, Gamerant, I must point out that according to one of IGN’s articles, Close Quarters, or atleast this Ziba Tower map is capped at 16 players (8vs8), so no 64 players carnage this time around. :’(
Oh, that’s disappointing. I’ll contact EA for confirmation.
Updated with official info – and you’re right, 2-16 players.
Yes, it is disappointing…but when I really think about it I have the best and most intense matches MOSTLY when there are like 8 or so people in a TDM match anyway, so 16v16, when you actually think about it, should be just perfect.
8v8 is the max though, but I agree otherwise
If someone is a diehard battlefield fan they should like the game for the gameplay itself not just the map design, enjoying a game for one simple thing doesn’t sound like those people are very good fans of the game. It just sounds like haters that keep on hating. Oh! and ten new guns added in F yeah!!