Some franchises have recurring characters and even recurring themes, but not many have recurring maps. Since its first release with Battlefield 1942, DICE has recreated Wake Island two times, in both Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 1943. In Battlefield 3, Wake Island will be making its fourth official appearance through the Back To Karkand expansion which will be available at launch.
In the second part of their Back to Karkand series of Battlefield 3 Blog posts, DICE takes a look at the iconic and historic location and explains why it holds such a dear spot in the hearts of those who work at DICE.
Over the years Wake Island has seen itself graphically upgraded, with each iteration making the locale even more beautiful and stunning, a vision of beauty despite the destructive war it plays home to.
Below are a couple of screenshots from past games to give reference to the Wake Islands of the past and offer a comparison to the concept screenshot for Wake Island in Battlefield 3.
Battlefield 1942
Battlefield 2
Battlefield 1943
Battlefield 3 (Concept)
As you can see, the concept art for the Battlefield 3 rendition of Wake Island definitely paints a grimmer picture of the island paradise. Is this just to show a concept of how it will look as battle rages on the island, or is it a sign that this iteration will be a slightly darker take on the formerly bright waters of Wake Island?
Niklas Fegreaus, the Lead Designer on Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand, recalled in the accompanying blog post that Wake Island was the first experience he had ever had with Battlefield and that the impression it left was most definitely painful, but lasting.
"Wake Island was my very first Battlefield experience, like it was for so many others. In 2002, I was actually involved in a professional Counter-Strike clan. We had just trounced our opposing team, when they proposed a rematch — in the recently released Battlefield 1942 demo on Wake Island! Never having played anything like Battlefield before, my squad of Counter-Strikers ran along on the ground on Wake Island while the other team dive-bombed us with Zero fighters. I was like “IMBA! What’s the fun in this?” Pretty soon, though, I realized this was something completely new and different, and that it was in fact an awesome game."
DICE's first blog post talked about the map Strike at Karkland and the difference that Frostbite 2.o is going to make for that map. There will likely be two more entries in this series, one for each of the remaining Back To Karkand maps, Gulf of Oman and Sharqi Peninsula.
The Back to Karkand map pack is going to be included for free with pre-orders of Battlefield 3, and as a purchasable DLC pack once the game releases, containing all 4 classic Battlefield maps Strike at Karkland, Wake Island, Gulf of Oman, and Sharqi Peninsula.
Are you glad that Wake Island will be making another somewhat re-envisioned return as a fan favorite of the Battlefield games?
Battlefield 3 will be seeing release this fall for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
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Source: Battlefield Blog