For a triple-A shooter, Battlefield 3 has been slow to get the DLC treatment. Instead, developer DICE has focused their efforts on a long series of major updates and bug fixes to get the game to where players wanted it to be at launch. With the big Spring Update now available, and a few more fixes on the way, the Battlefield is about to get bigger... actually, smaller as we prepare to delve into close quarters combat.
The Battlefield series and most especially, Battlefield 3, differentiates itself with vast, open environments chock full of usable vehicles, but the first post-Karkand content expansion will bring smaller groups of players indoors, without the help of vehicles for total and utter mayhem.
Say hello to Battlefield 3: Close Quarters, the first of three upcoming DLC expansions planned for Battlefield 3. The long-awaited DLC was announced at an event in San Francisco co-hosted by DICE and Medal of Honor: Warfighter developer Danger Close Games while Game Rant was in attendance.
Close Quarters is the first pack which comes out in June and from there, it just gets bigger. 'Armored Kill' debuts in the Fall and brings with it new vehicles and the biggest map the franchise has ever seen. Last but not least is 'End Game' which comes out in the Winter and details on that remain hidden under a veil of secrecy (expect more at E3!).
The first Battlefield 3: Close Quarters trailer and screenshots highlighted the intense, chaotic gameplay in the Ziba Tower map which looks as if it came straight from a Michael Bay movie. Needless to say, playstyles and kit loadouts will be vastly different on these maps.
With only weeks remaining until BF3 players finally get to enjoy new maps, here are the details on what's coming, followed by the brand new trailer and screenshots for the Donya Fortress map:
Battlefield 3: Close Quarters key features
- Get plunged into frantic and relentlessinfantry combat on 4 new maps
- HD Destruction lets you reduce entire locales to ruin
- Complete 10 new Assignments and equip 5 uniquedog tags
- Earn 10 new weapons and bring them back to the base game including:
- AUG Assault Rifle
- SCAR Assault Rifle
- ACW-R Carbine
- MTAR-21 Carbine
- M417 Sniper Rifle
- JNG-90 Sniper Rifle
- L86LSW Machine Gun
- LSAT Machine Gun
- M5K Tactical Machine Pistol
- SPAS-12 Shotgun
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The lighting, particle effects, destructible environments and animations all come together beautifully - EA/DICE sure now how to construct brilliant gameplay trailers. There are spots for all kits, including snipers, on this map which appears larger than Ziba Tower. Conquest Domination is one of the new game types shipping with the Close Quarters DLC.
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Battlefield 3 is current available for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. The Close Quarters DLC arrives one week early for PS3 players.
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