Battlefield 3 is developer DICE's eighth game in the franchise. With over a decade of experience in the multiplayer shooter space, Battlefield 3 represents its attempt to make their biggest, most inclusive shooter yet. Accessibility is a huge mandate for the studio (with the team focusing on making a game that appeals to both team players, lone wolves, console owners and the hardcore PC audience), but above all else, fun is king. From listening to the community, to examining the failings of their previous games, to making a title that takes full advantage of their new engine, Battlefield 3's multiplayer is a work in progress. Unpolished as it is, though, it's already a hell of a lot of fun.

The new, cheesy-sounding philosophy DICE is taking with Battlefield 3 is "Play it Your Way." While hollow PR babble on the surface, in practice it reflects their desire to make Battlefield as universally appealing to shooter fans as possible. To this end the levels will be varied, from giant stages full of jets and armored vehicles, to the more funneled stages like the Paris one I got to play. While there were armored personnel carriers in the level, it was largely a corridor stage, focusing first and foremost on player's gun skills as opposed to a cooperative effort of vehicles and soldiers. It may have started in an open park (which itself still felt relatively small since players were fenced in by walls and rivers), but within moments the level was small, 50 ft wide corridors and cramped hallways. The hope appears to be to create an experience that'll give the hardcore, long-time fans what they desire in a battlefield experience, but also to have stages that appeal to the more arena-style fans that play games like Call of Duty. Don't go abandoning hope and lamenting the end of the franchise, though, as I'm assured many of the levels we've yet to see will bring back the epic-sized conflicts the franchise is known for.

Classes have also been redesigned in Battlefield 3, giving players new ways to customize their load outs to suit their play style. Riflemen now double as medics, healing players and reviving those who are downed. The Support class is now equipped with a light machinegun and ammo packs, the sniper is a long-range and demolitions expert, and the Engineer is the master of destroying and repairing vehicles. With weapon attachments players can adapt the classes to how they want to play, with Riflemen choosing things like underslung grenade launchers in place of advanced medical equipment, for instance.

The Support class was super important in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 because it could heal, but they're given a new role in Battlefield 3:suppression. Shooting in an enemy's general direction is important in real combat, giving your own team a chance to move and gain position while the enemies are frightened into running for cover. Battlefield 3 takes this into account, and anyone firing a hail of lead near foes – something the Support class is especially good at, much more so with a fancy bi-pod attachment – will suppress the enemy. This not only garners points for the shooter, but dims and shakes the screen of those affected. Shooting to kill is an important role, but shooting to provide actual supporting fire is now emphasized as well.

Vehicles have also been tweaked in Battlefield 3, in hopes of making them more fun for both the operator and passengers. Vehicles regenerate small amounts of health when damaged, but in order to heal to full will need the assistance of an Engineer. Vehicles can also be immobilized right before destruction, forcing an Engineer to intervene to save it, and giving the passengers a chance to bail out. The hope is that this will alleviate a lot of the rage that comes from a team jumping into a humvee, only to be destroyed by one well placed rocket. Yes, the rocket might kill the person it blows up right next to, but the whole squad won't be punished for one crazy driver, or feel like vehicles are death traps.

Two tweaks that stood out during the time I played, and really show DICE's commitment to making the experience better and better, were the inclusion of prone and the ability to opt out of revive. Prone could be dangerous to the balance, as it makes players incredibly hard to discern at a distance, but to balance this DICE is finding new ways to make the cost match the benefits. You might be harder to see, but your lens will flash if a player looks at it, and getting up and laying down takes time that will cost you if someone is close. Revive was also something that players liked in Battlefield: Bad Company 2, but it was annoying when someone would revive you for points, only to do so when you were going to stand up right in an enemy's fire. Now you can opt out of a revive, looking to see how safe it is before you make a decision about whether a respawn at a different location would be more effective. It's a small change, and one of those head-slap inducing choices that seem obvious, but a testament to the time, experience and passion DICE has for making Battlefield 3 as fun and balanced as possible.

My playtime was entirely too short, but Battlefield 3 is following a proven formula that's been created by, refined and tweaked by one of the best first-person shooter developers in the world. If the single-player manages to live up to expectations, and the multiplayer keeps getting even better, it might not be long before there's a new king of modern warfare.

Until today, Battlefield 3's marketing campaign has been relentless, with a steady drip of videos, screens and information on the game's single player campaign. However, Dice has remained tight-lipped about the game's multiplayer--a clear attraction for fans of a series that has its roots in online multiplayer. You can see the relief on executive producer Patrick Bach's face, who is not only eager to talk about Battlefield 3's all-new multiplayer modes, but also to hear what we think about it as we're playing.

So, what exactly does Dice have lined up for Battlefield 3 multiplayer? Well, Rush and Conquest modes are a given following their success in Bad Company 2. The difference here is that they'll take place across bigger maps and have many more consecutive objectives. "Many maps out there are arenas; our maps are a journey," explained Bach, calling out the competition. Team deathmatch will be returning after an absence in the Bad Company games, and will be enhanced by the destructibility of the Frostbite 2 engine, according to Bach. Finally, following the success of the downloadable Onslaught mode for Bad Company 2, Battlefield 3 will also ship with a co-op mode, this time allowing two players to team up on 10 unique maps.

Dice isn't resting on its laurels though--there are plenty of brand new features making their debut in Battlefield 3. The headline is Battlelog--a pre- and post-game activity platform that will "change the way you play Battlefield games together," according to Bach. Dice is keeping schtum about the specifics at this stage, but given the feature's striking resemblance to Need for Speed's Autolog, it's safe to assume it will include stat tracking, social features, and maybe even media sharing facilities as well. Bach did confirm that you'll be able to access the service "when you're sitting on a bus," and in a bold two finger salute to Call of Duty's recently-announced (and paid-for) Elite service, it will have a "monthly fee of zero".

Thankfully, our visit to Sweden not only allowed us to hear about the game, but actually play it as well. Our hands-on consisted of four rounds on a map called Operation Metro, set in Paris. We played as the US Marines, taking on a team of Dice Battlefield veterans in a multi-point Rush objective to secure the French stock exchange. The map opens in a park, with the first goal being to secure a temporary enemy base, before continuing underground through the metro system, and then back above ground and into downtown Paris. The map is characterised by the multiple routes you can take through the metro tunnels--using service areas, escalators and even the trains themselves, meaning there was plenty of replay value. Dice also delivered on its promise to deliver a multiplayer journey--each run through took about 10-15 minutes.

Dice has made some subtle but very important tweaks to the character classes in Battlefield 3. The Soldier now doubles up as a medic, packing medkits and a defibrillator, as well as an M16 Assault Rifle with Combat Optical Gunsight. The Engineer has access to a repair tool for fixing vehicles as well as a SMAW Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher for blowing them up, in addition to an M4 Carbine with flashlight. The Support Soldier is able to dish out valuable ammunition, while also laying down suppressing fire using the M249 Light Machine Gun with bipod and M145 Optics. Finally, the Recon class has access to C4 Explosive Packs and the MK11 Sniper Rifle with 6x scope. All classes also have access to an M9 Pistol, hand grenade and knife by default, and can be fully customised as you gain experience playing the multiplayer game.

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The changes to the classes have some interesting results in the game. The Support Soldier gains experience points for laying down suppressing fire, while those caught in the crossfire will have their vision compromised through shaky-cam and other subtle visual effects. The engineer's flashlight may make him more visible to the enemy, but it also allows him to light up dark areas such the Metro tunnel, as well as startle anyone he shines it at, again through subtle visual effects. You can also opt out of being revived by a medic, if you'd prefer to respawn as a new class, for example.

Vehicle damage has also received a major overhaul. In Battlefield 3, if the enemy fires a rocket into the back of a tank, only the guy in the rear will be killed, rather than everyone in the tank. A vehicle can now be incapacitated, but the gunners will still be able to fire out when it's at low health; it just won't be able to move anywhere until an engineer repairs it. Dice will also introduce new rewards for players who act sneakily when playing. You will be able to customise your own dogtags and then steal other people's by performing a stealthy knife kill in multiplayer, for instance.

And then, of course, there's the graphics. Dice has garnered a lot of attention for Battlefield 3's impressive visuals, which are powered by its own Frostbite 2 engine. It's worth mentioning that we were playing the game on PC, but it did indeed look mightily impressive, both through incredibly realistic destructibility and more subtle visual effects. It's especially noteworthy just how much Dice has nailed physicality in the game through animations such as your legs swinging over obstacles as you vault them. But it's the prone maneuver, which has been the subject of so much forum talk already, that impresses the most--hitting the ground and laying down fire via the machine gun's bipod just feels so right.

Battlefield 3's multiplayer mode is being shown at this year's E3, but for those of you not fortunate enough to be roaming the halls of the Los Angeles Convention Centre, be sure to check out our video interview to see more of the game. There's clearly a lot more up Dice's sleeve though, so be sure to keep it locked to GameSpot for more intel on Battlefield 3 as we get it.

I so love the new knife kills in #bf3 , no instaknife, you gotta earn those dev dogtag kills!

   GAME DESCRIPTION
    With this new Frostbite ™ 2 game engine and more than a decade of multiplayer expertise in the luggage is the award-winning team at DICE in the wings to bring out this fall with Battlefield 3 of the largest and most intuitive FPS ever.
 
    Frostbite 2 forms the spearhead of modern technology and is used as a control center that allows Battlefield 3, excellence in character animation, the visual rendering of audio / sound and to provide for the physical destruction. Battlefield 3 is the only first-person shooter on the market, the Frostbite 2 features, and the only shooter that is capable of the gameplay experience, with all the sights, sounds, movements and activities bring to life realistic offensives.
 
    Thanks to the new engine, extensive multiplayer maps with seamless transitions between close infantry fighting, and the characteristic for the series open vehicle battles are possible. The different environments of each card require players that they must rethink their strategies constantly to win if they want.
 
    The multiplayer offers Battlefield 3 will dominate the fall with continued gameplay, new modes including Team Deathmatch and Coop, intuitive teamwork and comprehensive free online features of the game’s social network Battlelog.
 
    MAIN FEATURES
    Play through the greatest battlefield of all time! From urban streets to rural countryside offers Battlefield 3 unprecedented depth and varied gameplay. The classical modes “Rush” and “conquest” may be added for lovers immediate action by the newly introduced team death match.
 
    Extensive co-op campaign: The players can compete on unique maps and missions in exceptional thanks to special features online co-op with friends. Coop missions are embedded into the single player story.
 
    Extensive social networking features in Battlelog: Players are due to the new community features of Battlelog never have to go alone into battle: you can assemble a platoon, communicate with other gamers and compare their multiplayer capabilities with those of their friends and enemies. Battlelog is free on all platforms.
 
    À la destruction Frostbite 2: Frostbite 2 enables a whole new dimension to real-life destruction. The enhanced destruction in large and small scale now serves a tactical purpose: Blast away cover, puncture walls, deforming terrain and rain let all the building facades on opponents.
 
    Ultimate fighting vehicle: the typical Battlefield-vehicle combat is now even richer and more rewarding. Damaged vehicles can now be withdrawn or defend until their armor is restored automatically as unfit for battle vehicles become static weapons platforms that give players during the repair coverage.
 
    Intuitive Team Play: Battlefield 3 features team play opportunities with fine-tuning, and readily accessible for newcomers. The team play is essential for all players to be able to prevail on the battlefield.
 
    Personalized Dog Tags: Players can use their own identification tag, the defeated enemies will appear to express individuality: You can select a design with a dynamically controlled game statistics, which embodies their personality and their style of play.
 
    The battlefield: Use the environment to your advantage. Use the MG’s Bipod on a suitable surface to achieve a higher precision. You own the dog tags of opponents by skillful knife attacks at. Give fire to limit the maneuver your enemies.
 
    Persistent game fun: Battlefield 3, always a rank or a reward to be activated. The abundance and wide selection of unlockable weapons, vehicles, upgrades and tools will employ 3 Battlefield player for years.
 
    PRODUCT DATA
    Publisher: Electronic Arts
    Developer: DICE
    Gepl. Release date: Fall 2011
    Genre: First Person Shooter
    Players: 1-64 (PC)
    1-24 (console)
    Platforms: PlayStation ® 3, PC and XboxTM 360

Now you can opt out of a revive, looking to see how safe it is before you make a decision about whether a respawn at a different location would be more effective.

if the enemy fires a rocket into the back of a tank, only the guy in the rear will be killed,