A Guide to Battlefield 4: Solo PTFO

Hello readers, welcome to the second installment of "A Guide to Battlefield 4" where I will be outlining some basic solo tactics to help you better PTFO. So if you want to stay alive on the Battlefield, I suggest you pay attention, soldier.

Stick Together, Team!
This one should be a no-brainer. Battlefield is a team-based game, so, remember to stick by your team. More importantly, stick with your squad because everything you do to support them will net you additional points. If separate from your squad, try and get back to them or at the very least, back up your team. By working together, you can capture objectives faster and have additional firepower when faced with the enemy. Plus, you can get ammo, health, revives and repairs if your team/squad knows what they're doing.

Target Spotted
Always remember to spam the spot button when you see an enemy and they aren't shooting at you. If you can manage to spot while shooting or being shot at, even better! Spotting gives a massive advantage not just to you but your team because the pesky enemy has a floating dorito over his head and appears on the minimap. This gives you and your team the tactical advantage of knowing where the enemy is and having them sighted in for friendly artillery (either the M142 rocket truck or the M224 mortar).

Hey! I Need a Ride!
Chances are, if you've played Battlefield 4 enough, you've heard the above phrase. Try to stop for your team or squad when you're in a vehicle to give them a ride to the next objective because it's just the nice thing to do. I'm sure you've spent a lot of time hoofing it if you've played many a Battlefield game where you just wish there were a vehicle so you could just get where you want to go, so, do the nice thing and offer people a ride. Of course, common sense should also dictate that you don't stop in the middle of a firefight and offer a ride, make sure it's clear and safe for you to stop and pick up passengers.

How to Defibrillate Correctly
Did you know that you can charge up the defib paddles before reviving someone to give them full health? It takes some experience to know when the paddles fully charge up but don't just do a quick tap revive when you have time, because your revivee will need to recover their health from a measly 20 points meaning they have a significant disadvantage if they get shot. If you do go through with a low health revive, at least throw down a health pack or health bag to accelerate their healing. Also, for the love of Battlefield, check your surroundings before you revive. No one likes a Rambo revive. Don't just revive people just because you can, it's a waste of their life and a waste of your life when you revive someone when there are enemies still around shooting at you. Consider the situation and act accordingly.

Recon 101
While I think that people can play the game however they want, don't be that guy camping halfway across the god-damned map contributing nothing to the team. If you want to be a sniper, fine, but at least spot some enemies, lay down some suppressing fire, deploy a SOFLAM or designate vehicles with the PLD. Don't just lie there thinking about the next headshot, it's just selfish. Alternately, be an aggressive recon, equip a DMR or shotgun or carbine and run around pew-pewing people and dropping motion sensors everywhere.

A Guide to Battlefield 4: PTFO Basics

If you've played Battlefield for more than an hour, you'll probably have heard or see the term "PTFO" get thrown around. For those who are terrible at using the internet to search for the meaning of this term or those who just like hanging around this terrible excuse for a blog, today's your lucky day because I will be breaking down what it means to PTFO in Battlefield 4 (or any Battlefield game, really).

Defining PTFO
"PTFO" stands for Play the F**king Objective as some of you will no doubt have learned. The "F" in "PTFO" arises from the frustration many veteran players have with noobs or lone wolf players who apparently bought the game under the impression that getting kills is much more important than taking the objective and helping your team. If you want to make sick montages with your long-range sniper kills or maintain a super-high K/D ratio, please play Domination, Team Deathmatch or Squad Deathmatch because those three game modes emphasise killing the enemy above all else. If you want to play Conquest, Rush, Obliteration or Defuse, then please contribute by playing the objective.

Learn to Play, Mother Truckers: How to PTFO
If you take "PTFO" literally, you'd think that all it means is to capture flags in Conquest, arm/defuse MCOMs in Rush and make a mad dash for the bomb in Obliteration. While this is what you should be doing in the first place, that's not what "PTFO" is all about. Playing the objective is all well and good but you have to make sure that you're playing the objective right. Don't just throw yourself blindly at an objective, value your life because it might make the difference between winning and losing during those hard-fought and ridiculously close matches.

For example, there's no point capturing an objective in Conquest if you know you can't hold it. You'd be wasting time better suited to defending an objective you can hold. Alternately, there's no point assaulting a heavily-defended objective because you'll just be wasting tickets and giving the enemy team some free kills. Ah, but what about if you are an attacker on Rush, you may ask. Well, don't just throw yourself at the objective. Watch the enemy, determine if there are any weak points in their defence and flank like your life depends on it because it very often does. If it looks like they have an impregnable defence, then send up some armour or send in the EOD bots. Where there's a will, there's a way.

At the end of the day, to PTFO means to contribute to the team towards victory. As long as you're doing something for the team, that's PTFO and you'll be considered a valuable member of the community. If you don't, that's fine but know that you'll probably one day find a torrent of swear words headed your way. I don't like telling people how to play but this is a team-oriented game, so, put aside your lone wolf tendencies and help your team out.

A Guide to Battlefield 4: Game Modes

Having recently purchased Battlefield 4 and seeing as many people will have hopped on to the Battlefield bandwagon for the first time or from other franchises, I thought I'd write up a series of articles covering everything from game modes to maps to weapons to classes etc. written from the perspective of a Battlefield veteran. This week, we'll be visiting game modes where I'll break down the different types of game modes and my overall strategy for each.

Conquest

The classic Battlefield game mode involves capturing and holding a majority of flags to bleed the enemy team's tickets where both sides usually have 400 tickets each. Typically there are 3 to 5 flags depending on the map with the centre flag being the most contested by both sides. Vehicles are extremely important in Conquest as they provide much needed force multipliers in tough situations and maps are often so large that walking will be an absolute pain, especially when snipers are out in force. 

The best way to approach Conquest as a new player is to explore the map as much as you can. Two things will guarantee victory in Conquest, a good team and map knowledge. Having a good team is sort of a 50/50 gamble every time you join a server unless you have 11 other friends to play with you on the same team so learning the map is a must if you want to win. Most importantly, find flank routes and look out for heavily populated enemy areas. You want to avoid heavily populated enemy areas or alternately, bombard them with the mortar or the M142 HIMARS on the map Zavod 311. Flanking is key especially when the enemy has most of the objectives locked down. An effective squad who knows how to flank can take objectives while the team is being held down by the enemy at spawn. Or at the very least break out of the spawn and do some damage to the enemy from behind.

Team Deathmatch

Classic first-person shooter fare. No vehicles and relatively small versions of the existing maps make for exciting close-range firefights. Map knowledge will be a huge help but the only real way to win is with the best weapons and fast reflexes. Unless you're a fantastic sniper or know the map inside out, a carbine or quick-firing assault rifle is recommended for Team Deathmatch. 

There's not much advice to give about Team Deathmatch, it's a relatively simple mode with no real objective or strategy behind it except to kill the enemy.

Obliteration

This brand-spanking new game mode to Battlefield involves a bomb that spawns somewhere in between the two sides and three objectives you must detonate within 20 minutes. The winning team is the one that manages to detonate all three before the 20 minutes elapses or to have more detonated objectives than the other team. Furthermore, the person carrying the bomb is a giant target for everybody, so, it's not a job for the faint-hearted Obliteration is an extremely fun mode and really provides some pulse-pounding action particularly when you are the bomb carrier.

For Obliteration, the only real way to win is to have a really good team that knows how to work together. Always cover the bomb carrier and for the love of God, provide transport for the poor bugger with the target on his back. Also, keep your distance from the blast site because once it detonates it will take out most people near it and even the odd unlucky vehicle that strays too close. Vehicles are a must to carry the bomb carrier to his/her target and to cover the location from enemies attempting to defuse the bomb. Avoid main roads when driving because there will almost always be M15 anti-tank mines or M2 SLAMs on the ground. The helicopter, either transport or scout, is the best bet for delivering the bomb carrier because they're way faster than anything on the ground and really only susceptible to portable anti-air and mobile anti-air.

Rush

A more recent but extremely popular addition to Battlefield involves a set of M-COMs in every base which the defenders must prevent the attackers from detonating. The attackers get 75 tickets only and to win they must detonate the first set of M-COMs to move on to the next set and so on until the final set. The number of M-COMs depends on the map and range from 6 to 10 but will always involve a set of two at each base, no more, no less.

Unfortunately, DICE has tweaked Rush to provide a massive advantage to Defenders on almost every map particularly for the first two M-COMs with perhaps the exception of Golmud Railway and Flood Zone. For defenders, just dig in and take out the swarms of attackers coming at you. Don't forget to watch for snipers as well. If you have a half-decent team, you should be able to win pretty easily as defenders. Most maps have M-COMs in easily defensible positions provided your team isn't too stupid and too aggressive to guard the objectives. For attackers, it's really down to how effective the enemy team is on most maps because there's no real set way to break enemy defences. Having a good team helps but even then the map advantage afforded to defenders is insane. On the bright side, you'll get a go as the defending team so you'll probably get a victory at some point.

Squad Deathmatch

A slight twist on the staple in all first-person shooters, Squad Deathmatch features four 5-man squads duking it out for ultimate victory. Teamwork is crucial because you have less players backing you up and each member of the squad has to pull their own weight because you will effectively be fighting 15 other players with 4 players backing you up.

I wouldn't recommend playing this with randoms. Find some friends or you will be utterly demolished. Aside from having friends to play with, perhaps have a mic to communicate with randoms?

Domination

It's like Conquest without the vehicles on a much smaller scale. Three flags in fairly close proximity with 300 tickets on both sides means that killing is the main means to victory although capturing flags will help bleed the enemy tickets dry. Also it's 20 players on all platforms rather than the typical 24 players or 64 players in other game modes.

Capturing flags is quite important but again the main attraction here is close-quarters fighting particularly around the flag. There's very little time to relax as this is a ridiculously fast-paced game mode with action around every corner. Speed and reflexes are key although having some map knowledge will put you in good stead. Controlling the roofs on Siege of Shanghai and Zavod 311 is a must because you can move to any flag on the map with relative ease and you get a height advantage and positional advantage over the enemy.

Defuse

Basically Search and Destroy for Battlefield. One side arms objectives, the other side defends them. One life then spectator mode if you get killed until the end of the round.

Not sure if there's any tips for this other than sticking together and making sure to stick to whatever cover you can find that isn't destructible.

Battlefield 4 Exclusive Beta (PS3) First Impressions

Hello readers, I'm currently downloading the Exclusive Beta for PS3 as I write this and will be updating this blog post with my experience with the game as I go along. As far as I can tell, the beta will feature the map Siege of Shanghai, demoed at E3 earlier in the year to spectacular reception (mainly because of the awesome destructible skyscraper). I'm really excited because I also took part in the Battlefield 3 beta two years ago and that was a blast even though it was Metro 24 hours straight for about a week. Check back every few minutes as I update this blog post with my impressions of the game as quickly as I can.

Update 1: Just finished playing my first match, overall, I'm extremely satisfied. Battlefield 4 is a beautiful game, no doubt about that. Despite the texture pop-ins and occasional glitches with graphical fidelity, this thing is quite the looker. Gameplay-wise, it's classic Battlefield with the exception of the controls which have been changed quite a lot. Also, I saw the skyscraper come down during the course of the Conquest match. It was beautiful.

Update 2: The controls are a little hard to wrap my head around because I'm so used to the Battlefield 3 controls but other than that, so far so good. The gameplay is solid teamplay, vehicles are still fairly integral and gunplay is just fantastic. My only criticism so far is that Siege of Shanghai is a little big for 24 players, it's a bit hard to come across enemies unless you're already engaged or near an objective.

Update 3: There's an interesting glitch whereby the textures disappear after the skyscraper has been destroyed, making it look like the textureless pre-alpha build shown on YouTube by a bunch of Battlefield YouTubers. Also, the 5-man squad doesn't quite work because of the 12 vs. 12 limit on PS3. There's always a squad of 2 players in the end, a bit of a problem. Man, it is difficult to fly a scout helicopter now. The controls are really weird and hard to control, it has the ability to become extremely accurate and intuitive but having just jumped in, the new control scheme for helicopters feels weird. I hope they provide Battlefield 3 controls in the full game.

Update 4: Tried one match of Domination, didn't quite enjoy it. Too fast-paced and reflex-based for my liking. I'm the slow tactical type. It's an interesting combination of objective-based gameplay with what appears to be a team deathmatch driven philosophy in the sense that it's a micro-version of Conquest so that you are always in the action at any given moment.

Update 5: After a couple more matches, I noticed some interesting changes from the last game. Firstly, when you reload, your ammo count drops based on how many rounds were left in the last magazine. That's a pretty awesome feature since it adds to a bit of realism. I'm a bit annoyed that you don't keep the magazine, instead you toss it out but I suppose from a balancing perspective, it makes sense. As well as that, there are distance markers for where your squaddies are, which is a great little innovation. Additionally, the commorose is back! Or it's finally arrived on consoles. For those of you unfamiliar with the commorose, it's basically a menu where you can select some commands/requests such as "Need Ammo" or "Need Health" or "Need Transport" or "Attack/Defend". Very cool. Battle pick-ups are also present in the map and I had the opportunity to test out the Milkor MGL, the M82A3 and the HVM Starstreak. These are very interesting and in the right hands, can change the course of the battle. The M82A3 is a joy/nightmare depending if you're on the giving end or the receiving end because it's a one-hit kill superweapon with a range-finger attached.

That's it for my first impressions of the Battlefield 4 Beta. I'll write a more comprehensive article once I've stress-tested the crap out of the beta and gotten Bernt Toast and Brancake's opinions on the beta when they can finally join during the open beta because the suckers didn't buy Medal of Honor: Warfighter or pre-order Battlefield 4.

Weapons of Battlefield 3: DAO-12

Welcome back, readers, to another Weapons Of, still in the Frostbitten locales of Battlefield 3. Having mastered the PDW-R quite quickly and quite easily because of its all-round awesomeness, I thought I'd change it up a little by trying to master a shotgun. Since I've already mastered the Remington 870MCS, the M1014 and the Saiga 12K, the DAO-12 seemed like the perfect candidate for some field-testing.

Background:
The DAO-12, or Armsel Striker as it is called in real-life, is a rather unique South African weapon that has combined the power and ammunition of a shotgun with the rotating mechanism found in revolvers. Chambered in the extremely popular 12-gauge shotgun shell, the Striker typically has a 12-round revolving cylinder feeding it ammunition, except in the more compact models which only have a 7-round revolving cylinder. Due to its rather unique design, the Striker requires shells to be loaded into each cylinder individually and has a strange clockwork mechanism to wind the drum. While the weapon is extremely interesting, it does seem to come across as a rather cumbersome and ineffective weapon.

(source: Wikipedia)

Statistics:

• Ammo capacity = 8 rounds (standard), 12 rounds (extended magazine)
• Damage:
• Buckshot = Maximum of 18 decreasing in a linear pattern to a minimum of 6 from 25 metres onwards 
• Flechette = Maximum of 12.5 decreasing to a minimum of 8.4 from 30 metres onwards 
• Frag = Maximum of 20 decreasing to a minimum of 5 from 40 metres onwards 
• Slug = Maximum of 75 decreasing to a minimum of 37.5 from 50 metres onwards
• Rate of fire = 220 RPM (180 RPM when using frag rounds)
• Bullet velocity:
• Buckshot = 300 m/s
• Flechette = 450 m/s
• Frag = 150 m/s
• Slug = 300 m/s
• Reload times = 0.69 seconds mid-mag, 2.30 seconds from empty

(source: Symthic)

Weapon Assessment

This is actually a pretty solid weapon. I'll admit I was quite surprised at how decently it performed when I started using it because it's not a weapon you often see in the hands of many players. In terms of damage output, the DAO-12 can deal out a ton of punishment and hold its own with the other shotguns because of its 8-round revolver-style drum magazine, making it the shotgun with the highest ammo capacity in the game, tied with the MK3A1 which is a significantly worse weapon than the DAO-12. Personally, I found the DAO-12 quite versatile, depending on what ammunition and attachments you decide to use, the shotgun can perform various roles, from close-quarters devastator to accurate long-range powerhouse.

Recommended Attachments

• Iron Sights
• Extended Magazine 
• Buckshot

For a down-and-dirty fight in the trenches, the iron sights serve well for the kind of range where you'll be engaging your enemies while the extended magazine gives you a whopping 12 rounds of 12-gauge goodness to spread around. Buckshot provides a large spread, allowing you to potentially damage and kill multiple enemies in quick succession.

• IRNV 
• Flash Suppressor
• Slug

For anything other than a close-up battle, this is the kit to go with. The IRNV may seem like a strange choice considering the epic nerfing it has endured following accusations of it being too overpowered, but it's excellent for spotting hard to see targets, particularly in dark areas although it gets difficult at range. If you keep watching the screen and paying attention, however, you should be able to spot most enemies when they are hiding or blending in with the environment. The flash suppressor helps you to reduce recoil, allowing you to fire quick follow-up shots in order to dispatch of your opponent as quickly and cleanly as possible. Finally, the slugs give immense firepower and range at very little cost and as such, should be used at all times except with the situations reported earlier. 

Weapons of Battlefield 3: PDW-R

Hello fictional readers! Welcome back to another instalment of Weapons Of, again in the brown backgrounds and blue-tint combat zones of Battlefield 3. Today, I'll be covering a brilliant weapon, the PDW-R. Just an update on the RPK-74M, I managed to successfully master the rather difficult and inconsistent LMG, scoring five service stars and a mastery dog tag in the process. Now, on to more pleasant weaponry with the PDW-R.

Background:
The Magpul Personal Defense Rifle (PDR), called the PDW-R in-game, is a personal defense weapon (PDW) currently in development at Magpul Industries. Chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO, the PDR is an interesting PDW because it doesn't use a proprietary rifle round, although this could be due to the fact that Magpul doesn't actually have a proprietary round, unlike Heckler and Koch's MP7 which uses 4.6x30mm round or Fabrique National's P90 which is chambered in 5.7x28mm. The sleek, futuristic ultra-compact bullpup is a traditional PDW at heart though, aiming to bring immense firepower and range to its wielder in a small, manoeuvrable frame. With its ergonomic design, compatibility with standard STANAG magazines and ultra-compact frame, the PDR is definitely in a class of its own when it comes to PDW design.

(source: Wikipedia)

Statistics:

• Ammo capacity = 20 rounds (standard, +1 in the chamber during mid-mag reloads), 30 rounds (extended magazine, +1 in the chamber)
• Damage = 25 maximum dropping in a linear pattern to 14.3 minimum at 50 metres onwards
• Rate of fire = 750 RPM
• Bullet velocity = 430 m/s
• Reload times = 2.50 mid-mag, 3.40 empty

(source: Symthic)

Weapon Assessment:

This is one hell of a weapon. I don't know what it is about this gun but I've been doing fantastically well with the PDW-R scoring lots of kills with only a few deaths in return. The low recoil is remarkable, the amount of firepower you get is ridiculous and the fire rate is just perfect. Excellent in close quarters and medium-range combat, I'd recommend this weapon for most standard engagements in Rush, Conquest, TDM, SQDM or whatever game mode tickles your fancy. Although I dislike the playstyle, I found the PDW-R well-suited to running-and-gunning, it has fantastic hipfire accuracy and the reload times are really forgiving, making it well-suited for the soldier looking to race through the battlefield. The only issue I found with this weapon was that I kept running out of ammo because I kept killing so many people, even though I had squad ammo on as a specialisation.

Recommended Attachments:

• EoTech Holographic Sight 
• Laser Sight
• Extended Magazine

While the iron sights for the weapon are fairly good and since the weapon's effective range tends towards close-quarters battle, I would recommend going with the EoTech from an aesthetic perspective, as it lends itself well to the futuristic look and feel of the weapon as well as giving the player a slight zoom when aiming down sights when compared to iron sights. The PKA-S would provide the same function but unlike the EoTech, it takes up a fair amount of screen room and really detracts from the player's peripheral vision. The laser sight is to help with hipfire accuracy when you come across an enemy quite suddenly and have no time to aim down sight, a common occurrence because this weapon really lends itself well to moving quickly around the map, taking out targets on the way to the objective, or as an objective in TDM and SQDM. For the last attachment, the extended magazine is a must to balance out the weapon's fairly high rate of fire, allowing you to engage more targets without reloading constantly, which you will be doing if you stick with the standard 20-round magazine.

Weapons of Battlefield 3: RPK-74M

Welcome readers, if you exist outside my imagination, to a new series covering the various firearms that appear in various video games, mostly providing recommendations regarding the best ways of using them, particularly in the fast-paced world of modern multiplayer video games. Today we'll be covering the RPK-74M since I'm trying to get the Mastery Dog Tag for it in Battlefield 3. Hopefully, if I can scrounge up funds, I can buy a DVR and editing software to make some videos that complement the text.

Let's start with some background then move on to some basic statistics and numbers (yay, numbers!) before I give my recommended loadout. Before you go out and try my recommendation then come back screaming because it doesn't work, let me remind you I am in no way an expert or the best Battlefield player in the world. I'm an enthusiast and I recommend the loadout that works out the best for me, it might not suit your particular style of play but as an average player, I reckon it should fit most people just fine.

Background:
The RPK-74M was a product of modernisation in the Russian army during the 1970s, transitioning from the big and beefy 7.62x39mm to the relatively small 5.45x39mm, the same cartridge used in the AK-74M. This modernisation and tendency towards smaller cartridges was reflected at the same time in the rest of the world with China moving from the 7.62x39mm round towards the 5.8x42mm DBP87 round and the West moving from the 7.62x51mm NATO round towards the 5.56x45mm NATO round. In terms of design, the RPK-74M is basically an AK-74M with a longer and heavier barrel, a bipod, raised front sight as well as a special 45-round box magazine, although it can also accept the normal 30-round AK74 magazines, for better performance during sustained fire.

(source: Wikipedia)

Statistics:

• Ammo capacity = 45 rounds (+1 in the chamber when doing a mid-magazine reload)
• Damage = Maximum of 25 dropping in a linear pattern to a minimum of 18.4 from 50 metres onwards
• Fire rate = 700 RPM (rounds per minute)
• Bullet velocity = 600 m/s (metres/second)
• Reload times = 3.00 seconds with at least one round in the chamber, 4.00 seconds from empty

(source: Symthic)

Weapon Assessment:
I'm not particularly fond of the RPK as a light machine gun because it has a small magazine capacity in comparison to other weapons in the same class save the M27 IAR, meaning it has less suppressive capabilities than say the M249 or PKP Pecheneg. However, if you think of it as an assault rifle with a higher magazine capacity and utilise it in this manner, there is quite a lot to like about this gun. First of all, the recoil is relatively low, in comparison to other weapons in its class which makes this a prime candidate for accurate fire. While the comparatively small magazine might seem like a disadvantage, if you aim and use small bursts to increase your accuracy, then this becomes a potent mid-range weapon. Sustained fire isn't too bad but the problem is that you have to keep reloading unless you have extended magazines but even then, I wouldn't recommend using it like a proper LMG, you'll eat up all your ammo and waste valuable time reloading. Running and gunning with the RPK isn't a particularly good idea because the hip fire spread is all over the place and it's a little slow to bring to bear. What you want to do is move cover to cover and firing only when stationary rather than when in motion.

Recommended Attachments:

• Kobra Red Dot Sight
• Bipod
• Flash Suppressor

The Kobra RDS is probably your best choice for optics because the sight itself is relatively unintrusive and gives a much better sightline than iron sights. Compared to the other sights, this takes up the least room which means you get a clearer view of your peripherals. The bipod is excellent for when you need accurate sustained fire while remaining stationary and more useful than the foregrip which helps manage side-to-side recoil but is ultimately pointless since the side-to-side recoil is very manageable and gives you a penalty when aiming down sight. The flash suppressor provides a reduction in vertical recoil and helps mask your weapon's flash when firing, allowing you to stay visually hidden from your enemies, provided you have good cover.

Battlefield 3 Field Notes: We Must Be Supersoldiers

Hello readers, welcome back to another installment of Field Notes! This time, we're headed back to the bright and ridiculously lens-flare prone Battlefield to examine what the player-character in multiplayer actually is. To help break up the monotony of text, there's a video in the middle somewhere, enjoy!

Have you ever considered that the troops in Battlefield 3, on both the US and Russian sides are basically supersoldiers? Let me give you a run down of why I think this might be the case. First, these guys absorb bullets like the various types of rounds are made out of rubber or some sort of material that hurts you but doesn't kill you. Second, when they do get shot, they have healing factors that can be accelerated by standing around an unopened box of medical supplies. Then there's the issue of explosives apparently doing very little damage to the player other than taking down their health if there's enough distance between the player and the explosion. If I remember correctly, explosions typically involve shrapnel which could hit a major artery and lead to heavy bleeding or at least ruin the use of limbs and a rather powerful shockwave that has the capacity to turn people deaf without proper ear protection (I suppose this is mitigated by the fact that most soldiers wear a form of hearing protection) and occasionally break some bones.


Then, there's the ridiculous weapon proficiency that each soldier seems to have. Arguably, a gun is a gun and there probably won't be too much of a problem wielding various firearms if you're trained in using one already but each gun tends to have different characteristics that would probably take some getting used to. For example, in the Assault class, you can use a conventional assault rifle like the Colt M16A3 or a bullpup like the FN F2000. While most weapons operate on roughly the same principles (i.e. point the gun, pull the trigger, lead spits out the barrel towards where you point), I suspect it would be difficult to operate one weapon from the other especially when you were trained for one design and not the other. Keeping with this example, reloading would be a confusing mess for a pretty long time since your muscle memory from using the M16 would influence you to load the magazine up front when the well is at the back on the F2000. Then, there's the issue of compensating for fire rate and recoil, which isn't too bad in terms of recoil for the M16 and F2000 but the fire rate would be a different story since the F2000 fires significantly faster that M16. Imagine the difference in recoil though between a 5.56x45mm rifle like the M16 and a 7.62x51mm battle rifle like the G3A3, I suspect it'd be a bit harder to handle the 7.62 when firing full-auto even though it has a significantly lower rate of fire.

Alright, maybe that last bit was a little too much of a gripe and realistically, you could use most guns if you know how to use one in general. However, the fact that you are apparently trained in using all sorts of vehicles is definitely ridiculous. Apparently, the player-character has received training in piloting helicopters (transport, attack and scout varieties regardless of the faction), piloting planes (fighters and ground-attack varieties, again regardless of faction), driving and manning the weapons system on tanks, driving and using the weapons systems on IFVs/APCs, driving land transport (fast reconnaissance vehicles and personnel carriers) and driving water transport (boats mostly). Man, the US Marine Corps and Russian Army are made up of some really talented, or ridiculously well-trained people, especially since their troops apparently have the capability to use all sorts of vehicles and weapons systems.

I realise that Battlefield 3 is nowhere near realistic but it's still pretty hilarious if you think about how insane all the mechanics in the game work if you apply some semblance of realism or logic to it.

Battlefield 3 Field Notes: Re-Enlisted

Hello readers, if you exist outside my mind, at least, I like to think I actually have readers although that's probably wishful thinking. To celebrate the upcoming release of Battlefield 4 and because I felt like getting back to it, I'm playing Battlefield 3 again after nearly a year away from it and let me tell you, post-patches, Battlefield 3 is a vastly different game. This will be a semi-regular series written in both a meta-universe and in-universe style, varying depending on the content. For example, this introductory post will be about the game while the next one might be about a specific match/battle or vehicles and weapons. It's largely practice for my skills or lack thereof in creative writing.

The first match back and I've realised I've lost all semblance of motor control in a first-person shooter. I'm not the best video gamer, most of my friends will tell you that, but I like to think that I'm skilled enough to move an analog stick around but my reflexes have gone to hell after playing so many third-person shooters and fighting games for the past year. Some things I haven't lost, though, I still spam the select button to spot enemies for my teammates, a force of habit from my Bad Company days. Also, I'm still fairly proficient with vehicles. I can drive a tank and engage enemies with the best of them and I got skills when it comes to helicopter flying. Let's not talk about jet flying though. Before I took a break from the battlefield, I could barely fly a jet let alone dogfight properly. I tried flying one by spawning in a FA/18 Super Hornet and I basically crashed into the aircraft carrier when trying to takeoff.

Still, my performance wasn't too bad for a soldier off the battlefield for a year or so. Managed to get a decent score, fifth overall and third on my team. KDR doesn't mean jack on Battlefield but I managed to get better than 1.00 KDR, which is an achievement for me since I die most of the time trying to arm MCOMS or capping flags. PTFO, right? People are mostly the same though. They run down the middle and are pretty predictable. It was pretty much a massacre for the enemy team because they were headstrong and kept pushing down the middle. I never understood that mindset. As a rather poor combatant, I've always used varying tactics to outwit rather than outfight the enemy. An exposed flank is basically death to half an enemy team or more. I mean, if you slap a suppressor on your weapon and sneak in from their side and get the enemy from behind, they have little time to react and even if they take you down, you would have taken a fair chunk without them noticing or reacting quick enough.

Weapons-wise, I'm sticking to my 5 Service Star quest whereby I try out every weapon until I get 500 kills so as to unlock the dog tags for it. The current weapon I'm working on is the FAMAS and that thing has been nerfed to oblivion. No other way to put it. Usually, DICE does a great job in balancing weapons but man, they really made this thing terrible. When Back to Karkand first came out and the FAMAS got unlocked, it was a pretty popular weapon. A nimble, fast-firing and devastating close-quarters weapon. Now, it's got a ridiculously high rate of fire coupled with a small magazine, a long reload time and ridiculous recoil. The only way to use this thing is to walk right up to an enemy and pull the trigger. No need to aim, the recoil is way too difficult to control. Most guns I can develop an understanding of and a tactic to compensate for its weaknesses but this gun has too many to count. This is going to be a long 5 Service Stars.

I didn't play too many matches but I did have a lot of fun and now I remember why I love the Battlefield series so much. There'll be more Field Notes for Battlefield 3 and other games that fit the theme in the near future and until then, we've got a few awesome articles on the way. This is Renegade Sandwich, signing off.

E3 2013 Watch

The Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3 for short, only starts tomorrow, but the hype -- which has already begun -- is palpable.

This year's show is definitely one to watch with the next generation of consoles and the announcement of their highly anticipated titles. Personally, Murdered: Soul Suspect has already started pinging on my sonar but I can't wait to see what is in store this E3. I'm expecting a lot from E3 this year, but I have a feeling the unexpected will resonate with the biggest impact. It's a busy time for university students in Australia, with examinations and assignments, but even that can't kill the enthusiasm we have here on the blog. We'll be updating this post with all the developments we see buzzing on the Internet.

We're not reporters, we're not even at E3 2013. We'll be biased, we probably won't see everything there is to see at E3. But we hope you'll join us in the excitement of the biggest video-game and tech show the world has to offer.

_{*note: our thoughts may differ from yours, so share your thoughts in the comment box below beginning with the day followed by the subject.}

LAST UPDATE: 11 June 2013 11.00am

Call of Duty: Ghosts
10 June 2013


-bernt_toast

This morning, two gameplay videos were revealed from an Activision pre-E3 special. A few details came through, especially of Riley your canine companion. The footage took place in two levels were seen snippets of before, the underwater mission and the mission in a cataclysm-ravaged America. During the latter mission, it seems as though the player was controlling Riley (via an attached canine camera) but I'd like to think that he's merely guiding Riley rather than directly inputting commands.
The footage, while nothing compared to the beautiful graphics we've seen on next-gen, looked great. I mean, they have to balance it out considering they're developing for current and next-gen. It implies epic set-piece moments, and fine pacing. Can't wait to see and hear more!


- Renegade Sandwich

I'm going to disagree with you, buddy. It's Call of Duty through and through. The graphics are a nice update from Modern Warfare 3 and Black Ops II but it still doesn't look as good as Crysis, which is a current-gen game (arguable) and the benchmark for all good graphics. With something as powerful as the Xbox One or the PS4, you'd think they'd at least try to make a bigger graphical leap instead of trying to retain that awe-inspiring 60 frames per second. Gameplay wise, nothing new. Only thing interesting to me was the use of the APS underwater assault rifle, that's a Russian-made bolt gun created specifically to work underwater, it's nice that they actually used that instead of some random weapon that shoots underwater even though really, it can't. I'll wait until the game is actually released to make a definite judgement but it's not on my sonar at the moment. On the Riley front, it's explained as them giving him instructions like a real-life SEAL canine unit but it's pretty much you controlling Riley like a drone.

Watch_Dogs
10 June 2013


- Renegade Sandwich

This is my pick for the game to watch for this year's E3. Ubisoft Montreal working on an open-world game set in the future and basically allowing you to hack an entire city? Yes please! I think my favourite thing about Watch_Dogs so far is that it looks like a playable version of Person of Interest, one of my favourite TV shows on at the moment. The gameplay looks superb, allowing you to be both the bad-ass John Reese while wielding technology like the eccentric Harold Finch. The co-op element which hasn't really been shown but has been mentioned is also intriguing as it allows two players to run around Chicago wreaking havoc on the CtOS. Looks and sounds very much like my kind of game.

Kingdom Hearts 1.5 ReMIX
11 June 2013


-Brancake

Alright. As the only Kingdom Hearts fan in the entire blogosphere of awesome blogs, I've got to say that I've been waiting for this remake ever since I got my hands on a PS3. In fact, I was sold on the PS3 ever since I played the first 2 KH games. I'm still waiting on the next release. Yes, I've played the PSP and DS continuations of the story but damn it I will not watch my beloved franchise die. This HD remake of Kingdom Hearts 1 & Re:Chain of Memories will satiate my fan hunger. For now.

If its anything like the Zone of Enders 1 & 2 HD remake, I know that it will satisfy fans everywhere too. This is a game that makes you invest in the characters, like emotionally. It's got half of Disney in it for goodness sake. It's the only opportunity I have to relive my childhood while feeding my desire to mash buttons and kill demons. No, it is not a 'new' game. But it is a big game, with a lot of post game and replay value, and an original game, almost a classic in its own right. The remastered cinematic scenes (you know you're getting quality stuff from Square Enix) can be played in theatre mode and up to 66 tracks have been remade with REAL instruments.

It's just a game you say. Obsession is not a good thing Brancake you say. NO MOM This is a franchise that has been under so much uncertainty and taken so much risk in its conception that it deserves to be valued. Decades into the future, Kingdom Hearts will be our Mona Lisa, our Picasso, our Van Gogh, unappreciated in its time but nonetheless a work of magnificent beauty.

It looks like this game...(puts on sunglasses)...has unlocked the Kingdom to my heart. YEAAAAHHHHHH!

No but seriously I want to play the shit out of this game.

Battlefield 4
June 11, 2013


- Renegade Sandwich

DICE has once again demonstrated why they are one of the all-time greats in the business. Wow, just wow. That gameplay demo for the mission, Angry Seas, and the live multiplayer demo sold Battlefield 4 again to me. I was going to pick it up anyway because I love the series and DICE but man, that makes me want to buy the game twice. For now, it seems that the Swedes have taken it up a notch with the return of Commander Mode integrated with a tablet, no less, and destructible environments on a massive scale. Brilliant, just brilliant. The single-player is shaping up to be a lot stronger than the disappointing Battlefield 3 campaign but only time will tell, really. Also, Michael K. Williams (of The Wire fame) as one of your squadmates? Count me in!

Kingdom Hearts 3 & Final Fantasy XV
June 12, 2013


- Brancake

As you can see from my posts above, I am now officially one happy camper. KH 3 is announced in development. This is not a drill. My long awaited beloved is back in the developer's loving embrace, for a potential 2014 (but realistic 2015 IMHO) release. That said, I've still got a long way to wait seeing how they kept moving FF Versus XIII  (which is now FF XV, proving the rumours right) back from 'this is an early PS3 game' to 'this is an early PS4 game'.

From what I can see in the trailer, its everything you would expect for a revamped continuation of a classic - newer, finer detailing, familiar art direction and a similar battle mechanic. However, Square Enix has acquired a flair for improving sequels while keeping the things that make the game so enjoyable in tact, so this game is in good hands.

There is still uncertainty. But for a moment crystallised in time the fans will have received a new hope. A new beginning. If there ever was a time where KH fans everywhere had to take action, that time is now. Or yesterday. Or potentially in three days time. Basically, we need to start a riot demanding Square Enix to finish what it started or so help me I will burn every copy of every Final Fantasy to the ground. I will not raise my hopes and dreams into the palms of your hands just to see you crush them.

In other news, FF XV was also announced to be in development (again), but it looks like they are one step closer to climbing out of development hell. Not much has changed from the first announcement in 2006, besides a new trailer and a new title. Still, the idea of an FF in the realistic modern present day (-ish) is an invigorating one and one I am still anxious to see.

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E3 2013
The Electronic Entertainment Expo
11.06.2013 - 14.06.2013