There is no denying that modern PCs are capable of more than modern game consoles. As such, Battlefield 3 will naturally be at its strongest on the PC, provided you have a machine that can handle it. According to DICE’s Patrick Bach though, while compromises have been made in order to create the most authentic Battlefield 3 experience possible on consoles, the changes that have been made were the best available to them.
While there are sure to be gamers that will cry foul at the drop from 64 player online matches to 24, this is only a small concession if it still allows for console gamers to experience the game’s incredibly strong engine and technology in all their glory. Even though the Battlefield series is known for its large battles, 24 players is still a large number compared to many of the popular console games currently on the market. According to Bach:
This is what many gamers do not realize when comparing the PC version of Battlefield 3 to its console counterpart. While there certainly are compromises that must be made, DICE is not setting out on a mission to hurt console gamers. The changes that are being made are to account for the differences in technology between PCs and consoles. In order for the game to appear on a platform with less power behind it, concessions are a bitter reality.
Despite the fact that matches will be fought by less players on consoles, Bach was happy to announce that this then freed up the resources required to properly incorporate jets into the multiplayer experience.
While it would have been great to have full 64 player matches on consoles, the exclusion of vehicles would have been an even larger blow than the reduction in maximum players. Piloting the game’s vehicles is one of the main draws for many gamers, and without them, the battlefield would feel empty.
Finally, Patrick Bach went on to discuss the reduction of map sizes for the console versions of the game, promising that they will still feel as action-packed as ever.
As with the other compromises, gamers could argue that the smaller maps will end up hurting the game, but with the reduced number of players in each map, a smaller battlefield may actually be beneficial to the experience. Rather than having the players spread out across overly-large landscapes, this change will force them to fight within closer quarters of one another, making for a more intense experience.
Even with the compromises that have to be made for the console version of Battlefield 3, it will no doubt be an incredibly strong title. With a highly anticipated multiplayer component that incorporates four distinct classes and new features such as earthquakes, the competition with Modern Warfare 3 is sure to be a heated one.
Despite the compromises, do you believe that Battlefield 3 will still be a strong title on consoles? Do you feel that some console gamers are being unfairly harsh regarding these required compromises?
Battlefield 3 releases on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on October 25, 2011.
Source: CVG
