Battlefield 3 Shows Up At GDC, Looks Great

Tuesday night, at the Game Developer's Conference of 2011, a select few members of the press were given a sneak peak at the highly anticipated Battlefield 3.

EA revealed a bit of the single player campaign along with an in depth analysis and preview of the game's incredible engine. The Frostbite Engine 2, unlike the console-limited engine of the CoD franchise, is designed for PCs which makes Battlefield 3 a force to be reckoned with. Look out Crysis.

Here's a snippet from PCGamer's coverage of the revealing:

The demo opened with a precis of the tech. Frostbite 2 uses animation systems developed for sports games to give characters heft and weight. As the soldiers turn into doorways, you can see the weight shift on their feet. The destructability of the old Frostbite engine has been ramped up; bullets can chip away at masonry and concrete, while full bore explosives can tear down entire buildings. And when buildings collapse, they don’t vanish in a cloud of smoke and magically transform into burning husks – the destruction is more complex – signage wobbles and shakes, concrete awnings tumble down. The sound is as violent and deafening as Bad Company 2; bullets echo and snap with nightmarish cracks. But it’s the sheer visual quality that’s the real star. I think it’s down to the lighting – the bright sunshine of the Iraq level was extremely impressive. When the demo transitioned to the indoors, shafts of sunlight shone through any open windows, creating gorgeous pillars of dust. It absolutely looked a step ahead of last year’s big shooters.

And if the screenshots aren't enough to give you chills, check out some video of in-game footage:

Battlefield 3 comes out in the fall and if you ask us, not nearly soon enough.

Photos and Video: EA

Tuan Mai
Tuan Mai is a Los Angeles based writer and marketing manager working within the PC Hardware industry. He has written for Tom's Guide since 2010, with a special interest in the weird and quirky.
  • bdonedge
    Goodbye whatever social life I had..
    Reply
  • speedemon
    Ok Windows Xp users, thats how much time you have to upgrade.
    Reply
  • jevon
    Can't wait, going to be epic with 64 players and all the good BF stuff they're bringing back!
    Reply
  • touchdowntexas13
    Now THAT is what I'm talking about. THAT is why I just bought a second GTX 470. PC, for the win for sure. But I bet it will look good on consoles as well. It seems Dice knows what they are doing when it comes to optimizing their frostbite engine. Hopefully we can start to see more games that properly use high-end hardware. Can't wait to play!
    Reply
  • kriminal
    ^^ in a nutshell.... yes :)
    Reply
  • Bigmac80
    OMG is it the right time to build my pc on April? What if i build my pc and it doesn't run it good enough :(..
    Reply
  • Bigmac80
    Maybe i should buy the GTX 590 or AMD 6990 LOL...
    Reply
  • I love BF and this looks awesome! The shadows and lighting look sweet. Will have to upgrade before this comes out...
    Reply
  • TheWhiteRose000
    Does want.
    Reply
  • quixilver1
    Must download pre-release copy off of pirate bay. Stolen game of the year, definitely.
    Reply