Well, I've been a fan of BF for quite some time now, and it started where every little boy starts off. The original Battlefield 1942. (Sorry folks, but, I missed out on Codename Eagle).
Instantly, from the get-go, BF1942 completely blew me away. The Refractor 2.0 engine was the 'next-best-thing' in gaming!
The sheer scope and intensity of the multiplayer was almost too much to behold. I was a massive fan of Counter Strike, but it really couldn't hold a candle against Battlefield. I couldn't believe what I was playing. I lost far too many hours to my youth playing that game.
Then they released expansion packs, Road to Rome, Secret Weapons of WWII, Battlefield Vietnam, Battlefield 2 + A million expansions for that, then, finally, they hit a peak with Battlefield 2142. The (modified) Refractor 2.0 engine was being pushed to the limits, it was getting old. I remember that 2142 looked fairly decent, especially considering the roots of the engine - Yes, the engine started out as 1.0 on Codename Eagle, but when boundaries are needing pushed, things just had to move on..
At a sullen E3, out of the shadows DICE cometh. They announce a new type of Battlefield, one where walls were no obstacle for the modern soldier. They announced BF: Bad Company and the new Frostbite Engine.
Crowds were in awe when the trailer was running, the comedy relief and the voice over was awesome, but all eyes were on the country-grown soldier, happily lobbing off M203 grenades and destroying buildings! DICE has made dreams come true and has given gamers the ability to fully destroy environments, on a massive scale.
The game could be turning to a wasteland around you, although, to your surprise it was always running smooth and allowing you to explore vast the environments, with a draw-distance that would make a flight simulator jealous! (I never got round to Battlefield Bad Company 2, or the Vietnam version, but they used an upgraded 'Frostbite 1.5' and it looked tremendous!) But that still wasn't good enough for DICE and DirectX 11 lay just around the corner, allowing developers to squeeze 30% more performance out of hardware; and introduce new visual technologies that haven't been tapped into fully.
DICE sat in their dark rooms, working away... In near silence.
Now, the wait is over. BF3 has hit the shelves, and Frostbite 2 has been unleashed with full DX11 support!
My first opinion of the game - Battlefield 3 has, honestly, taken gaming to the next level. I've never played a game with so much detail, so much immersion and such fluid gameplay. It really is the kind of game that all developers should aspire to making.
Everything in Battlefield 3 is designed to put you in the game. The distance cracking of gunfire, tracers chasing each other through the sky, bullets cracking against your cover, flashlights blinding you, jets screaming past overhead, explosions in the distance.... Every aspect of the game builds and builds into a massive crescendo, exploding all over you, just to just deliver one of the best and most refined gaming experiences ever made.
DICE & Battlefield 3 don't just let you play around in a battlefield...
They put you IN the battlefield!