After BFBC2, the best Battlefield from the franchise to this day.

This Battlefield game is the last one in the series that does almost everything right and is STILL to this day enjoyable to play and tons of fun, if you actually could play it still. More on that later.

This game is a competitive players dream coming true. Weapon mechanics are fantastic, every gun has a decernable recoil pattern that is not too hard to understand, but takes lots of skill to master. As with most things in this game, DICE got the balance between ease of access for sh*tters and a high enough skill ceiling for better players, who whish to separate themselves from the average casual andy, just right.

The game features something which every other BF game afterwards doesn't: You begin the game and you'll be absolutely obliterated by better players. No "everybody's a winner!!!" bullsh*t like in any other modern shooter. You're a noob, you get wrecked. Exactly how it is supposed to be. The more time you put in, the better you'll become. Learning curves, a term that is non-existent in modern games.

The maps are said to be fantastic for vehicular combat, but since I am a purely infantry-based player I will only comment on this side of the game.
All infantry focused maps are exceptionally good and wonderful to play. They provide enough cover, have a well thought out structure and a clear gameplay flow can occur naturally. There isn't too much clutter, the visibility is great and all of the infantry pathways make sense as they're well designed. BF3 was the first title to feature the best map ever made, Operation Metro. It is unparalleled in its design and gameplay. Grand Basar follows suit and, if you don't like the mode conquest, you can always play TDM on Noshahr Canals, another unique and unmatched experience.

There really are only three downsides in this game, two of which aren't even that bad.

The only major f*ck-up is a system called "suppression" which makes your bullets deviate from where your gun is pointing at and increases the recoil to an absurd amount. This results in missed shots, even if you are skilled enough to handle the increased recoil. An absolute disaster which should never have been implemented, and patched out ASAP after it was added.

Another flaw is the poor netcode performance. The tickrate is only 10Hz, making the hit detection horrendous and dying behind solid cover a frequent occurence. Every player experiences this though, so it somewhat balances out. It is annoying and it could certainly be improved, but it isn't a massive deal breaker, especially because it doesn't have major problems like for example BF4, where entire magazines will pass through people without causing any damage regularly.

Last but not least, the worst part about the game: It doesn't get official servers from DICE. Every server you still find today is run by the games community, and that is a very, very bad thing. The community behind Battlefield is one of the most casual in gaming. This means that you're constantly at the mercy of admins who are - at best - casual, average players who have no idea what the game looks like on a high level. If you have invested any time in becoming good at shooter games, you'll outperform pretty much anybody on any given server by a mile, and if you are killing the average admin, there is a very good chance you'll eventually be banned from every server that is still round today. This is what happened to me, a former competitive Battlefield player who has more than 20 years of experience in shooter games. No server allows me to play this game anymore and the player numbers are just too low to setup a server by myself; it would simply never fill up, as 99% of people still playing can be on any of the already existing servers and have no incentive to join my server, leaving it empty for the entirety of its existence.

Conclusion: The game is fantastic, and apart from the bad netcode and the suppression mechanic it is still a blast to play, even today. No other BF game after this comes remotely close to delivering what every above-average player so desperately wants: A shooter in which you can separate yourself from the average sh*tter by investing time in learning the game. No "everybody's a winner!!!" bullsh*t like modern titles. Maps are unparalleled and the best I have ever had the pleasure to play. Be aware that you'll likely get banned from all remaining servers, as the game doesn't feature official servers and the remaining admins are below average braindeads that can't accept defeat.

After BFBC2, the best Battlefield from the franchise to this day. This Battlefield game is the last one in the series that does almost everything right and is STILL to this day enjoyable to play and tons of fun, if you actually could play it still. More on that later. This game is a competitive players dream coming true. Weapon mechanics are fantastic, every gun has a decernable recoil pattern that is not too hard to understand, but takes lots of skill to master. As with most things in this game, DICE got the balance between ease of access for sh*tters and a high enough skill ceiling for better players, who whish to separate themselves from the average casual andy, just right. The game features something which every other BF game afterwards doesn't: You begin the game and you'll be absolutely obliterated by better players. No "everybody's a winner!!!" bullsh*t like in any other modern shooter. You're a noob, you get wrecked. Exactly how it is supposed to be. The more time you put in, the better you'll become. Learning curves, a term that is non-existent in modern games. The maps are said to be fantastic for vehicular combat, but since I am a purely infantry-based player I will only comment on this side of the game. All infantry focused maps are exceptionally good and wonderful to play. They provide enough cover, have a well thought out structure and a clear gameplay flow can occur naturally. There isn't too much clutter, the visibility is great and all of the infantry pathways make sense as they're well designed. BF3 was the first title to feature the best map ever made, Operation Metro. It is unparalleled in its design and gameplay. Grand Basar follows suit and, if you don't like the mode conquest, you can always play TDM on Noshahr Canals, another unique and unmatched experience. There really are only three downsides in this game, two of which aren't even that bad. The only major f*ck-up is a system called "suppression" which makes your bullets deviate from where your gun is pointing at and increases the recoil to an absurd amount. This results in missed shots, even if you are skilled enough to handle the increased recoil. An absolute disaster which should never have been implemented, and patched out ASAP after it was added. Another flaw is the poor netcode performance. The tickrate is only 10Hz, making the hit detection horrendous and dying behind solid cover a frequent occurence. Every player experiences this though, so it somewhat balances out. It is annoying and it could certainly be improved, but it isn't a massive deal breaker, especially because it doesn't have major problems like for example BF4, where entire magazines will pass through people without causing any damage regularly. Last but not least, the worst part about the game: It doesn't get official servers from DICE. Every server you still find today is run by the games community, and that is a very, very bad thing. The community behind Battlefield is one of the most casual in gaming. This means that you're constantly at the mercy of admins who are - at best - casual, average players who have no idea what the game looks like on a high level. If you have invested any time in becoming good at shooter games, you'll outperform pretty much anybody on any given server by a mile, and if you are killing the average admin, there is a very good chance you'll eventually be banned from every server that is still round today. This is what happened to me, a former competitive Battlefield player who has more than 20 years of experience in shooter games. No server allows me to play this game anymore and the player numbers are just too low to setup a server by myself; it would simply never fill up, as 99% of people still playing can be on any of the already existing servers and have no incentive to join my server, leaving it empty for the entirety of its existence. Conclusion: The game is fantastic, and apart from the bad netcode and the suppression mechanic it is still a blast to play, even today. No other BF game after this comes remotely close to delivering what every above-average player so desperately wants: A shooter in which you can separate yourself from the average sh*tter by investing time in learning the game. No "everybody's a winner!!!" bullsh*t like modern titles. Maps are unparalleled and the best I have ever had the pleasure to play. Be aware that you'll likely get banned from all remaining servers, as the game doesn't feature official servers and the remaining admins are below average braindeads that can't accept defeat.