The Case

When you think of Battlefield you imagine huge battles, vehicle warfare, aerial dogfights, intense infantry combat...right? Well, with the 2nd expansion, Close Quarters, things get a bit, well, close. Completely removing vehicles, land and air, CQ focuses on more 'in your face' type combat.

The Trial

To be honest, I really do prefer the bigger scale Battlefield gameplay. CQ seems, to me, too much like Call of Duty. While I openly admit that I do enjoy COD, I want my BF's to be BF and COD's to be COD. Having said that, Gun Master is a great new addition to Battlefield 3 and really makes for some intense sessions.

Gun Master is Battlefield's take on Counter Strike's Gun Game. Players start with a basic pistol. For every 2 kills you get with the weapon, a new one is unlocked. Repeat this until you reach level 17 and must get your final kill with a knife. Getting a melee kill BEFORE you actually receive the knife as the primary weapon results in the victim being demoted a weapon level.

Another new mode included with Close Quarters is Conquest Domination. Basically it's your typical Conquest game mode, but adapted for the new maps. Since the maps are much smaller in this expansion, players can only spawn on either a random location on the map or a squad member, as there are no uncaps. Because of this, the capture radius of each control point is much smaller, and gaining control of each point takes much less time. Like other versions of Conquest, the objective is to reduce the enemy ticket count to zero.

Obviously, the more intimate style of combat would not really work on the large maps we have become accustomed to. The new maps included in this expansion have been specifically designed for this much closer style of gameplay.

Ziba Tower throws you into a small hotel/apartment complex which allows for more vertical based combat, as many sections are raised and overlook some pretty exposed areas below. Taking cover is pretty futile as bullets easily rip and tear through the thin walls and furniture, making for some pretty battered sections of the map by the time the final kill has been made.

A similar map is Donya Fortress. This palace setting also throws in an element of verticality with the raised balconies and exposed courtyard. Cover in this map is a bit more reliable than in Ziba Tower, thanks to a more concrete and stone structure.

Operation 925, unlike the previous maps mentioned, lacks any real sense of verticality, but instead is made up of several separate and quite confined levels of the building. The lowest level is the underground car park. This poorly lit area can be quite dangerous to the invigilate. Sparks from overhead wires and car alarms can prove quite distracting. Further up the building are the offices which will see the most action. Low walls provide the majority of cover, but, just like Ziba Tower, most of the office area is made up of thin walls and office furniture. Don't trust your cover!

Finally, Scrapmetal is a factory based arena, where players must fight in an abandoned factory with adjoining sky bridges and a rooftop area (with it's very own wrecked Chinook). The most exposed area is, without a doubt, the rooftop. Opposite the rooftop is a raised section of the factory, which can be used to the opposing team's advantage as you can see the entire rooftops from there.

Ten new weapons, one new gadget, new dog tags and a number of assignments also feature in Close Quarters. Close Quarters also brings with it HD destruction. Instead of just blowing up sections of walls etc, you can take them apart piece by piece, with more detailed destruction, but nothing really game altering or mind blowing.

The Verdict

This up close and personal take on Battlefield closely resembles Call of Duty, which some could argue is not a bad thing, but it just doesn't feel right somehow. Gun Master is the saving grace of this expansion. A fast paced mode, frantic and fun, that without, Close Quarters would have been just an "alright" map pack.

Case Review