Battlefield 3 Co-Op Preview: Maps And Missions Rated

Battlefield 3 is a game comprised of three distinct parts. It’s no secret that the majority of every Battlefield 3 player’s time will mostly be spent slugging it out online, while the campaign will play second fiddle.

But then you have the co-op campaign that is completely separate from the single player story. We’ve played it, and it’s actually bloody brilliant.

We recently played through the exhilarating ‘Hit and Run’ co-op mission courtesy of DICE, and found it to be a neat, self-contained meta game full of enemies, intense gunplay and thrilling set pieces. Back at Gamescom, we also got to play the stunning night mission ‘Exfiltration’ as well, and that was brilliant too.

Think of these missions as the Battlefield 3 equivalent to Call of Duty’s Spec Ops and you’re on the right track, as each map throws new methods of approach into the mix. Read on, and find out why Battlefield 3 co-op is shaping up to be a stellar offering.

Hit & Run's car park shoot out is rather special.

Hit and Run

Tied loosely to the events of the main Battlefield 3 campaign, Hit and Run takes place in Paris. There is a real Die Hard vibe about the setting, as you must battle your way down from the top floor of an office block, down to the basement parking lot many floors below.

The office in question belongs to a corrupt business that is a front for terrorism, and it’s your job to extract vital files from a top floor office, and survive wave after wave of attackers. 

Right from the start these guys give you a barrage of trouble, as they rappel through windows, and kick down doors to rush you from all sides. They are also armed to the teeth, and come packing assault rifles and a seemingly never-ending supply of frag grenades.

It seems that you are never given a moment to catch your breath, as enemy fire comes from every angle. You really need to sweep each area of the office as a coordinated team to avoid being ambushed by terrorists lying in wait, and to spot snipers on adjacent buildings across the street.

Did you know that Battlefield 3 features destruction? 

Shoot the Glass!

At the start of the mission, you’re given a few seconds to fortify your starting room with claymores, but from the word go, the enemy assault never lets up.

There is pacing here that we simply didn’t see from the single player campaign, as the pounding music rises to a deafening roar, and the rasp of gunfire churns through office cubicles, throwing debris all over the room.

It’s absolutely mental, but an utter joy from start to finish. The best moment by far is a breach and clear infiltration that sees one player sweeping the bottom floor of an office, while the other takes out snipers on the top floor balconies, a well as providing covering fire from above.

Fighting the battle on two floors at once demands a tactical approach, and it’s advisable for both players to spot enemies on the HUD to help each other out. If a player is incapacitated, it’s up to their team mate to run over and revive them before they bleed out. When there’s hot lead spewing everywhere, this becomes very tense indeed.

 It’s not exactly easy either, as we played Hit and Run on medium mode, and found that we were downed frequently. After a while however, we got into the flow of battle and started taking out enemies with expert efficiency.

Unfortunately, you can't fly the planes in co-op. Sad faces all round.

Bits and Set-Pieces

Descending into the lower floors of the building, we entered an eerily quiet corridor, complete with display cases running up the middle that housed vases and other antique items. The music had stopped too, and it was clear another ambush was about to take place.

As we took a few steps into the room, the area lit up with the infa-red beams of enemy snipers on a building over the street. We hit the deck in an instant and the whole room started getting torn to shreds with sniper fire, as more terrorists entered the room and started laying down suppressing fire.

Again, it was an absolutely mental moment, and the process of killing enemies in the room, while dodging sniper fire from the right required a lot of teamwork, but we got there in the end and finally reached the parking lot below.

Kicking in the door, we took out a bunch of enemies hiding around our getaway car. Our team mate jumped behind the wheel and started flooring it to the exit, while we fired through the window at the 30 or so terrorists who were swarming the car with gunfire.

Driving isn’t on rails either, and the whole escape plan descended into a blind panic, as our driver scrambled about desperately trying to find the exit, while we did out best to shoot any incoming attackers. After a few close calls however, we smashed through the exit barrier and out onto the Parisian streets above. Victory!

Covering your buddy's back in Exfiltration's stealth section is vital.

Exfiltration

Hit and Run is an incredible example of a self-contained meta game done right. The mission isn’t confined by the plot of the single player campaign as such, and it gives rise to bigger, more fantastical set pieces that – we’re sad to admit – the single player rarely throws at you. 

Back in August, we had the chance to sit down with DICE and play another co-op mission called Exfiltration. It saw our U.S. Marine squad rescuing defected PLR member El Zakir from a heavily guarded apartment block in Tehran.

Just like Hit and Run, this mission mixed things up a bit by throwing us in the deep end of a brutal stealth mission. Silenced assault rifles in hand, we went room to room in the dark tower block, sweeping for enemies and silently gunning down any enemies who crossed our path.

We also had to dodge security cameras to avoid kicking the hornet’s nest, and given the surprisingly high difficulty of normal mode, we certainly didn’t want to attract any more trouble. 

Elements of the Exfiltration co-op mission are similar to the Uprising campaign mission.

The Sound of War

One thing that struck us most during this stealth section was DICE’s impeccable use of audio. The din of nearby television sets made it hard to detect enemy footsteps, and to find our way round the stage. It sounded superb and really helped to create a tense atmosphere.

Eventually we located El Zakir without raising the alarm, and we helped him walk out to the street outside, where our convoy was ready and waiting. With the hostage safely onboard, we walked ahead of the trucks to sweep the street for snipers and potential ambush. 

As it was the dead of night, we had to use infa-green thermal scopes on our rifles to spot snipers lying in wait around tower blocks on both sides of the street.

After we shot a few of them at a safe distance, swarms of enemies started spilling out onto the rooftops and the street below, unleashing a barrage of gunfire in our direction.

In an attempt to get closer to the throng of terrorists, we zig-zagged between cover to avoid sniper fire. We took the left pavement, and our co-op buddy took the right, spotting enemies on the HUD as we went. Eventually we quelled the enemy resistance and called the convoy up the street safely.

But then again, most people will probably stick with multiplayer overall.

Is It Really That Good?

Well, yes basically. Co-op makes you feel more like an active part of a coordinated military unit than the campaign, and throws you in the deep end.

It’s the kind of action that feels like it will never end, and then it does for a brief few moments before suddenly hitting high gear again. You barely have time to breathe, and the result is incredible.

Although there are less than ten co-op missions on the disc – most of which we’re not able to discuss here – the replay value is decent, and chances are you will try to beat your best times and play through again with different friends. 

In terms of excitement, we’d pick what we’ve played of co-op over what we’ve played of the campaign any day. But then again, we’ve only scratched the surface of both modes, and we can only make a full assessment once the game launches. Until then, keep on checking NowGamer for more Battlefield 3 updates as they happen.