While it seems that EA has slightly improved some aspects of the Battlefield 3 multiplayer matchmaking experience, if you're trying to get into a game with friends it is still a profoundly frustrating experience. And with the launch today of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, I get the feeling that many players are wondering if they should just start playing MW3 and give up on Battlefield 3 entirely.
In fact, this is the question that is being debated in a long email string among the players the Gentlemen play with regularly. And while it seems that most of us want to stay with BF3 for the time being, more than a few will try MW3 today to see how that goes. Here are some of the things that are being said from a few players:
"I will likely pop in (MW3) right away and see if there are matchmaking problems. If there are, I will shrug, press eject, and go back to Battlefield. ...I anticipate playing a lot of both games in the upcoming months."
"I have always been more of a Battlefield guy but have been fairly disillusioned by the less than stellar launch and persistent difficulty playing with any number of people other than 4."
"I was a huge fan of BFBC2. I'm pretty disappointed by BF3 in general. There are many aspects I do like - the controls, the squad based reward system, etc are great. But seriously, the online experience sucks. And all the screen clutter and all those vehicles are just too much as well. But what really gets me is the the game environment - getting stuck on a rock or not being able to crawl under something you should be able to or not being able to climb over something you should be able, all the while being shot through those spaces, and not being able to tell what building can be destroyed and what can't just infuriates me."
"I don't have time to play BF3 enough to get good at it, let alone another game. The learning curve of the games is too steep - I got my ass handed to me playing MW2. For the time being, I'll play strictly BF3."
"I'm going to stick with BF3 for a few more weeks. With MW3 dropping, that should alleviate some of the server stress and matchmaking should get better."
My own plan? I'm getting Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 today and will definitely put it in to check it out. But I've always loved Battlefield more, particularly for the emphasis on team play and the quality of the maps, both in size and destructibility of the environment. Personally I'm hoping that EA fixes the matchmaking and it gets easier for a big group of players to play together.
But with COD: Modern Warfare 3 launching today, it looks like they've got their work cut out for them.