Review: Battlefield 3 game for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC

Battlefield 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 are, effectively, the Blur and Oasis of computer games. With the most recent versions of each released within days of each other, it's hard not to draw parallels between the two rival first-person shooters.

Unfortunately, the comparisons don't start well for Battlefield 3. Its single-player campaign came across as little more than a weak pastiche of Call of Duty.

The game is set in the near future and the story attempts to provide the same levels of globe-trotting blockbuster action as its counterpart. But Battlefield's faceless characters, a paper-thin plot and largely linear gameplay make the campaign feel like a brief, dissatisfying fairground ride.

However, Battlefield 3 started to distinguish itself once we got to the multiplayer component. The maps are massive and impressively detailed, and up to 64 players can hash it out in vast, frenetic battles both on foot and in vehicles, which even stretch to jet fighters.

Customisation and progression offer plenty of depth too, although there's nothing particularly new that players of previous Battlefield games won't have seen before.

A powerful PC is needed to enjoy Battlefield 3's highly realistic visuals (see www.snipca.com/X4901 for the full requirements) and there's a more onerous requirement.

Not only must players log into Origin (an equivalent to the popular Steam online system that's run by EA Games), they must also set up and log into a Battlelog account before they can play, which is a clumsy and confusing system.

If we were forced to choose between the two games, we'd probably end up plumping for Modern Warfare 3, if only because of its infinitely superior single-player campaign.

Taken on its own merits, however, Battlefield 3 certainly offers a compelling multiplayer experience, as well as some of the most realistic-looking graphics we've ever seen.

PEGI age rating: 16+

Available on: PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360