Battlefield 3 for Xbox 360 Reviews by Gamers

Battlefield 3 probably deserves a 9, but since EA is continuing to ravage the marketplace for game renters, it deserves a 5 at best. There is no way I'm paying $10 extra to play online. As someone else said, half the game deserves half the rating.

B3 and Dice develop stellar online shooters, and they really are forcing you to cough up the dough if you rent the game and want to hop into the online realm. In addition, EA forces to you sign up for an EA/Origins account if you don't have one already and Agree to their terms of service. I think it says that EA owns your soul somewhere in that contract, so beware.

The Frostbite 2 Engine shines radiantly though, and B3 boasts the best sounding shooter ever created. Period. It's meant to be playing on a huge HD TV (must download the HD pkg to really see the quality) with a huge surround sound. It sounded unbelievable on the stereo system. The sound and feel to the guns was amazingly realistic. The graphics shined, and the campaign was filled with action packed sequences and chapters. I enjoyed the awesome fighter jet dogfights in the sky, the sick tank battles, and plot twists.

But with all those high notes, I experienced a lot of glitches in AI, some which forced me to restart checkpoints. The addition of pressing button sequences on the screen like Bayonetta (worst game ever) was uncreative and boring. Pressing buttons to beat a boss was as lame as could be. Are you kidding me? You can also fly through the 1P campaign in a few short hours. And since I'm not paying $10 to play online, the experience was short and forgettable.

If you're looking to dive deep into online multiplayer, than you'll need to fork over $60. I did play the co-op, which was a nice addition, and online play felt bigger and better than before. Battlefield fans have their hands full with an unreal amount of depth to leveling up.
Milt Drucker
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With the online portion locked out behind a code (not even the usual trial period), there is almost no reason at all to rent BF3. The single player portion is simply awful. By all accounts, the online multiplayer is fantastic, but don't rent it for that purpose unless you are prepared to pay the $10 to access the online features.

Basically, buy it or just skip it altogether. It isn't worth the rental because the portion of the game you can access is really THAT bad. I don't mind online passes (but do think they should offer a brief trial period if they want sales), but there is almost nothing in the single player campaign to recommend. Unless you like bugs.