Battlefield 3 Armored Kill Review

With four huge maps, a great new game mode, and a handful of fun new vehicles, Armored Kill is the best reason yet for you to jump back into Battlefield 3. After the Close Quarters misstep expansion that tried to turn BF3 into something it isn't, and the rehash of Battlefield 2's maps of Back to Karkand, Armored Kill finally feels like the first Battlefield 3 expansion to get close to living up to its potential by giving us more of what makes the series so great: a strong mix of vehicular warfare and first-person shooting. It pushes Battlefield 3 to its limits, and in some cases comes to a sudden stop when it hits them.

When is Big Too Big?

Up until this point, maps like Caspian Border have carried the load of showcasing large-scale battles in Battlefield 3. Now, with Armored Kill, we have four even larger maps, one of which DICE claims as the biggest map in the history of the series. That would be Bandar Desert, and yes, it's pretty damn big. So big, in fact, that it actually makes Battlefield 3's 64-player limit feel *gasp* small, and some of the battles I played in Conquest mode turned into isolated pockets of fighting between a few players. It's a far cry from the epic scale warfare I signed up for, but it's much better in Rush mode because everyone is moving from the same objective location to the next. It's still fun, as BF3 tends to be, but I can't help but think how amazing it would be if the player limit was higher.


The other maps introduce some large battlegrounds as well (not quite to the gigantic scope of Bandar,) but it's Alborz Mountains that stands out. I mean, they're all great -- Death Valley is a nighttime desert map and Armored Shield takes place across some large grasslands -- it's just that the variety of terrain makes Alborz feel really unique. Between fighting over a frozen lake and driving up a mountain in my tank, the entire map looks like it was plucked out of Skyrim, and it's the best-designed of the four new maps.

Do You Feel Superior?

It's a design well-suited for the impressive new vehicle-centric mode, Tank Superiority (playable on all four new maps). The rules are simple: there's one control point in the middle of the map, so you should capture it. The number of vehicles to be found is increased, so you're assured to see tons of tanks and APCs all rushing and vying for control of this one hotspot. A few minutes into a Tank Superiority match, charred remnants of those vehicles start to pile up, tanks launching artillery barrages from hilltops, and a few brave (stupid) souls leave their vehicles to sprint to the control point. It's a beautiful chaotic mess, and I love it.


Tank Superiority is also the best mode to play if you're trying to complete the five new Assignments (AKA achievements), all of which are vehicle related. Completing these tasks involves making a number of kills with a specific vehicle or unlocking additional vehicle abilities like explosive rounds and TOW missiles. As opposed to Back to Karkand and Close Quarters, there are no new infantry weapons -- the focus here went to introducing new vehicles like the Spurt-SD tank, the M1128 Tank Killer, the M142 & BM-23 mobile artillery trucks.

There's also the uniquely auto-piloted C-130 Gunship, which is an awesome ride, even if I can't directly fly it. Instead, two players can hop in and take on the firing duties -- one on the anti-aircraft gun, the other shelling ground troops. Even with these two seats filled, the Gunship then serves as a mobile spawn point so players can paradrop closer to enemy-controlled areas.

Making Sure Everyone Feels Welcome

Because of the concentration on vehicles in Armored Kill, the Engineer is far and away the preferred class on these maps. The other classes have some useful tools, like Support's C4 and Recon's ability to laser targets, but they can't match the Engineer's variety. Between his rocket launchers, mines, and even the EOD remote-controlled robot, if you're picking a different class you better have a damn good reason for it. This happens to be my favorite class anyway, so I didn't mind playing with him a majority of the time, but if you're partial to your sniper you might want to get used to wielding a blow torch to repair your teammates' vehicles.


Battlefield Premium members have access to Armored Kill right now, and everyone else who's interested will be able to buy it for $15 on September 25th. If you're still playing Battlefield 3, or burnt out from claustrophobia or lack of tanks, I suggest that you do.