Single-player
Players will be able to use vehicles during the campaign, but their use will be limited. Set in 2014, the player will take on the role of Staff Sergeant Henry 'Black' Blackburn, a member of the United States Marine Corps deployed along the Iran-Iraq border. SSgt Blackburn leads a five-man squad on a mission to locate, find and safely return a US squad investigating a possible chemical weapons site, whose last known position was inside a meat market controlled by a hostile militia. After engaging in several gun battles with hostile forces, Blackburn and his squad mates are caught in a massive earthquake whose epicentre is in Iran. Brief shots from the campaign trailer depict an aerial view of a war-torn city, a column of M1 Abrams tanks being attacked by cluster munitions, and an aerial dogfight between US and Russian fighter aircraft.
Multi-player
Battlefield 3 features the return of class-based game play, with four classes: Assault, Support, Engineer and Recon. Unlike previous versions, the class, Assault, will be able to equip defibrillators and medkits. The mechanics of the LMG have been changed to utilize the new engine. Bipods can be deployed anywhere when in the prone position or near suitable scenery, and provide a significant boost to accuracy and recoil reduction. Suppressive fire is an in-game mechanic which blurs the vision of those under fire from an LMG, and also reduces their accuracy. The Engineer will also receive a boost with a flashlight that can be used to blind other players.
Several game modes have been announced: Conquest, Rush, and a new mode, Team Deathmatch.
Pre-order promotion
Pre-orders of the Limited Edition of the game grant access to a DLC pack called "Back to Karkand", a reference to the "Strike at Karkand" map (a popular BF2 map), to include four maps and several weapons and vehicles brought over from Battlefield 2. The maps from the expansion pack will be: Strike at Karkand, Gulf of Oman, Wake Island and Sharqi Peninsula. All have been re-imagined and recreated for use with the new engine that powers Battlefield 3, called "Frostbite 2.0" and its more advanced physics. Leaks from EA indicate that the pack will become available for general purchase after one month.
