Played some multiplayer BF for the first time since BC1, and the only Battlefield games I've played are BC1 and 1943. Impressions of a noob:
I was super-frustrated at first, even more so than in my first few games of COD. I'm not a big FPS guy so I fully expect to get murdered over and over again, but this was ridiculous. I'd head towards a capture point (played Conquest first), get murdered, try a different route, get killed, over and over again. All without ever seeing who killed me. I had a bunch of deaths within seconds of spawning two, which wasn't fun.
But I started to pick it up after a few rounds. I started getting the hang of identifying enemies and knowing where to look. I got better about making sure I'm not so damn visible and tried not to just start shooting until I knew I had a good shot lined up. I captured a few points, and died valiantly trying to defend my flag. I even tried to fly a jet. That did not go so well.
I tried Rush too. I guess old-school fans bitch about that mode being a console baby thing (?) but I liked the concept of defenders vs. attackers and moving with the front as we pushed (or were pushed) ahead to destroy new M-COM stations. Maybe it was the maps I played on, but it was cool fighting in one area and then moving to a new front in a different space. Maybe it was just the few rounds I was in, but this felt like a bit more of a team effort. Nobody was talking, but we coordinated and timed rushes on the attack side and covered the right spots on the defending side. I felt like I had a role to play, and while it felt good to kill some dudes it felt better to win a round.
A few complaints/observations:
* Is it normal that most people (on console) don't use headsets? Seems like a game that would benefit from a little voice communication, even if there are some idiots blasting dubstep or yelling at their moms. I'm starting to think mine is broken. Can you only talk to your squad? I never say anything, and I only heard someone once. They coughed.
* The whole unlocking/leveling thing is kind of a mystery to me. I'm sure I'll get it at some point, but there's pretty much nothing to tell you how the system works. I know it's really simple, but I'm still not sure in some cases what I'm working towards.
* Why the hell do I have to wait 30 seconds after a round if all I want to do is quit or find a new server? There must be a good explanation for this.
* The game systems themselves aren't ever really explained, except very briefly on a loading screen. I mean, they aren't that complicated, but how about a few pointers? It took me a little while to remember what "bleeding tickets" meant.
* Man this game would be a hell of a lot more fun with friends. I need to work on that.
I also saw the first gamertag that made me LOL - Friendless 41yr. He killed me, and I wanted to give him a hug.
I had a great couple of hours - really look forward to learning more about this game.