I'm really enjoying CQ, but if you're the kind of BF3 player who prefers bigger maps and vehicles I don't really think you should bother with it. It's pure infantry, hallways, rooms and courtyards. The map design is much better than other similar small scale maps in vanilla BF3, and conquest domination actually works, but it's still very fast, indoor spammy play.
It's also a clusterfuck nightmare with any more than 24 players.
I think it's a nice change of pace which is a nice thing to have even if I wanted Armored Kill as the first DLC. It's just different enough to give you another mode to play when you're bored and want to switch it up a bit but appreciate BF3's gunplay and destruction.
It's nothing more than just more options to keep me playing the game rather than playing something else after a few of the normal maps.
It has also surprised a lot of people who hate Metro (I hate it as well) because they assumed it'd be the same crazy bullshit but they underestimated the map design for CQ. The maps took the lessons learned from vanilla BF3 and other games with smaller maps and created something that is hectic and fast paced but well designed to where there's ALWAYS more than one or two ways to an area so there's a lot of flanking to be done. You don't feel like you're being forced into a chokepoint just for the hell of it but you actually have a choice in how you get to one of the flags. In that sense, it will surprise A LOT of people.
And yes, the maps are extremely gorgeous to the point where I almost wish I would join an empty server just to take screenshots. I'm always trying to take some in the middle of the action just because it really does look that amazing, and even more amazing in motion when all the micro-destruction is happening all around you. These are some the most beautiful MP maps I've ever seen in a game and they really show off the lighting better than any other vanilla map.
Add "Demolitio" on Origin or on BattleLog if anyone is looking for a GOOD squadmate that goes for objectives rather than sniping for kills. I play all the maps but most of my friends don't play anymore so I'm tired of being stuck with idiots. I'm also a very good heli pilot (take into account what medication or painkillers I have in me at that time, lol) and don't get many good gunners so it'd be nice to have some reliable teamwork happening in a game. For some reason, I came back from my break of playing this game and my flying magically got like 100x better. I still miss the BF2 choppers though since my friend and I were always top and would support captures more than anything else.
I'm excited to play BF3 again! Armored Kill will most likely be the end of me, but it's really shitty to release that pack in the middle of the onslaught later this year. They really could have made more money by releasing that one in summer before all the big games come out.
