Brush up on Battlefield 3's history with a retrospective video from DICE

The day of Battlefield 4's rain-spattered reveal is upon us, and we've got troops deployed at GDC to bring you all the info when it hits. The fourth major Battlefield game continues a franchise of massive multiplayer warzones and vehicle-on-infantry combat, but Battlefield 3 has carried the series banner for the past two years across a highly anticipated launch and five subsequent add-on packs. In a dev diary video, members of DICE look back on the game's design hurdles and post-launch reception, all of which has likely influenced what we'll see in Battlefield 4 today.

In the video, DICE talks about the challenges it faced working with a then-new Frostbite 2 engine and meeting the expectations of excited player buildup through hands-on events and presentations. After Battlefield 3 launched in October 2011, positive reviews validated the team's risks and design choices, but Creative Director Lars Gustavsson says he's also thankful for criticisms that highlighted elements that he himself had not been satisfied with.

Battlefield 3's saga is nearing its final theater of war, but I'll keep a strong fondness for its strikingly beautiful graphics and the various map sizes and gameplay modes I can choose from. How would you rate your Battlefield 3 experiences?

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Omri Petitte is a former PC Gamer associate editor and long-time freelance writer covering news and reviews. If you spot his name, it probably means you're reading about some kind of first-person shooter. Why yes, he would like to talk to you about Battlefield. Do you have a few days?